Boiling or steaming: Which method is better to cook veggies?

There are many methods of cooking food, and food prepared with each method ends up tasting, feeling, and smelling different. While some are easy and some are complex, there is no shortage of ways a single dish can be made. When it comes to vegetables, the two most preferred ways of cooking are boiling and steaming. While both are considered healthy and safe ways to cook veggies, which one emerges as the better choice? Let’s find out.

One of the biggest concerns with heating and therefore cooking food, is the loss of nutrients. Most cooking methods tend to rid the vegetable of certain nutrients, reducing the overall nutrient content. Boiling veggies leads to a lot of nutrient loss, and the longer the veggie boils, the more nutrients will escape into the water. Steaming veggies on the other hand is a brief process, and it is the method that leads to the least loss of nutrients in most veggies. So when it comes to nutrient retention, steaming bags the win.

Boiling sometimes may lead to overcooking, and overcooking diminishes colour and flavour. Anomalies aside, a study has shown that vegetables taste better when they are steamed than they do when they are boiled. In the study, people participated in a blind taste test, at the end of which it was concluded that people prefer not just the taste, but the texture and flavour of steamed food.

Another pressing concern regarding vegetables is the presence of harmful substances like calcium carbide, oxytocin, and oxalates. Ingesting these chemicals can cause severe problems, and not many cooking methods are efficient in getting rid of these toxins. Boiling however rids vegetables of substances like oxalates, which is present in most plants and can cause kidney stones. Boiling removes as much as 87% oxalates, whereas steaming gets rid of only 53%.

A popular meal among a lot of people is soup or broth. Both are light meals that are good for weight management, and they make for a good meal in the winter. When it comes to preparing vegetables for soup or broth, boiling is the better choice. Since most of the nutrients that escape the vegetables enter the water, making a soup or broth with the same water ensures complete nutrient profile. In steaming, however little nutrient loss it may cause, the nutrients cannot be retrieved, therefore boiling is a better option when it comes to making fluidic food.

Four criteria have been taken into consideration while comparing boiling and steaming, and both emerged victorious on two occasions. Now, depending on the kind of food you're making and what your agenda is while cooking, you can choose to cook using either of the methods., for both are healthy and effective ways to cook.