Every Guardian recipe begins with “boil the vegetable(s)”. We always steam, believing more nutrients and flavour stay in that way, so why are we out of step with your writers?
Malcolm, Norwich
Right, let’s round up some of the Guardian’s food crew and ask them to explain themselves. First to take the stand is Meera Sodha. “I’m not the sort of person to optimise anything in life, except for pleasure and ease,” she says, so when it comes to vegetables, her answer is easy: “If I’m cooking them into a meal [a curry or pan-fried dish, say], I’ll just put them in the pot or pan with all the other ingredients, where they might cook by frying, simmering or, if there’s a lid involved, part-steaming – I suppose the nutrients are captive then, so that’s a bonus!” If, however, she is serving a side of, for instance, broccoli, she’ll boil it, “because it’s quick, efficient and hands-off, which is important to me, especially if there’s something else on the bubble.” And while Sodha concedes that she could steam (“It just involves a colander and lid, after all”), she won’t be changing her ways any time soon. “I like to get to something as delicious as possible with the least amount of fuss, so boiling will always win.”
For our resident perfectionist Felicity Cloake, however, the cooking method she chooses depends on what she’s making. “I steam if the vegetable is going on the plate naked with salt and oil, because I prefer the texture. But if I was adding it to another dish, I’d blanch rather than boil, because it’s more efficient.” Nutrients-wise, Cloake doesn’t have a policy: “If there are vegetables in there, I’m generally thinking nutrients are happening anyway. Although it’s obviously something to consider, and I will in future, so thank you, Malcolm.”
The question also prompted Rachel Roddy to rethink her sformato, which we featured a few weeks back: “That’s a situation where the vegetables would be better steamed,” she now admits. “If I could update the recipe, I would, because the vegetables go a bit soggy after they’re boiled and then baked.” But, again, that’s more a matter of taste than of preserving nutrients.
Steaming, Tom Hunt agrees, “saves waste in terms of wasted time, wasted energy [you don’t have to heat up so much water] and wasted nutrition”. He doesn’t use a steamer, though, and instead fills a pan with 1-2cm of water, “knowing it will later evaporate or reduce into the sauce”.
Of course, our writers aren’t qualified nutritionists, so let’s ask one for her take. “Steaming allows you to retain more of the nutrients compared with boiling,” Jenna Hope confirms, because leaching, whereby some nutrients draw out into the water, doesn’t occur as much. “Naturally, it may not provide as much flavour as, for example, roasting, so serve with a pesto or tahini.”
Essentially, if your aim is to preserve nutrients, light steaming is the way to go, but the thing is, flavour and enjoyment play a major part in food, too. “If roasting vegetables means you enjoy them more, then by all means roast them,” Hope says. “You’re better off eating them how you like, rather than not eating them at all.”
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