Foodies realise they've been cooking their vegetables wrong for years

11 June 2023 , 18:02

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The way you cook your veg really can make all the difference (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

We all know that eating plenty of vegetables is good for you, but the way you cook them really can make all the difference, both in terms of the flavour and the overall nutritional value.

There are many ways to cook vegetables of course, from steaming to stir-frying - but there is one extremely popular method you really should be avoiding at all costs unless you're making a batch of homemade soup.

A food science professor has now urged people to consider how they can preserve nutrients such as "protein, antioxidants. vitamins, polyphenols" by amending their cooking process of choice, resulting in the most nourishing meal possible.

You should only ever boil your veg when you're making soup (Getty Images)

Dr Keith Warriner, a professor at the University of Guelph's food science lab, told Global News that through boiling veg, you will end up losing vitamins through "leeching".

The refers to a process whereby nutrients such as vitamin C, folate, and niacin, are pulled out into the boiling water and most likely wasted. This is particularly true if you end up boiling your veggies for a lengthy amount of time.

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Warning foodies to try another cooking method instead, Dr Warriner explained: "You're going to lose a lot of the nutrients in the water unless you use it for soup."

Steaming your veg is probably your best bet, but stir-frying is also effective if you're careful (Getty Images)

Global News then went on to cite a 2013 study where University of Illinois scientists cooked vegetables using three different methods: steaming, boiling, and stir-frying.

It was discovered that steaming - for just three to four minutes until your veg is lovely and vibrant - is probably the best way to retain as many healthy vitamins and enzymes as possible.

Stir-frying could also be a good option, as long as you keep the stir-frying time to a minimum and don't use too much heat. Using an oil with a higher smoke point, such as avocado, almond, corn, canola, grapeseed, or peanut oil can also help in this instance.

Dietitian Susan Macfarlane advised the publication that one easy and effective way to stir-fry veg is to briefly steam, before stir-frying quickly.

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Julia Banim