https://www.professorshouse.com/steaming-versus-boiling-vegetables/ Tue, 10 Jun 2025 11:31:53 +0000 hourly 1 https://www.professorshouse.com/steaming-versus-boiling-vegetables/#comment-24757 Fri, 02 Mar 2018 20:45:36 +0000 https://professorshouse.com/relationship-category/steaming-versus-boiling-vegetables/#comment-24757 Having read your article on boiling or steaming vegetables I see that, as all other discussions on this subject, it does not mention one relevant aspect.
When vegetables are cooked in boiling water nutrients leach out into the water. As the concentration of those nutrients in the water increase, the rate at which the nutrients escape from the vegetable will reduce. If it were possible for the nutrient concentration in the water reach the same concentration as in the vegetable the no more nutrients could leave the vegetable.
Steamed vegetables may be cooked by the temperature of the surrounding steam but inspection of the vegetables shows that their surface is wet, covered with water (distilled water, continually replaced from the steam) that then drips into the base of the pan or steamer. This results in the nutrients continuously leaching out at the maximum rate during the cooking process.
So if boiled or steamed for the same time, more nutrients are lost from the vegetable during steaming. It is often recommended that steaming should only be for the shortest time and this would reduce nutrient loss, but there is no reason why vegetables should not also be boiled for that short time. Am I misunderstanding the chemistry here?

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