When you steam foods, are you taking the nutrients out?

[TheInfamousCBear]

Well?

 

[California Love]

Water soluble vitamins are sometimes vaporized out, especially if u tend to overcook your food. However, steaming is one of the healthiest methods to prepare cooked food.

 

[DJBen]

Sometimes, but not the essiental ones.

Steaming and the Forman grill is the healthiest way to go. Multimineral/vitamin should sort out any losses anyway, if you're taking them.

 

[jakethasnake]

Steaming is just one step short of boiling, which is the worst (unless you drink the water in which it is boiled, preferably as a soup w/some soup-stock stired in - this btw is how many Asian dishes are made) for nutrient retention. But it's still better than boiling food. The best method is to grill things - even vegetables.

 

[TheInfamousCBear]

What if you are steaming chicken breasts? I do it because it takes less time to prepare...But the way I do it is put a little water in a saucepan and cover it and let the steam cook it...But if there is a little water left in, do the nutrients get into the water? I was mainly concerned about protien...

 

[DJBen]

I cant see you steaming the **** out of a chicken breast to the point where it loses much protein. Even if you steamed it until the proverbial cow came home.

And yes, using the 'water' is a great idea. Always do it to make a gravy and such like. Hell, when you boil something, you can make gravy with the water that you boiled it with. Resourcfulness![and bad spelling!] It makes average gravy taste awesome.

 

[lifthard]

if youre really worried about it..drink the water thats left over.

 

[California Love]

Originally posted by DJBen
I cant see you steaming the **** out of a chicken breast to the point where it loses much protein.

Yea the protein wont leave unless you burn the meat, in which all that is left is charcoal, or carbon. Cooking protein denatures it, which messes up the confirmation, but actually increases absorptiveness.