There’s something intrinsically beautiful about reviving the cooking methods you inherited from your parents or grandparents in your own adult home kitchen.
But if you’re loved ones were big fans of boiling potatoes or your childhood memories are laden with images of overcooked broccoli or Brussels sprouts then you may need to leave any nostalgic attachment you have to boiling behind.
Themis Chryssidis, managing director of
cooking school in Adelaide, tells SBS that boiling vegetables like potatoes, broccoli, corn, beans, cabbage, and sweet potatoes can be a ‘sometimes’ thing. Or preferably, it can be a cooking method left in the past.
Chryssidis believes “boiled vegetables are boring”. Other cooking methods like baking or stir-frying may be combined with olive or sesame oil, herbs, garlic, ginger and chilli to give your dish a lot more flavour.
When you boil vegetables, you lose some of their water-soluble nutrients.
Nutritionally, there’s also a big downside to boiling most vegetables.
“When you boil vegetables, you lose some of their water-soluble nutrients,” says Chryssidis, who’s also an Accredited Practising Dietitian. Examples of water-soluble vitamins include complex B vitamins (like vitamin B9/folate, vitamin B1/thiamine and vitamin B2/riboflavin) and vitamin C.
“Water-soluble vitamins are vitamins that are absorbed with water in our bodies. They are also what vitamins that aren't stored in our body, which means that we need to regularly consume these on a daily basis.”
According to an article published in
in 2022, boiling a potato could result in eliminating as much as 80 percent of the vegetable’s vitamin C content. This happens as the water-soluble nutrients leach out into the water during the boiling process. That means that once you tip the water out of the pot after boiling, the potato’s vitamin C content could end up down the drain.
If you want an alternative to boiling potatoes, Chryssidis recommends baking them just like the Greeks do.
In Chryssidis’ Greek family, potatoes are typically chopped, dressed in plenty of olive oil, lemon juice, oregano and garlic, and baked in the oven.
“The potatoes are not necessarily golden in colour when they’re cooked because they spend most of their time in the oven covered in foil. This creates a steam pocket that helps to cook the potatoes, which is a good alternative to boiling them. But they end up really full of flavour.”
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A
pinpoints another vegetable that’s commonly boiled – broccoli.
The researchers compared five cooking methods (boiling, microwaving, steaming, stir-frying and a combination of stir-frying and boiling) to see which retained the highest nutrient levels.
The results showed that all cooking methods – except steaming – caused significant losses of chlorophyll and vitamin C. But boiling was by far the worst offender. Boiling the broccoli for five minutes reduced the vegetable’s chlorophyll content by 27 per cent, while it hardly changed when steamed.
The boiled broccoli also dropped 33 per cent of its vitamin C content when stir-fried, while boiling resulted in a 38 per cent loss. Yet the steamed broccoli retained as much vitamin C content as its raw equivalent.
A
published in the Journal of Food Science in 2009 also shows that peas, cauliflower and zucchini may lose over 50 per cent of their antioxidants when boiled.
However, carrot seems to be the exception. Research demonstrates that
may increase their levels of
. It may also boost its
, making boiled carrots more fibre-fuelled than their raw competitors.
How about parboiling if it saves me time?
So where does that leave time-poor home cooks who were taught to boil or par-boil vegetables like potatoes, cabbage or broccoli, before finishing them under the grill, to get dinner on the table faster?
“As a general rule, the longer you boil most vegetables, the more water-soluble nutrients you lose,” says Chryssidis. “If you over-boil a vegetable, you're going to lose a lot of nutrients. But if you parboil a vegetable just to speed up the cooking process, then you won’t lose as many nutrients.”
So the take home is that not boiling most vegetables is usually the way to go, nutritionally. But if parboiling them means you actually get to serve up vegetables – because a quick dinner is a dinner that’s eaten – then no one is going to judge you. Chryssidis reminds everyone that eating more vegetables on a regular basis should be our overriding health objective.
As a general rule, the longer you boil most vegetables, the more water-soluble nutrients you lose.
“If parboiling means you’re more likely to eat vegetables because it speeds up the cooking process, and by doing so, you lose five per cent of the vegetables’ water-soluble nutrients, then that's still a pretty good outcome.
“You can finish off the vegetables by roasting them or stir-frying them later. In doing that, you’ll enhance the vegetable from a flavour perspective. If a vegetable tastes delicious, you’re more likely to keep eating vegetables and that’s a good thing.”
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FAQs
When you boil vegetables, you lose some of their water-soluble nutrients. Nutritionally, there's also a big downside to boiling most vegetables. “When you boil vegetables, you lose some of their water-soluble nutrients,” says Chryssidis, who's also an Accredited Practising Dietitian.
Which vegetables should not be boiled? ›
The researchers found that boiling broccoli reduced its vitamin C content significantly. Boiling also lowered the amount of glucosinolate (compounds that may have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects) in broccoli. On the other hand, steaming broccoli allowed the vegetable to hold onto its nutrients well.
When you boil vegetables adding salt to the water will cause nutrient loss through blank? ›
When you boil vegetables, adding salt to the water can cause nutrient loss through the process of osmosis.
What is the rule for boiling vegetables? ›
The usual rule is that if a vegetable is harvested from under the ground, then you boil it from cold. If it is from above the ground, it should be plunged into boiling water. If, however, it is from “underground, overground” then it's a Womble, and you probably shouldn't be cooking it.
What is the healthiest way to eat vegetables? ›
Best: Steaming
Not surprisingly, steaming is the healthiest way to cook vegetables. Steaming vegetables is also the most efficient. A gentle steam is best; it allows vegetables to maintain their nutrients because the vitamins and minerals don't leak out into the water you end up discarding.
Is it healthier to boil vegetables? ›
This study shows that boiling destroys some of the antioxidants and potential health benefits of green vegetables. Other cooking techniques such as steaming and microwaving, that use less water and are shorter, have less of an effect. Despite these losses, cooking is still an important feature of a healthy diet.
What vegetables lose nutrients when boiled? ›
In fact, boiling reduces vitamin C content more than any other cooking method. Broccoli, spinach, and lettuce may lose up to 50% or more of their vitamin C when boiled ( 4 , 5). Because vitamin C is water-soluble and sensitive to heat, it can leach out of vegetables when they're immersed in hot water.
Is it healthy to eat boiled vegetables everyday? ›
Boiling is also great for reducing the risk of kidney stones and is a good, gentle food for babies. And if you have a sore stomach, eating boiled vegetables can help calm it down. So, even though boiling is a basic way to cook, it's really good for your health.
What vegetables should be boiled? ›
This method ensured tasty and presentable results and helps you prepare vegetables for various other preparations. Note that this process is suitable for all green vegetables, beans, zucchini, broccoli, spinach, peas, etc. It is also suitable for cauliflower, carrots, celeriac, etc.
Should you add salt when boiling vegetables? ›
By adding salt to the water you make the water closer to the solution concentration of the plant cells and, in doing so, reduce the tendency for them to expand due to osmosis. As a result you end up with less mushy vegetables that, as a side benefit, also have more flavor.
Boiled — When cooking vegetables over a long period of time in water, some nutrients will be lost. However, if the water will be consumed with the vegetables — as in the case of soups, stews or curries — many of the vitamins will be retained in the final dish.
What happens when salt is added to vegetables while cooking? ›
In general, we add salt to vegetables during the cooking process, and the vegetables release water as a result of exosmosis. Exosmosis: Water travels from a higher concentration to a lower concentration across the semipermeable membrane in exosmosis.
What vegetables should not be boiled? ›
That includes cabbage, spinach, kale, broccoli, spinach, beans, and peas. She told Shape magazine that certain vegetables, namely those containing water-soluble vitamins, should never be boiled if you can avoid it. That includes cabbage, spinach, kale, broccoli, spinach, beans, and peas.
How to boil vegetables without losing nutrients? ›
If you're keen on boiling vegetables but don't want to lose the nutrients, then one option is to use the vegetable cooking water in the dish. This is a good option when cooking curries or stews. Also, using as little water as possible and avoiding overcooking can help minimise vitamin loss.
What vegetables take the longest to boil? ›
Dense vegetables require longer cooking times e.g. carrots, potatoes, kūmara. Vegetables with a higher water content cook faster e.g. capsic*ms, leafy greens.
Why is it better to steam vegetables rather than boil them? ›
As the vegetables are not boiled, they don't lose the essential nutrients. Steaming also keeps the vegetables crisp and bright. In short, if you want to preserve the color, taste, and nutrients of the vegetables, you need to steam them instead of boiling them.
Is the least healthy way to cook vegetables is to boil them? ›
The biggest issue is that boiling vegetables can reduce their vitamin C content. This happens because the key vitamin that helps support our immune system is water soluble and sensitive to the effects of heat and water. This means that the vitamin leaches out of the vegetables and into the cooking water.
Is the water from boiling vegetables good for plants? ›
There are many advantages to using cooking water to feed your plants. Not only is it cost effective and resourceful, the fertilizer it provides for your plants gives them a more stable and steady growth period. The water will help promote natural nutrient storage within the soil.
Does boiling vegetables remove chemicals? ›
Most pesticides are water soluble so boiling doesn't remove much more than simply washing does. Peeling is a more effective way of removing surface pesticides, but even that doesn't reduce systemic pesticides that are in the plant material itself.
