Steaming vs Microwaving

[BigDogsWang]

Which method is best for retaining vitamins and minerals in veg such as Brochilli?

[jeanette1976]

If you're going to go the healthiest method, then its best to steam or stir fry.... always leave a crunch in veg and keep their colour.

I hate microwaves no matter how busy I am I never use it. Anything that will cook a large potato or something from frozen in 5 mins has got to be bad for you.

[BBWCHATT]

http://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/upda te0604b.shtml

Microwaving vegetables
A study in the November 2003 Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture caused a stir because it found that microwaved broccoli loses much of its nutritional punch. The researchers steamed, pressure-cooked, boiled, and microwaved about 2 cups of the vegetable with 10 tablespoons of water and then compared the flavonoid content by cooking method. Flavonoids are substances in fruits and vegetables with antioxidant properties that may lower your risk for heart disease, stroke, and some cancers. Steamed broccoli lost 11% of its flavonoids; pressure-cooked, 53%; boiled, 81%; and microwaved, a whopping 97%.

Heat from any sort of cooking lowers the levels of some vitamins. But water exposure is another major factor. Many nutrients dissolve in it, so when vegetables are prepared in water, some of the healthful elements leach out and get thrown away with the (veggie) bath water. That�s probably why steamed broccoli, which didn�t come into direct contact with water, came out on top.

But you don�t have to microwave broccoli in 10 tablespoons of water, as the researchers in this study did. Just a couple will do � and frozen vegetables don�t need any extra water. You can have your microwave and get most of your veggie nutrients, too.
June 2004 Update

[BBWCHATT]

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/food-and-nutr ition/AN01022

Microwave cooking: Does it destroy nutrients in vegetables?

Answer
All cooking methods reduce nutrient levels in vegetables to some degree. Many vitamins are sensitive to heat exposure. Also, water used for cooking can dissolve and wash away even more of those vitamins. Microwave cooking is a good way to preserve nutrients in vegetables because it requires only a minimal amount of water and cooking times are very short.

Key tips for preserving nutrients in the microwave include:

Use as little liquid as possible.
Reduce the surface area of food by leaving vegetables in big pieces.
Cover your cooking container to hold in steam and heat and reduce cooking time.
Cook vegetables until just crisp and tender. Don't overcook.
Avoid peeling vegetables when possible. Many of the nutrients are found in and just below the surface of the skin.

[BigDogsWang]

Well that's confused me. One report says microwaves bad, the other says good.