An expert has urged foodies to avoid boiling vegetables as you could be falling victim to a process called 'leeching'. The food science professor told Global News that by boiling veg, you could be missing out on important nutrients as the process results in it going to waste.
According to the Daily Record, Dr Keith Warriner - a professor at the University of Guelph's food science lab - 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.
Leeching refers to a process where nutrients such as vitamin C, folate, and niacin, are pulled out into the boiling water and most likely wasted. A process which is true if you are somebody who likes to boil vegetables for a lengthy time.
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Dr Warriner explained: "You're going to lose a lot of the nutrients in the water unless you use it for soup." 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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