There’s so many different cooking techniques that it is hard to choose just one when making your meals. One technique that is often overlooked, except when cooking vegetables, is the steam method.
Steaming involves using boiling water and water vapor to slowly cook food in its own juices gently. Here are several benefits to steam cooking versus other methods.
Lower Fat Content
Since food never comes in contact with the boiling water and cooks from the water vapor, there is no need to add any fats or oils to the cooking process. This cuts down on the amount of fat you consume so you can have a healthier lifestyle.
Cook Everything Through Steaming
This technique can be used on a variety of foods including meats, pasta, vegetables, fish, fruit and poultry. You can also use steaming with legumes and grains. You merely have to adjust the cooking time.
Steam Different Foods at Once
Steaming doesn’t require having numerous pots of boiling water on the stove to make different food. Instead, you can stack steaming trays so all the food gets cooked over the same pot of water. Usually the meats will go in the bottom tray while the vegetables will go in the top.
Retain More Nutrients in Food
When food is boiled, fried or baked, it can lose many of the vitamins and nutrients during these cooking processes. Steaming food allows nutrients and vitamins to remain as your body can reap in the benefits.
Avoid Overcooking Food
Steaming is a much gentler cooking method than frying and boiling. You have more control of the cooking process as you often avoid overcooking or burning your food.
Less Mess to Clean
You are only using one pot and several steamer baskets at the stove. You don’t have to wash a baking pan, a frying pan or other pots when using other cooking methods. So there is less mess that you have to deal with after eating your meal.
Food Retains Original Taste and Color
Have you ever noticed how much brighter and flavorful steamed food looks and tastes? This technique allows your food to cook in its own juices, so your vegetables and meats retain their flavors and colors during the process. When you want to add additional flavors, you can simply place spices into the water.
Saves on Cooking Time
Some of the reasons we avoid making home-cooked meals is because we simply don’t have enough time. By stacking steamer baskets and cooking multiple foods by using the steaming method, it saves on time as we can have delicious meals with less fuss.
The steaming technique has been used for thousands of years by different cultures around the world. It is seen as one of the healthiest cooking methods for your food as it takes little time and effort while you still get a delicious meal that is cooked right every single time. So consider buying a steamer and trying out this technique in your own kitchen.
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