Who Boils Broccoli for 30 minutes?

[Ann]

I was reading an article in my newspaper the other day about how boiling vegetables, as opposed to steaming, takes away all the nutrients. As I read on, it turns out you actually have to boil them to death to achieve this. Apparently boiling broccoli, cauliflower etc. for 30 minutes takes away 70% of the nutrients. I'm not surprised, I imagine it would also leave you with an unidentifiable mushy mess!

[Lesley]

ann, do you use a microwave for veggie's? it only uses a little bit of water and minimal cooking time. i'm awful at boiling anything. usually i'm in a hurry and have the heat too high!
30 minutes would be a really long time to wait for anything.

lesley

[Ann]

hellokitty said:

ann, do you use a microwave for veggie's? lesley

No, I like small portions of a lot of vegetables when I have a gravy meal. I can have 5 or 6. To the bemusement of one or two of my friends, I boil them all in the same pan. I have it off to a fine art thanks to my oven timer. 15 minutes for potatoes, sweetcorn, runner beans and carrots, 10 minutes for cauli, sprouts and cabbage and 7 minutes for broccoli mangetout, sugarsnaps. About the only things I do separately are spinach and roast parsnips.

[tabitha]

I would never boil any veg for 30 mins, I think 15 mins is about right but I always understood that you don't actually boil them just simmer as its the boiling that takes the goodness out. I like of veg raw i.e broccoli, cauli, cabbage and carrots. I also prefer mushrooms raw to cooked and I dont peel them like I have seen some do, just wash them. Both my kids like raw veg as well.

Tabitha

[gill]

Oh my - this thread had me HOWLING with laughter!!!! ;D

When I was growing up I had to suffer my mother's diabolical cooking Sunday lunch was the worst!!!!
She would prepare the vegetables the night before and have them all in individual pans on the gas cooker and have them in water overnight. In the morning my Dad would turn them on at varying times - potatoes would be boiled for an hour, carrots and turnip forty minutes etc. Peas *out of a tin* would be heated for twenty minutes!!!
The whole dinner was 'just' identifiable as food
Lord knows HOW we didn't end up with rickets from all the overcooked veg!!!

I cook all my vegeatables in a steamer now and find it so much easier to prepare them when and as I need them and they certainly don't take longer than twenty minutes maximum to cook

[susie]

Does any veg need boiling for 30 mins? Victoria Wood in one of her shows once said that her mother put the sprouts on in November ready for Christmas. It made me howl wen she said it.

[zaffysmum]

I just HAD to read this thread, after thinking to myself YEs I DO!
Have to admit it made me laugh like crazy.
But yes I do boil my veggies for about this long, well bring them to the boil and then simmer them. I dont like them crunchy at all, like them soft.

For a meal I often eat a plate of just veggies, sometimes with gravy.

I used to have an electric steamer, which I loved, but dropped and broke it lol.
Never tried microwave, rarely use mine.

A funny thread though, and I see i am the only one who does this!!

[Cutecheryl]

i steam mine and i hate it if it goes soggy it needs a slight crunch to it . Cauli is cooked the same although hubs "tests" that cos i hate it
i have microwaved veggies as well....one time though when i removed the brocoli it was well ermmm, shrivelled up