Even though we are all aware that eating healthy foods is an important part of healthy living, most of tend to forget that wise cooking is also a major part of the health equation. We, from time to time do resort to other activities such as dieting, exercising and slimming but mess it all up when we eat oily and unhealthy foods which have not been properly cooked.
Steam cooking is a moist cooking method which uses the natural convection of heat that’s traveling in steam, air or liquid. Food that’s steamed usually remains tender because it is not exposed to the bare, intense and dry heat like in other cooking methods. In steam cooking, it is only the hot water vapor or steam that does the cooking; the boiling water never comes into contact with the food. There are several benefits of steam cooking, these include but are not limited to the following;
Benefits of Steam Cooking Video :
Retains Lots of Nutrients
Because heat from the steam is usually considered to be uniform and gentle, it does diffuse very slowly through the food, in the process it allows the food to slowly cook in its own juice. This does greatly reduce instances of nutrients loss. It also ensures that the food retains its natural flavor, color and general texture. A good example is broccoli, when it is steamed, it does retain at least 81% of Vitamin C but when you cook it in water it only has 30% vitamin C. When it is put in a microwave, it loses 97% of flavonoids, when cooked in water it loses 66% but when it is steamed it loses only 11%.
Versatile Cooking method
The method allows the cook to use a variety of methods and steam a wide array of foods; from those that are frozen to the freshly cut foods. The popular methods include wrapping and sealing the food in greaseproof paper or foil or put the food into a dish or bowl and then cover the top with a cling wrap or foil. The latter is preferred when preparing marinated food recipes. One can also use natural wrappings such as corn husks, lotus leaves, banana leaves or bamboo leaves which also tend to impart their own unique flavor to the steamed food.
Ideal for a wide variety of foods
Unlike other cooking methods which may be constrained in terms of the foods which you can prepare, Steam cooking is by far one of the easiest and all-purpose cooking methods that are ideal for cooking a variety of meats, fish, poultry, pasta, vegetables, sea food, desserts and even fruits. From steamed crabs with your favorite beer to steamed fish with all its flavors and texture intact or even steamed cake or eggs; the list is endless
You don’t require fat or cooking oil
As a rule of thumb, when steam cooking, you don’t use fat or cooking oil, even though if you want to you can add several tablespoons of linseed or olive oil before you serve the meal. This does ensure that the food you eat is both light and healthy. Many cooking fats have been known to increase the amount of harmful cholesterol in the human system.
The cooking is fast and easy
This is especially so if you are cooking fresh food; with steam cooking, the fresher the foods, the faster it cooks. It is also worth noting that steaming cooks over a single heat source, this allows you to use the single heat source by stacking trays, this is both economical in terms of saving heat and it also saves time.
There is a wide array of Delicious recipes to choose from
Though unbeknown to many people, there are hundreds if not thousands of interesting, colorful, healthy and delicious recipes which one can make using steaming. The numerous options available ensures that anyone who is interested in living a healthy lifestyle by eating steamed food can never complain that his or her options in terms of what to make or eat are limited. A quick internet search is bound to provide you with a long list of easy and simple to cook foods.
It’s a cleaner method of cooking
When you are cooking using steam, there is no production of some grease laden vapors which is quite common with other cooking methods. In fact when cooking foods such as fish and meats, the fats extracted during the cooking process usually seep away from the food and are held safely by the water that’s present in the reservoir of steam vessel. This also ensures that your kitchen is kept clean; no smoke, no grease and very minimal mess if any. This ensures that you can easily clean up your kitchen once you are through with your cooking.
Because heat from the steam is usually considered to be uniform and gentle, it does diffuse very slowly through the food, in the process it allows the food to slowly cook in its own juice. This does greatly reduce instances of nutrients loss. It also ensures that the food retains its natural flavor, color and general texture. A good example is broccoli, when it is steamed, it does retain at least 81% of Vitamin C but when you cook it in water it only has 30% vitamin C. When it is put in a microwave, it loses 97% of flavonoids, when cooked in water it loses 66% but when it is steamed it loses only 11%.
Versatile Cooking method
The method allows the cook to use a variety of methods and steam a wide array of foods; from those that are frozen to the freshly cut foods. The popular methods include wrapping and sealing the food in greaseproof paper or foil or put the food into a dish or bowl and then cover the top with a cling wrap or foil. The latter is preferred when preparing marinated food recipes. One can also use natural wrappings such as corn husks, lotus leaves, banana leaves or bamboo leaves which also tend to impart their own unique flavor to the steamed food.
Ideal for a wide variety of foods
Unlike other cooking methods which may be constrained in terms of the foods which you can prepare, Steam cooking is by far one of the easiest and all-purpose cooking methods that are ideal for cooking a variety of meats, fish, poultry, pasta, vegetables, sea food, desserts and even fruits. From steamed crabs with your favorite beer to steamed fish with all its flavors and texture intact or even steamed cake or eggs; the list is endless
You don’t require fat or cooking oil
As a rule of thumb, when steam cooking, you don’t use fat or cooking oil, even though if you want to you can add several tablespoons of linseed or olive oil before you serve the meal. This does ensure that the food you eat is both light and healthy. Many cooking fats have been known to increase the amount of harmful cholesterol in the human system.
The cooking is fast and easy
This is especially so if you are cooking fresh food; with steam cooking, the fresher the foods, the faster it cooks. It is also worth noting that steaming cooks over a single heat source, this allows you to use the single heat source by stacking trays, this is both economical in terms of saving heat and it also saves time.
There is a wide array of Delicious recipes to choose from
Though unbeknown to many people, there are hundreds if not thousands of interesting, colorful, healthy and delicious recipes which one can make using steaming. The numerous options available ensures that anyone who is interested in living a healthy lifestyle by eating steamed food can never complain that his or her options in terms of what to make or eat are limited. A quick internet search is bound to provide you with a long list of easy and simple to cook foods.
It’s a cleaner method of cooking
When you are cooking using steam, there is no production of some grease laden vapors which is quite common with other cooking methods. In fact when cooking foods such as fish and meats, the fats extracted during the cooking process usually seep away from the food and are held safely by the water that’s present in the reservoir of steam vessel. This also ensures that your kitchen is kept clean; no smoke, no grease and very minimal mess if any. This ensures that you can easily clean up your kitchen once you are through with your cooking.