How to Get the Most Nutrition from Your Veggies
February 16, 2012
•Le Cordon Bleu
•Chicago
• 0 Comments
How to Get the Most Nutrition from Your Veggies
From the time we are old enough to start making our own food choices, we are told, “eat your veggies!” But maybe we should have been told more specifically, “eat your parboiled veggies.” Vegetables are nature’s own complete package of nutrient rich and tasty snacks but without the proper cooking training, you may be unknowingly stripping out the healthiest parts! Parboiling is one vegetable preparation technique that not only makes veggies more palatable and more colorful, but also helps lock in the nutrients. It is also a great technique to help remove the skins from fruits and veggies or for preparing them for use in other recipes.
Step One:
Rinse the vegetables in the sink and set them aside on a paper towel to allow them to dry off slightly. If you are cooking potatoes, you may want to remove the skins before parboiling them.
Step Two:
Find the appropriate size pot or saucepan for the amount of veggies you plan on parboiling. Add room temperature water and submerge veggies.
Step Three:
Bring the water and vegetable mix to a light boil on the stovetop. Boiling time will vary depending on the vegetable you are boiling. Potatoes have one of the longest cooking times taking anywhere from 7 to 10 minutes. For broccoli and other green veggies, you can judge their readiness by the bright green color they turn. Most of these veggies are cooked within 2 to 3 minutes.
Step Four:
Remove the veggies as soon as they are done and immediately place them in a bath of cool water to stop the cooking immediately. They should now be partly cooked and are either ready to be eaten as is, or ready for the next step of the recipe.
Parboiling is a popular technique among many chefs and can be seen in some of the fine restaurants which make the Chicago culinary arts so popular. If you enjoy learning new preparation and cooking tips, perhaps cooking training is something you should explore. The Chicago culinary training offered at Le Cordon Bleu ranges from cooking enthusiast classes for non-professional lessons, to programs designed to prepare you for a professional future in the culinary arts.
This article is presented by Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Chicago. Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Chicago offers culinary arts and pâtisserie and baking training programs in Chicago, Illinois. To learn more about the class offerings, please visit Chefs.edu/Chicago for more information.
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