Stop! Don't Boil That Broccoli.

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OK, we all heard from food fanatics that veggies should be eaten
pretty much raw, but now some experts at the University of Warwick
(UK) have put broccoli to the test and found out that this whole don't-
boil-your-vegetables thing might be true after all, at least for
brassica vegetables, (broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower... etc).

mooshee.com - Researchers at the University of Warwick have found that
the standard British cooking habit of boiling vegetables severely
damages the anticancer properties of many Brassica vegetables such as
broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower and green cabbage.

Past studies have shown that consumption of Brassica vegetables
decreases the risk of cancer. This is because of the high
concentration in Brassicas of substances known as glucosinolates which
are metabolized to cancer preventive substances known as
isothiocyanates. However before this research it was not known how the
glucosinolates and isothiocyanates were influenced by storage and
cooking of Brassica vegetables.

The researchers, Prof Paul Thornalley from Warwick Medical School at
the University of Warwick and Dr Lijiang Song from the University of
Warwick's Department of Chemistry bought Brassica vegetables,
(broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower and green cabbage) from a
local store and transported them to the laboratory within 30 minutes
of purchasing. The effect of cooking on the glucosinolate content of
vegetables was then studied by investigating the effects of cooking by
boiling, steaming, microwave cooking and stir-fry.

Boiling appeared to have a serious impact on the retention of those
important glucosinolate within the vegetables. The loss of total
glucosinolate content after boiling for 30 minutes was: broccoli 77%,
Brussel sprouts 58%, cauliflower 75% and green cabbage 65%.

The effects of other cooking methods were investigated: steaming for
0-20 min, microwave cooking for 0-3 min and stir-fry cooking for 0-5
min. All three methods gave no significant loss of total glucosinolate
analyte contents over these cooking periods.

Domestic storage of the vegetables at ambient temperature and in a
domestic refrigerator showed no significant difference with only minor
loss of glucosinolate levels over 7 days.

However the researchers found that storage of fresh vegetables at much
lower temperatures such as -85 °C (much higher than for storage in a
refrigerator at 4-8 °C) may cause significant loss of glucosinolates
up to 33% by fracture of vegetable material during thawing.

The researchers found that preparation of Brassica vegetables had
caused only minor reductions in glucosinolate except when they were
shredded finely which showed a marked decline of glucosinolate levels
with a loss of up to 75% over 6 hours after shredding.

Professor Thornalley said: "If you want to get the maximum benefit
from your five portions-a-day vegetable consumption, if you are
cooking your vegetables boiling is out. You need to consider stir
frying steaming or micro-waving them."

http://www.mooshee.com/article-2996520.htm

Tim Silva

On May 21, 7:41 am, Mooshee - Knowledge is Health!
wrote:
........
Boiling appeared to have a serious impact on the retention of those
important glucosinolate within the vegetables. The loss of total
glucosinolate content after boiling for 30 minutes was: broccoli 77%,
Brussel sprouts 58%, cauliflower 75% and green cabbage 65%.

The effects of other cooking methods were investigated: steaming for
0-20 min, microwave cooking for 0-3 min and stir-fry cooking for 0-5
min. All three methods gave no significant loss of total glucosinolate
analyte contents over these cooking periods.


Who would ever boil a vegetable for 30 minutes? Even the Brits aren't
that bad.

Susan B.

I am a Brit. You would be surprised how long some people will boil a
veggie to soften it up.
Personally I put the vast majority of mine in the microwave for a
couple of minutes. I know of many instances when people have said to
me that my broccoli taste's too strong compared to their boiled
version.

Mike
Fitkidfinder.com

On 21 May 2007 09:42:16 -0700, sueb wrote:


Who would ever boil a vegetable for 30 minutes? Even the Brits aren't
that bad.

Susan B.

My mother used to pressure cook cabbage until wilted and brown. Dang
that was foul! She was not British, either.

--
Cynthia
262/243/152

On May 22, 7:30 pm, Cynthia P wrote:
On 21 May 2007 09:42:16 -0700, sueb wrote:



Who would ever boil a vegetable for 30 minutes? Even the Brits aren't
that bad.

Susan B.

My mother used to pressure cook cabbage until wilted and brown. Dang
that was foul! She was not British, either.


I guess part of my point is that to legitimately compare vitamin and
mineral content, they needed to cook the vegetables by steaming and
microwaving to the same state achieved by boiling for 30 minutes. If
you microwave for 15 minutes, for example, you'll probably get close
to what happens after boiling for 30 minutes.

Susan B.

On May 22, 9:30 pm, Cynthia P wrote:
On 21 May 2007 09:42:16 -0700, sueb wrote:



Who would ever boil a vegetable for 30 minutes? Even the Brits aren't
that bad.

Susan B.

My mother used to pressure cook cabbage until wilted and brown. Dang
that was foul! She was not British, either.

--
Cynthia
262/243/152

The Germans and Irish are noted for boiling the hell out of
vegetables. I got it from both sides growing up and the first time I
saw fesh spinach after going away to college, I had no idea what it
was. I also don't remember even having broccoli or those exotic
vegetables in Indiana. We had green beans boiled with bacon pieces.
Mmmm. dkw

On 23 May 2007 09:46:16 -0700, sueb wrote:

On May 22, 7:30 pm, Cynthia P wrote:
On 21 May 2007 09:42:16 -0700, sueb wrote:



Who would ever boil a vegetable for 30 minutes? Even the Brits aren't
that bad.

Susan B.

My mother used to pressure cook cabbage until wilted and brown. Dang
that was foul! She was not British, either.


I guess part of my point is that to legitimately compare vitamin and
mineral content, they needed to cook the vegetables by steaming and
microwaving to the same state achieved by boiling for 30 minutes. If
you microwave for 15 minutes, for example, you'll probably get close
to what happens after boiling for 30 minutes.

Susan B.

Oh, I agree. It would be gross!

Me, I like some crunch left to most veggies... I eat some cooked, some
raw every day. I figure I get the best of both worlds that way.


--
Cynthia
262/241/152

"mike" wrote in message
oups.com...
I am a Brit. You would be surprised how long some people will boil a
veggie to soften it up.
Personally I put the vast majority of mine in the microwave for a
couple of minutes. I know of many instances when people have said to
me that my broccoli taste's too strong compared to their boiled
version.

Mike
Fitkidfinder.com

I used to cook my veggies until they were really soft. That's how I ate
them as a kid, but I can't really blame my mother for that. If a veggie had
any crunch left in it I'd complain. I also preferred canned veggies over
fresh. Eventually I started buying more fresh veggies and cooking them
less. I usually steam mine. The last time I discovered I had no fresh or
frozen veggies I pulled out a can of green beans from the pantry. I
couldn't believe how diusgusting they looked, and canned beans used to be my
favorite.

It was Chinese food that got me to leave my cooked veggies a little crisp.
I had a great chicken & broccoli once and the broccoli wasn't soft & falling
apart as usual. I actually had to bite the stuff.


--
Liz
HW:268 CW: 161.4 GW: 148