By Allison Whitehead
If you have a steamer (the type you plug in, rather than the kind you use over a saucepan), the chances are you don’t use it as often as you could. But it’s one of the best ways to prepare all kinds of vegetables, meat and fish, and they all retain their flavour, colour and nutrients far more during steaming than by any other cooking method.
Here are some tips that could have you bringing that steamer out from the back of your cupboard a lot more often…
- It’s not just fresh vegetables that benefit from steaming; you can steam frozen veg just as easily. If you steam frozen peas, try sprinkling them with a little white sugar to add extra flavour and sweetness.
- Make sure each vegetable is spread evenly on the bottom of each steamer basket, to ensure even cooking. Broccoli and cauliflower florets should be placed stem down, so they soften adequately. Brussels sprouts will cook better by cutting a cross in the base of each one.
- When cooking meat, fish or poultry at the same time as potatoes or vegetables, always put the meat in the bottom tray. This will ensure the juices from the meat don’t drip over the vegetables during cooking.
- All vegetables placed into a single tray should be cut into even sized pieces as far as possible, so they cook in the same amount of time.
- As a rule, you should place larger sized items (like potatoes) in a lower basket to the smaller items (for example, peas and sliced carrots). This will help everything in the steamer to cook in roughly the same amount of time.
Cooking food to perfection using a steamer takes a little practice, but it’s well worth the effort. Your food will not only taste better, it will be healthier and more nutritious too.
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