VEGETABLES

5 TIPS TO HELP YOU ENJOY EVEN CRUNCHIER VEGETABLES

We’ve compiled a list of five tips to help you cook vegetables so that they retain their crunch along with as many vitamins and nutrients as possible.

TIP 1

PAY ATTENTION TO COOKING TIMES

Some vegetables cook faster than others. If you put everything into the pan at the same time, some vegetables will disintegrate to mush before the others are cooked through. So start by cooking more “solid” vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and turnip. Later you can add softer vegetables such as pepperoni, mushrooms, tomatoes and courgettes. Alternatively, you could cut the softer vegetables into larger chunks so that everything cooks evenly.

TIP 2

PREPARING FOOD PROPERLY

As soon as you wash or cut vegetables, they begin to oxidise and lose their nutrients. The smaller you chop them, the higher the risk of losing vitamins and nutrients. That’s why it’s best to wash and chop vegetables immediately before cooking them. Take meat out of the fridge an hour before you want to grill it. Fish and poultry should go straight from the fridge to the grill.

TIP 3

CHOOSE THE RIGHT PAN SIZE

If you fill a pan too full, the flavours won’t be able to mix properly and the temperature and consistency of your food will be uneven. So if you’re cooking for lots of people, you should use multiple pans in order to cook all the food at the same temperature.

TIP 4

CHOOSE THE RIGHT KITCHEN UTENSILS

Kitchen utensils such as knives and cutting boards should always be cleaned thoroughly after every use if they’re coming into contact with vegetables. Keep your kitchen knives sharp! Blunt knives will damage the cell walls of your vegetables and won’t give you a “clean cut”. Scissors can also be handy in the kitchen – they're great for cutting herbs, for example.

TIP 5

USE LESS OIL

Vegetables absorb liquid in the cooking process. The more oil you use, in other words, the more they’ll absorb. A few drops of oil are quite sufficient. Conversely, vegetables also release water when you cook them, whereby this added moisture in the pan helps to prevent the food from sticking.