One of the healthiest ways to prepare your food? Steaming! Your food cooks through the steam of the water and not the water itself. When you steam foods, their valuable vitamins and minerals are preserved. This is in contrast to cooking, which leads to dissolution of these nutrients in the water. Apart from being water-soluble, they are also heat-sensitive. This means that very little of the nutritional value remains after cooking. A second advantage of steaming is that the flavour of the food is well preserved.
It is often thought that you need a special steamer to steam your food. Although that is indeed a handy tool, you can do just fine without one. How to do it? We have listed a few options for you.
Steaming using a sieve
You could, of course, use a steamer basket for steaming, but if you want to do it without any extra bells and whistles, you can also opt for a strainer. It is also much easier to clean. How to proceed? You bring water to the boil in a pan. Once the water is boiling, place your food in a sieve, which you then hang over the edge of the pan. Make sure the sieve does not touch the water. Then cover the sieve with a lid and let your vegetables steam that way. Optionally, you could use a heat-resistant dish. However, the sieve is preferable.
Steaming with a bamboo or stainless steel steamer basket
If you do have a steamer basket made of bamboo or stainless steel, then of course you don’t need to reach for the strainer. You proceed in a similar way here. Again, bring water to the boil in a pan and then place the basket on top. Again, it is important that the basket does not touch the water. The space between the water and the basket (but also the sieve in the previous example) is a prerequisite for steam to form.
Food steaming using the microwave
Is a microwave oven part of your kitchen equipment? Then you can also use that handy device to steam your food in a simple way. You do this by putting your food in a microwave-safe container and adding a little water. You then use aluminium foil or a plate to cover the whole thing. The idea with this method is to allow some vapour to escape. Depending on what exactly you want to cook, place the tray with your food in the microwave for up to 5 to 6 minutes.
This microwave method is best applied to potatoes and vegetables. For meat or fish, this method is again somewhat less suitable.
Food steaming in the frying pan
It may sound strange, as a frying pan is usually used mainly for frying food. Still, along with some other tools, it offers a godsend. Apart from a frying pan, you also need a plate, a pan lid and some aluminium foil. What you do first is to use aluminium foil to roll 3 or 4 small balls. Place these in the frying pan, then add a layer of water. On the aluminium balls, place the plate with the food. Then turn on the heat and place a lid over the plate. How long you steam in this way again depends on exactly what you want to prepare.
Eating steamed in the oven
For steaming your food, you can also use the oven. You wrap your food well in aluminium foil. This ensures that the heat cannot escape. If you steam several foods, wrap them separately. Officially, this method is called papilotte. Don’t happen to have any aluminium foil at home? Don’t worry, baking paper will do the trick too.