La steam cooking it is the trend of the moment because it meets the needs of gourmands who are attentive to shape and health. "Each cooking method induces changes in the chemical composition of foods and in the bioavailability of nutrients," he explains Giovanna Pitotti, nutritionist biologist. "With the traditional cooking, foods lose volume, change texture and color because the water content decreases and sugars, fats and proteins are modified and become impoverished ». However, this does not happen with steam cooking: let's see the reasons together with our expert.
1. Foods keep bright colors
This method it preserves the organoleptic characteristics of the food, starting with the color that remains more vivid. «The consistency also remains almost unchanged e soft because the food loses little water », explains the expert. «When boiled, on the other hand, the green vegetables darken due to the degradation of chlorophyll and the yellow and orange ones lighten due to the oxidation of the carroteinoids.
2. No harmful substances develop during preparation
Steam cooking is not aggressive and does not produce toxic molecules. "Like theacrolein which derives from the cooking of fats at high temperatures during the frying and screening, or PAHs, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, molecules carcinogenic that develop on food after it is grilled ».
3. It is an ally of the line and is very nutritious
Steam cooking preserves vitamins and minerals. «When food is boiled, some vitamins, in particular water-soluble ones such as vitamin C and those of group B, are dispersed in the cooking liquids. The same is true for i mineral salts". Finally, steaming does not require the addition of oils and seasonings during cooking, making the dishes lighter.
The latest novelty is the oven
Did you know that there are also steam ovens? They have side tanks to fill before turning them on and an internal boiler that heats the water and vaporizes it. The more advanced model Neff proposes it and is called FullSteam.
It is a 3 in 1 oven which combines the performance of a traditional oven with those of a steam, to choose every day whether to cook only with steam or only traditional, or whether to add steam during the old-fashioned cooking. It has a door that disappears into the oven cavity without creating clutter and a Sous-vide function, for vacuum cooking food.
