Steaming: Get the best out of food
The principle: a boiling liquid produces vapor. This creates a warm and humid environment around the ingredient which will cook slowly. Enclosed in the container saturated with steam, the flavors and aromas do not go away: steam cooking preserves the taste and, above all, the nutritional qualities of food.
The advantages of steam cooking:
- It is light and dietary: very few fats are used
- It is healthy: Vitamins and minerals are preserved thanks to low temperature cooking
- It is fragrant: The foods are delicately imbued with the scents and herbs and spices used
- A magical broth: the water returned by food is a real concentrate of vitamins, which purifies and purifies. However, be careful not to overdo it!
- It is without dangers: You will not run the risk of burning the food ... At the most you can risk (but it hardly happens) of overcooking them.
See also
Read also: The cooking times of the pressure cooker
What is needed?
In addition to the traditional pressure cooker, there are also other steam cooking utensils:
Electric steam cooker
These devices are generally composed of two steam containers, which are placed on a base filled with water. They take up a little space but are very practical and allow you to cook vegetables on the bottom and fish on the top, for example, or large quantities of food, filling the two containers. You can also use it to quickly heat rice or pasta without them becoming sticky.
Bamboo basket
This Asian basket is first and foremost beautiful to look at and can be placed on the table (with the lid it keeps dishes warm). It is therefore suitable for those who want a container that is also a serving dish.
Pot + colander + tea towel
The alternative method. Place the colander (not plastic!) On a pot of boiling water, and eventually line the inside with a cloth and cover. The steam risks escaping from the edges, so it is useful to put a tea towel.
The tricks to perfume:
- Put some fresh herbs or spices under the ingredients to be cooked
- Prepare a fragrant broth instead of water or add a little white wine
- Put some spices in the water
- Abounds with whole aromas
- Sprinkle with coarse salt
Steam or not?
Of course, you can steam everything, but some foods are more suitable for this type of cooking than others.
Steaming (very) suitable
Poorly (unsuitable) steaming
All vegetables
All fish
Chinese dumplings
The creams
Foie gras
Some sweets
Poultry
White meats: tender pieces of good quality
Reheat: foods are not likely to overcook.
White meats: «hard» pieces must cook for a long time
Red meats (better the grill)
Cheese Recipes: Too much moisture will not give a good result
Savory pies and "crunchy" recipes, brick, filo pastry, puff pastry ...
A little tip: Be careful, don't cook foods that don't go well together at the same time ... It would be a shame if your steamed sweets in the upper container smelled the same as the broccoli in the lower basket!
