Boiling Cooking Among the methods of cooking in aqueous or wet cooking, one of the most used and oldest is boiling. Boiling consists of cooking a food by immersing it in a liquid (generally in water or broth) and boiling it for a certain time, this will depend on the food to be cooked.
Cooking methods
We can boil from cold or from heat. From cold, the food to be cooked is introduced into the liquid in cold and it is brought to a boil, a method generally used for foods that need long cooking, while from heat, the liquid is heated and when it reaches 100º C (starts to boil), the food is submerged , thus avoiding overcooking.
Advantages and disadvantages
The upside is that no fats are required for cooking, so it will offer a light preparation that generally suits the whole family, children and adults or people with digestive problems.
But as a great disadvantage, this cooking method causes the loss of a good part of the nutrients, especially the water-soluble vitamins and minerals, which, due to the action of heat, remain in the liquid in which it has been boiled. That is why it is common to use the broth resulting from the boiling process to make soups, for example.
Boiling also deprives food of part of its flavor, and although it cannot be avoided, limiting the cooking time in the liquid medium to what is just and necessary can reduce nutritional and flavor losses.
Through boiling , other preparations are also obtained, such as the bottoms, the syrup, caramel or the sauces that are made by reduction, once the boiling point is reached, the fire is reduced and it is allowed to cook, thus losing part of the water and resulting in a thick sauce.
Almost all foods are suitable for boiling, some necessarily have to go through this cooking method, as they need a moisturizing agent, such as dry cereals.
In some cases, such as vegetables , in order to take full advantage of its nutritional properties and flavor, steam cooking may be recommended, as well as offering a smoother and crispier texture. But if you have to boil, try to limit the cooking time to a minimum and take advantage of the broth to enjoy the nutrients that have been left in it.
