How Do You Cook Your Broccoli?

How you cook your broccoli matters. Sure it matters with regards to taste and personal preference but it matters in terms of nutrition, too.

When it comes to broccoli preparation, there's boiling, roasting, microwaving, sautéing, and even baking. And with a vegetable like broccoli that's packed with vitamins and antioxidants (vitamin A and vitamin K, in particular), it just makes sense to think about preparation and preserving those vitamins whenever possible. In a piece on broccoli and nutrition, NPR reported that broccoli is more sensitive to cooking techniques than other vegetables. In fact, "If cooked more than a few minutes, broccoli's antioxidants aren't as adept at knocking out carcinogens that cause cancer." This raises questions about which cooking method is best.

Well, maybe. The New York Times reported that "every cooking method can destroy vitamins and other nutrients in food. The factors that determine the extent are how long the food is cooked, how much liquid is used and the cooking temperature."

So we want to know: how do you cook your broccoli? Do you let taste dictate your decision or think about hanging on to every last vitamin and nutrient?

Image: (Image: Flickr member Elana's Pantry licensed for use under Creative Commons)

Comments (27)

My 2 year old is really picky. We steam it.

definitely lightly steamed (still a bit crunchy) with salt and a dash of lemon. that's the only way my kids will touch it. rarely I will throw it in a cast iron pan with garlic and olive oil and brown it, that is also extremely tasty!

steam it with garlic and butter

All of us (including 4 and 1 year old) love roasted broccoli, which I guess is not the best method according to NPR. But I guess eating lots of yummy broccoli, even if not cooked to optimize health benefits, is not eating broccoli.

It depends on how much time I have. If I am short on time, it is steamed in the microwave. If not, roasted in the oven. Love broccoli.

I usually blanch it for 30 seconds, shock it, and then slowly bring up some oil with a lot of garlic and chiles in it to flavor the oil. Then I crank the heat, char up the broccoli, and finish with a mix of soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice vinegar. Yum!

Steam cook with garlic and brush it with fragrant olive oil afterwards.

I love roasted broccoli for its wonderful flavor. I probably cook it longer than I should, but if I broil it in the toaster oven, it gets crispy, flavorful and stays very green.

Olive oil, a little salt, a little garlic, and high heat in the oven for a little while. Finish with maybe 15 seconds under the broiler.

Come to think of it, that's how I like to cook brussels sprouts, asparagus, baby potatoes...

i usually toss it in a cast iron pan with a few tablespoons of water. once the water evaporates, i add a little olive oil and garlic and salt and you're good to go.

I highly recommend the "Long Cooked Broccoli" recipe in Alice Waters' Art of Simple Food. Longer-cooked food is perfectly fine as part of balanced diet! I am NOT a fan of under-cooked food, which many veg are these days.

Roast in the oven with garlic, oil and salt and pepper, then finish off with a squeeze of lemon and parmesan.

I cook a bunch of different ways. I'll eat it whatever way it's cooked, as long as it's cooked. Raw broccoli=bleh.

Isn't that a picture of something like spinach?

I love broccoli from raw and beyond.

But I'm with Joan, although the photo looks yummy, I don't think that's a picture of broccoli. :p

I like mine lightly steamed, or raw and dipped in delicious hummus.

Roasted is delicious as the broccoli gets a little nutty tasting, like sauteed or roasted cabbage does.

But I'll always love it steamed or stir-fried too. The only way I can't eat it is raw. Ick! Too crunchy and chalky-tasting.

You might want to be a little more measured in how you state the health benefits of particular foods. While you should absolutely try to eat a good mix of fresh and lightly cooked vegetables and while it's a very valid point that there is a loss of vitamins and minerals while cooking, the scientific evidence for the benefits of antioxidants is still up in the air.

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/antioxidant-hype-and-reality/

I think it's best not to make hyperbolic health claims about food, it only makes it harder for people to make sense of all the conflicting information out there. There is enough good about fresh fruits and veggies without overstating their benefits.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who caught that the picture is of spinach, not broccoli!

We steam our spinach in a bamboo steamer & top with a bit of butter, salt & pepper.

actually it looks like broccoli rabe

We also steam our broccoli* with butter, salt & pepper too- whoops!

I put the broccoli in pyrex bowl and cover it with wet paper towel. Microwave for 1-2 minutes, depends on the amount of veges. Simple and easy: good fresh vegetables don't need seasoning.

Steamed, with dashi-shoyu.

Sometimes I stirfry it and occasionally I lightly steam it to put in a casserole, but roasted broccoli is so easy and flavorful that I rarely do anything else with it these days. I eat a wide variety of vegetables in various stages of cooked-ness, so I'm okay with any nutrients I lose from roasting my broccoli.

I roast it with a little olive oil and salt. I used to steam it, but now I can never, ever go back. Most mornings, though, breakfast is a big glass of chia seeds mixed with cranberry juice, so I just assume I am set as far as antioxidants go.

roasted with garlic, lemon zest, and parmesan

Thank you for all your great input!

The photo is broccolini, a beloved close cousin of broccoli.