Does Microwaving Food Destroy its Nutritional Value?

[peter]

Due to my new working pattern I find I have to rely on microwaved meals much more than I previously ever have had to, and while I know the pasta, noodles etc I eat are perfectly nutritious in themselves (with chicken, veg etc added) I do worry that maybe the cooking process is much more destructive of the vitamins and supplementary food components than traditional cooking methods. Anybody know anything about this?

[wayfriend]

Does the microwave kill nutrients?

Some nutrients break down when they're exposed to heat, whether it is from a microwave or a regular oven. Vitamin C is perhaps the clearest example. But because microwave cooking times are shorter, cooking with a microwave does a better job of preserving vitamin C and other nutrients that break down when heated.

As far as vegetables go, cooking them in water robs them of some of their nutritional value because the nutrients leach out into the cooking water. For example, boiled broccoli loses glucosinolate, the sulfur-containing compound that may give the vegetable its cancer-fighting properties (as well as the taste that many find distinctive and some find disgusting). Is steaming vegetables - even microwave steaming - better? In some respects, yes. For example, steamed broccoli holds on to more glucosinolate than boiled or fried broccoli.

The cooking method that best retains nutrients is one that cooks quickly, heats food for the shortest amount of time, and uses as little liquid as possible. Microwaving meets those criteria. Using the microwave with a small amount of water essentially steams food from the inside out. That keeps in more vitamins and minerals than almost any other cooking method and shows microwave food can indeed be healthy.

But let's not get too lost in the details. Vegetables, pretty much any way you prepare them, are good for you, and most of us don't eat enough of them. And is the microwave oven good or bad? The microwave is a marvel of engineering, a miracle of convenience - and sometimes nutritionally advantageous to boot.

[peter]

Gratitude WF - that's good to know: I damn near live in the thing!

[Avatar]

I use mine mostly to re-heat tea. I also cook rice in it, and bake potatoes. That's about it.

--A

[Zarathustra]

I use it mainly to reheat leftovers. I cook large quantities to save money, and freeze a lot of stuff for later.

[Vader]

I don't even have one. Wether or not it kills or preserves nutrients, it adds nothing in terms of flavor.

[peter]

Surely there must be something that is better cooked in a microwave than by any other method?

How about hot crab; I've always said white crab is the one thing you simply can't improve upon by adding any other flavours to it - maybe it could be heated without destroying it's subtle flavour by this method [never mind the fact that any food/drinks flavour is highly temperature dependant anyway; try warm white wine if you don't believe me ].

[Vader]

Surely there must be something that is better cooked in a microwave than by any other method?

If Auguste Escoffier could do without a microwave, there is no reason why we shouldn't.

[Avatar]

Dunno about "better" but certainly baking a potato in a microwave is a lot more convenient than doing so in the oven.

--A

[peter]

Av, Av, Av!

At the absolute most I'll give a potato one minute each side before (wrapping it in foil, oiling and salting it, then) putting it in the oven (fan 180 for 45 mins). The skin should be crisp and savory, the flesh smooth and unctuous ....... It's a thing of beauty, not a convenience food!

C'mon........

(Apologies for being a prick; can't help it - it's in my nature! )

[Avatar]

I don't have 45 mins to bake a potato.

3-5 mins in the microwave and done. Cut and butter and salt. I rarely eat the skin anyway, unless I've covered teh potato in gravy.

--A

[peter]

Fully understand that Av! Hence the existence of this thread.

[Savor Dam]

From a nutrition perspective, much is lost by not eating the potato skin...and we did start out discussing nutrition, even if our culinary tendencies are always liable to surface.

Aesthetically, a nuked potato doesn't have an interesting skin; I can see why it doesn't a-peel.

An oven-finished potato, even if parcooked in a microwave, has that oiled, seasoned, and roasted skin that peter rightly names "a thing of beauty."

[Avatar]

Yeah, the GF is always complaining about me leaving the skin... I eat for pleasure, not for nutrition.

--A

[Zarathustra]

Microwaved corn on the cob is pretty damn good. Leave the husk on, and it steams right in the husk. Not as good as grilled cob, but very fresh and natural tasting. Try it!

[peter]

Is that a simple matter of placing a cob with its outer leaves in place in a microwave and turning it on for a few minutes Z? No pre-boiling or anything added (oil or butter etc) before cooking?

[Zarathustra]

Exactly. Don't do anything to it whatsoever, and it will steam the corn from the inside. Simply shuck and eat (well, butter and salt added to taste once it's done). I cook about 4 ears in 10 minutes, maybe less.

[wayfriend]

I find it easier to shuck the corn when it's cold. Just then wrap it in wax paper (not plastic wrap). 2 min per ear, +/- to taste.

[Zarathustra]

Good point, you do have to be careful not to burn yourself. Either wait a few minutes, or use rubber gloves.

[peter]

It sounds really good; my main experience with corn is from a tin but I imagine that's a different animal all together! Sarge once said his favourite meal was fried chicken, corn and mashed potatoes .......And I'm guessing this was what he meant by .