It’s the age-old question: which cooking method keeps the most nutrients in your food?
In this case, we’re comparing the effects of poaching, sautéing and slow cooking food in order to see what comes out best nutritionally – whilst still being simple and giving you bang for your buck.
1. Poaching.
This may be one of the most common ways to cook an egg, but have you considered what poaching does to the nutrient density of your food? While poaching has one major positive in that it requires no oils or fats to cook your food, we know how easy it can be to go overboard with the olive oil! Poaching, on the other hand, allows you to slowly cook food without the need for additives, making it a slightly healthier option.
But, using water to poach food also means that nutrients are leached from the food into the cooking water. This isn’t a worry if you are consuming the liquid with your meal, but if you’re poaching chicken or veg, valuable vitamins are being tossed down the drain – literally!
2. Sautéing.
When executed correctly, sautéing keeps a heap of nutrients intact. And, because you use fats or oils during the cooking process, this also improves your absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. To retain the most nutrients when cooking in this way, make sure you cut your meat or veggies into evenly sized pieces and cook on a medium heat for a short amount of time.
Be careful when sautéing over a high heat however, as nutrient loss can occur. The high heat can also create chemical reactions within the food, negatively impacting our health. When cooking on a high heat, HCAs are formed and this is worrying as HCAs are considered cancer-causing agents. The easiest way to avoid this issue is to sauté food over low to medium heats or, rely on forms of cooking which use indirect heat, such as stewing or slow-cooking.
3. Slow cooking.
Like poaching, slow-cooking can leach nutrients from your meat and veggies due to the extended cooking time. But, this can be negated in two ways… Because slow-cookers use a lower heat, foods actually retain more nutrients than other cooking methods. And, because you generally consume the liquid as well as the meat and veg when slow cooking, you’re still consuming the nutrients.
The other positive is that slow cooking it is extremely versatile. Not only can you make soups and stews, but you can also cook cakes and puddings in your slow cooker! It’s also extremely cost-effective so there’s no need to fork out money on a T-bone. Why not try a piece of brisket instead? Best of all – it’s stress free. Simply pop a piece of meat and some veggies into your slow cooker in the morning, and by dinnertime you’re sorted!
Our food and recipes manager, Georgia, agrees that slow cooking ticks all the boxes when it comes to simple, nutrient-dense food!
“Slow cooking is great for so many reasons. Firstly you can buy just about any cheap cut of meat and have it falling off the bone by the time it’s ready to be dished up. And secondly, it requires absolutely no effort! Just whack it on before you go to work and by the time you get home, you can put your feet up with a super delicious meal! The best part however, is that slow cooking your meat and veg means that all of those beneficial nutrients (think collagen, vitamins and minerals) are soaked up in the liquid! So make sure to drizzle your meat with the sauces or, if you’re left with a broth, jar it up and stick it in the freezer to use as a soup base next time you cook!”
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