How To Cook Broccoli
Some Information On How To Cook Broccoli
Before you are ready to determine how to cook broccoli, you will need to decide whether you want to deal with the fresh type or the frozen variety. On the lines of nutrition, texture, color, and flavor, fresh broccoli is a considerably better choice. And, despite what you may think, fresh is not very hard to store, handle, clean, or prepare. If you are looking for instructions on how to cook broccoli that is chopped and frozen, you need not look further than the back of your bag. If you are feeling a bit more adventurous, and want that fresh from the garden experience, it’s time to hit the farmers market for the most crisp and green fresh broccoli flowers you can find.
Fresh broccoli should have no discoloration at the stalk or the flower, so if you find that any parts are wilted, brown, gray, or white, you will want to keep searching. Also, if the bottom cutting of the stalk looks old and dry, you aren’t getting the best quality possible. Once you have honed in on a good batch, you can begin learning how to cook broccoli, starting with the proper cleaning and cutting methods. Have a colander or strainer ready in the sink, and begin rinsing the flowers in cold water. Find the area of the stalk where it begins to stem out and cut the flowers from the stalk in that area. At this point, the broccoli flowers should pull or fall apart easily, and you will just trim them with as much or as little stem as you want.
Learning how to cook broccoli by way of steam is pretty simply, but be sure that you have a stainless steel strainer with a handle, if you don’t have a steamer. You can also fashion a steam tray for use in the oven by placing water in the bottom of your broiler pan, putting the broccoli cuts on the vented pan over the water, and sealing the whole thing with tin foil. Be sure that you start with boiling water, however, so the steaming takes less time. For the stove top method, you will want to put just enough water at the bottom of your pot to cause a good steam, placing the colander over it and then the lid. Once you are achieving steam, drop your broccoli cuts into the colander and replace the lid. Steaming should take no more than ten minutes, but begin checking it after about six minutes.
If you want to know how to cook broccoli, fresh, by way of boiling, you just need to remember that the longer you leave this nutrient rich vegetable in the hot water, the more color, flavor, and good stuff it loses. Boiling of fresh broccoli should never take more than four minutes, but you can leave it in a bit longer if you are after a softer texture. Enjoy!