Is there a best technique to cook vegetables? – A study about physical and sensory aspects to stimulate their consumption

Abstract

Consumers are becoming more health-conscious and have less time to prepare meals. They are often confused about which time and cooking method are adequate to preserve nutrients in vegetable. All cooking techniques cause changes in the nutrient content and the taste of a vegetable. The objective of this study was to determine the best cooking method for different vegetables using sensory evaluation and instrumental analysis of texture and color. The chosen vegetables for this study were broccoli (Brassica oleracea, var. Italica), carrot (Daucus Carota), and Brazilian zucchini (Cucurbita moschata) because they are among the most consumed vegetables in Brazil. The cooking methods were: boiling, steaming, cooking in the combined oven, microwave, and steaming on the microwave. To evaluate vegetables for texture, we used a preference ranking test as well as instrumental texturometry. In general, no significant differences were found by the panelists between intermediate cooking and more cooked points, thus allowing the definition of ideal time of cooking according to the one that best preserves vegetable nutrients. For global acceptance, the preferred cooking method was boiling for broccoli, steaming in the microwave for zucchini, and steaming or steaming in the microwave for carrot. For all the three vegetables, microwave cooking had the worst results regarding global acceptance. The instrumental analysis of texture and color showed similar results to the acceptability variables.