Knowing how to prepare vegetables to retain their nutritive value and
appetite appeal is a test of any good cook. To help you improve your
skill with vegetables, here are some cooking tips—
• Boil vegetables in as little water as possible; losses in vitamins
and minerals will be less, the less water you use. Serve the cooking
liquids with your vegetables, or make them into sauces, gravies, or
soups.
• Cook vegetables until just tender, and serve them immediately; they
will taste better and retain more nutrients.
• Trim leafy vegetables like lettuce and cabbage sparingly. Use the
dark outer leaves—they are especially rich in nutrients. Remove woody
midribs from kale leaves—there is little nutritive loss and the kale
cooks more uniformly.