Steaming

When you steam food, it sits above the water, not in it: it cooks in steam at around 100 °C and keeps its colour, bite and most of its nutrients. All you need is a pan with a little water, a steamer insert or basket and a lid. An electric steamer does the same job.

The advantage over boiling: water-soluble vitamins such as vitamin C and the B vitamins leach into the cooking water when you boil food – and end up down the sink. According to the German Federal Centre for Nutrition (BZfE), up to 50% of the vitamin C is lost when vegetables are boiled in plenty of water, and significantly less when they're steamed. Minerals such as potassium also stay in the vegetables rather than in the water.

For weight loss, there's a second point: steaming uses no fat. A tablespoon of oil in the frying pan adds around 90 kilocalories – when you steam, you can add fat deliberately and sparingly at the end, for example a teaspoon of good olive oil over the broccoli. That way you still get the flavour and the fat-soluble vitamins.

Guide times: broccoli and cauliflower florets 5 to 7 minutes, carrot slices 8 to 10 minutes, diced potatoes 15 to 20 minutes, fish fillets 6 to 10 minutes depending on thickness. Cut everything to the same size so it's all ready at the same time. Add salt, herbs and lemon only afterwards so that nothing leaches out.

How it differs from braising: there, the vegetables cook in very little liquid or in their own juices with the lid on – also gentle, but in direct contact with the water. Both methods are ideal for families, because children often prefer steamed vegetables: they're milder and not mushy.