Steaming benifits: Varoma use!!

[riv_mum]

I have noticed a number of people saying that they dont use their varomas much, if at all!
This suprises me as i find it very easy and use it almost every night. The hardest thing is working out how much water you need to use. As a rule i use 1L for almost every thing I steam this means that if i want to cook rice or pasta at the same time there will be enough water in the bowl. 1L is a bit of an over kill for steaming vegies but I always had a tendancy to boil the pot dry when steaming on the stove so it is really just a precautionary amount!

Any way I thought i would add some info about steaming and a study that has been done on the effects of cooking on the nutrients in our vegies. Since reading this study i have barely used my microwave - even for reheating and never boil my vegies anymore, i only steam. The full study is available for purchace but with further searches i was able to find out more of the details through other sites. Abstract below:

Journal of Complementary Medicine: CM, The
Volume 4 Issue 6 (Nov/Dec 2005)
Getting All Steamed Up
Myers, Stephen P1

Abstract: Microwaving and boiling destroy most flavonoids. The researchers found there was a substantial disadvantage to broccoli cooked by a microwave oven, where 97 per cent of the flavonoid content was lost, and by conventional boiling, where 66 per cent was lost, compared to minimal loss of flavonoids through steaming and steaming was also protective of other phenolic compounds.

•   Full Text PDF (Buy Now - AU$33.00) (61kb)
To cite this article: Myers, Stephen P. Getting All Steamed Up [online]. Journal of Complementary Medicine: CM, The; Volume 4, Issue 6; Nov/Dec 2005; 67. Availability: <http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=088710983373455;res=IELHSS> ISSN: 1446-8263. [cited 28 Dec 08].

Further research on the topic/study rendered this:
......And consider the nutritional benefits of steaming food, which are impressive. In a recent study published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Nutrition, the level of flavonoids, an antioxidant compound, lost after steaming fresh broccoli was 11 percent. When compared with a 66 percent loss when broccoli was boiled, a 47 percent loss when pressure cooked, and a whopping 97 percent loss when microwaved, the advantages of cooking with this ancient technique in the contemporary kitchen are obvious. Even to a skeptic.

Something to ponder anyway.....

[brazen20au]

cyndi o'meara was very anti microwave too, made me think and i'm trying to use ours less

tonight we tried to use the varoma to cook corn on the cob while we cooked the daal - the corn was barely warm by the time the daal was done. can you not cook it over regular meals?

[riv_mum]

The key is to cook a dish in the bowl which has a high liquid content. I havent made the dahl so dont know what that is like. You also need to use the varoma temp to help make more steam but you can start with 100degrees and change to varoma if you think it needs more steam.
I have added a peperonata recipe to my website which is a great cooked in the bowl while steaming at the same time.
So to answer your question........no you cant steam as you cook any main meal, just ones which are fairly liquidy. (if that makes sense)

[baf65]

I think it depends on how much steam is produced, Im guessing Dahl wouldnt produce a lot of steam as once the lentils start absorbing the liquid the steam is reduced a lot
From the things I have made I have always had stock in the TM bowl or something really saucy like tomato passata type sauce that has a fair bit of liquid
did you leave the cobs whole or cut into smaller pieces?  smaller pieces might work better

[brazen20au]

ok, fair enough.

the cobs were small (i think i cut them into 4 pieces) but not enough liquid off the daal

[wombleydoo]

I don't use the varoma much because to feed a family of 6, I usually cook more than it holds. I should get into the habit of using it to steam veges, but I usually cook mashed potato or pasta in the TM and am not sure if I can do the vege in the varoma at the same time. I did try steaming vege the other day while I was cooking something.. oh, I think I did hungarian goulash and then I did mash after and with the 100deg temp, even for the 40mins didn't cook the carrots or frozen peas. Just didn't get hte steam up.

I cooked corn tonight in the basket - 2 cobs, each cut in half, maybe 2 cups of tap water and varoma temp for 20mins. I just guessed the time, I had no idea. I'm don't really like corn on the cob, but I had a taste and I think it was cooked ok. No one else complained 

[riv_mum]

I have used the sweet and sour pork and the cashew nut chicken to comfortably feed 6 adults and 3 small kids. Using the same amount of meat and adding an extra handful or two of vegies. I put the vegies into position right from the start. With the extra vegies the lid did not fit on tight and it needed an extra 5 - 10 min cooking time, but was still fine.

To speed up the cooking time of your veg start with boiling water so that you are steaming right from the start rather than having to wait for the water to heat up. I find 20 min with nothing in the bowl is fine for vegies as i like them to have a slight crispness.
You just need to keep in mind that the more you pack into the varoma dish the longer it is going to take to steam.
I find it to be a good size for our family of 5 and i usually have a few vegies left over for lunch the next day.

[CarolineW]

I must admit that I've been getting into using my Varoma more recently, after getting a couple of ideas. It was either here or at a TM cookery course... perhaps both ... that I began to realise that it wasn't rocket science and I didn't have to do anything fancy.  Just throw my veg in to cook above whenever I've got something liquid which can cope with varoma temperature below.  I think that I've been told that you can't use varoma temp when cooking risotto - does that sound right?  Haven't tried it to find out.

I've also started just firing up the TM to do the veg while I'm roasting or using slow cooker, which I didn't do before.  And that was before I read your posting about the health benefits!  I knew that there were benefits, just didn't know how significant they were.  And I'm blown away by the microwave results 

I also quite often cook cous cous in the steamer now, after being told that soaking it in hot water just began the process, but didn't allow it to release its full nutritional value.  It needs to be steamed to do that (apparently).

I've mentioned before that quite a common meal for us now is rice cooked in the steamer basket, and fish or chicken and veg done above in the varoma.  Easy, quick and healthy.

[judydawn]

Hi Caroline, how much couscous and how long do you steam it for - sounds like another use for the varoma and I think we are all warming to the idea of using it more.  The more hints, tips and recipes we can read about on this forum the more inspiration I think we all get to use it. 

[CarolineW]

Hi Caroline, how much couscous and how long do you steam it for - sounds like another use for the varoma and I think we are all warming to the idea of using it more.  The more hints, tips and recipes we can read about on this forum the more inspiration I think we all get to use it. 

Hmmm, yes.  I really, really need to start taking more notice of what I do and to make notes!  I'm a bit of a 'fly by the seat of my pants' cook, I'm afraid.  I'm reasonably sure that the first time I made it I followed the serving quantity instructions on the side of the box, and soaked it with the water it said to.  But instead of leaving it at that, I stuck it into the main varoma tray (it had already swelled so didn't need to line it with greaseproof paper or anything), ensured there were some gaps to let steam through, and then cooked it for however long I was doing whatever else it was I was cooking.  Possibly 20 minutes??  Since then, I just tip out how much I think, pour over boiling water til it 'looks right' (about the same as for rice).  Once it's swelled, I pop it into the varoma as above, and cook it as above for very varying times.  I think the least I've done it for is 10 minutes, and the most 20.  They've all turned out just fine.

I've just done a quick Google and found it all done very properly here http://thermomix-er.blogspot.com/2008/07/couccous-in-thermomix-varoma.html for 15 minutes.

[judydawn]

Thanks, I've printed out that page Couscous in Thermomix Varoma.  I must admit, I had seen it before but it didn't interest me until you talked about doing couscous that way too.  I am wary of recipes unless I know someone has tried it and it was successful.

[Amanda]

That is our (currently elusive) Thermomixer's recipe for couscous and it is really great.  I used to just soak until I tried this way and now I just love it - easy and much more authentic!

[Thermomixer]

I had been told to steam cous-cous ages ago, but it wasn't until I saw it on Food Safari that I remembered and adapted the recipe to Varoma.

It does work, and you don't need to do the three steam/mix - but it does make it fluffier.