Task 89: Cooking Vegetables in Water
Estimated Time: 20 mins
Cooking Vegetables in Water
Properly cooked vegetables are hard to come by. They’re either too crunchy or terribly overcooked. When cooking vegetables, the main objectives are to preserve flavor and color, while achieving the desired texture. And, as you select and cook vegetables, note that younger vegetables are typically more tender than their mature counterparts and require less cooking time.
In this lesson, you will learn the basics of vegetable cookery. By understanding the differences between boiling, simmering, blanching and parboiling, you won’t have to relive childhood fears of eating poorly cooked vegetables.
At the end of this cooking school lesson, you will be able to:
Identify the key steps for preparing to cook vegetables in water
Explain the importance of salt in cooking vegetables
Describe which vegetables should be boiled or simmered
Properly test vegetables for doneness
Explain the difference between blanching and parboiling
Identify when you should blanch or parboil
Explain how to cook frozen vegetables
Instructions: Watch the following lesson.
Video: Cooking Vegetables in Water
Active Time: 9:19 mins