Do pressure-cooked vegetables really have nothing else to give? [duplicate]

Yesterday, I watched an episode of Good Eats, where Alton Brown made broth by pressure-cooking mirpoix and beef for about 50 minutes.

At the end of that time, he discarded the vegetables, stated that they had "given their all," and citing (as proof) the significantly higher level of liquid post-cooking.

This seems to me like a waste. Do these vegetables have any value left (texture, nutrition, something)?

On the other hand, he also stated that the difference between soup and broth can be the addition of chunks of the ingredients.

pressure-cooker

Best Answer

After extended pressure cooking (or any liquid cooking, for that matter) the vegetables' cell walls (composed primarily of flavorless starch) have broken down to the point where they're barely holding together, and are basically mush. Most of the flavor and nutrients contained within those cells has escaped into the liquid at that point. There might be a bit left in the solids to extract, but very little practical way to do so.

It's probably more accurate to say that the vegetables have given up enough that they're unpalatable. You could eat them, but they wouldn't be anywhere as pleasant as fresh vegetables, and would offer little nutrition separate from the broth itself.

I suppose you could puree them (though you'd be turning flavorless, starchy mush into smoother flavorless, starchy mush) but they have little culinary value left. At most they would be filling, but probably unpleasant to eat.

On the other hand, if you look outside of culinary applications, they make great compost.

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What are the disadvantages of pressure cooking?

Disadvantages of Pressure Cooking

May need some practice at the beginning.
Pressure cookers can be expensive.
You can't check if your food is ready while cooking.
You can't adjust the flavor during the cooking process.
You can't look inside.
Only suitable for certain kinds of dishes.

Is it good to cook vegetables in pressure cooker?

Pressure cooking can reduce heat-sensitive nutrients (e.g., vitamin C, folate) and bioactive phytonutrients, such as betacarotene, glucosinolates (helpful compounds found in cruciferous vegetables) and omega-3 fatty acids, that are beneficial for human health.

Why we should not use pressure cooker?

The bad news is, when starchy foods are pressure cooked, they form acrylamide, a harmful chemical that, when consumed on a regular basis may lead to health issues like cancer, infertility, and neurological disorders.

Does pressure cooking destroy nutrients in food?

Some studies suggest that pressure cooking destroys nutrients, but there is far less evidence against pressure cooking as there is for it. One study showed that pressure-cooked food lost more antioxidant activity than food cooked by other methods, including microwaving and baking.

Quick Pressure Cooked Vegetables | Family Food Tales with Mrs Alyona Kapoor | Sanjeev Kapoor Khazana

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: olia danilevich, Gustavo Fring, Ruslan Khmelevsky, Towfiqu barbhuiya