Cooking Green Vegetables

The application of heat, whether it is by boiling, baking or stir-frying, will tenderize vegetables by weakening the cell walls and extracting water from the plant cell. The problem one faces when cooking vegetables is to not overcook them. Usually we take the common sense approach by sampling the vegetable while it is cooking and stopping the process when the vegetable is tender but still firm.

The one principle you must pay heed to when cooking green vegetables is the temperature. The danger zone, as it were, is when the green pigmentation (chlorophyll) bleeds from the plant cells at 66-77°C/l 50-170°F. The skill is to reduce the time they are exposed to this danger zone. Putting green vegetables into boiling water forces them to pass through this zone as quickly as possible on the way up. Once cooked, immersing them immediately in an ice bath forces them to pass quickly through this zone while cooling.