Cooking in a Little Liquid Versus a Lot of Liquid

Appears in
Professional Cooking: 10th Edition
Professional Cooking

By Wayne Gisslen

Published 2025

  • About
Two factors are important to understand when determining how much water to use when cooking vegetables:
  1. Using a lot of liquid increases vitamin loss by leaching. Use just enough liquid to cover. Save the cooking liquid for reheating the vegetables or for stocks or soups.
  2. Using a little liquid increases cooking time. When the vegetables are combined with the small quantity of boiling water, the temperature is lowered greatly and the vegetables must sit in warm water while it again heats up. Also, plant enzymes may destroy some vitamins before the water again becomes hot enough to destroy them.