Microwave & pressure cooking

Question
Dear Jennifer Baumann,
                     How much of the nutrients are lost in microwave or pressure cooking, say a portion of broccoli or cabbage and is the time taken to cook, to be palatable, of importance. Is it also necessary to de-seed capsicum (red and green peppers) before eating them? I would be grateful for your expert opinion.
Sincerely
Hilary Buchanan  

Answer
Studies suggest that many people may be eating fruits and vegetables that are seriously lacking in vitamins and antioxidants. A test done at one of Spain's major research centers measured the levels of flavonoids (a kind of antioxidant) that remained in fresh broccoli after it was cooked by four popular methods--steaming, pressure cooking, boiling or microwaving.

The authors looked at both the total flavonoid content as well as several derivatives in the edible portion of freshly harvested broccoli. The results, they said, "showed large differences among the four treatments in their influence on flavonoid content in broccoli." Conventional boiling led to a 66 percent loss of flavonoids compared to fresh raw broccoli. And pressure cooking was not much better, with 47 percent of one of the major antioxidants left after cooking (the majority of it was found in the cooking water, which is usually tossed down the drain.) There was a major disadvantage detected when broccoli was microwaved. The loss of flavonoids with that method was an incredible 97 percent! Steaming is your best option.


Also, it is not necessary to de-seed capsicum, though the taste of the seeds tends to be bitter.  However, if you have a gastrointestinal condition such as diverticulitis, you should avoid seeds all together.

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