Tips for Vegetable Cookery: Cooking Time
from Shirley Corriher

Cooking Time and Taste

A short cooking time (under 7 minutes) is a must to keep green vegetables bright green. Lenth of cooking time is important to the taste of many vegetables, too. Onions become milder and sweeter with longer cooking times. Roasted onion halves whose cut surfaces are well-browned become deliciously sweet. Onions browned on a grill are a sweet complement to any meat.

Members of the genus brassica (cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, kale, mustard, rutabagas, collards, turnips, etc.) become stronger and more unpleasant the longer you cook them. Even 2 to 3 minutes additional cooking time matters. The amount of strong smelling (the smell of rotten eggs) hydrogen sulfide gas that comes off of cabbage doubles when you cook it 7 minutes instead of 5. Cabbage that is slivered fine (as for slaw) can be cooked in a few minutes. Serve with buttered bread crumbs or herbs, it is sweet and mild. You will notice a major change in sweetness and mildness of these vegetables if you come up with creative ways to cut them into small pieces that will cook in a short time.

Copyright 1994, Shirley O. Corriher

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