Fresh Vegetable Recipes

are the drippings and colored water left over from steaming fresh vegetables of any nutritional value?

Is this water left over from steaming these vegetables worth salvaging for dining of detined for a compost pile

Public Comments

1. save them for soup.......
2. no -toss it
3. i think compost.....
4. if you boiled the veg, the water would be VERY high in vitamins and minerals. Since you steamed it, i am not sure if that is still true.
5. yes i have actually drank it after it cooled.
6. absolutely. When you steam or boil veggies much of the nutritional value ends up in the waste water....not so much with steaming as boiling...but yes it has nutrients.
7. Yes, yes, yes! Much of vegatable's nutrients are lost during cooking and worse yet is peeling a veggie first. The "drippings" make great soup stock.
8. A definite YES!!get it down your neck loads of vitamins there. seen in medical book
9. Surprisingly yes, specially if they are fresh veggies. So if oyu steam carrots, broccoli or any thing else, save the liquid and do pasta in the water gives the pasta so much more flavor plus it absorbs some of the vitamins the veggies lost. I personally would not do pasta in Collard green water they might get bitter. But try it out and experiment thats half the fun
10. There would be some nutritional value from the steaming, but really not that much. Most of the vitamins are retained in the veggies. I myself wouldn't bother with saving it for soups.
11. Yes. There may be more nutritional value in the water, than the steamed vegetables after cooking. Drink it: it is good for you.
12. The drippings have water soluble vitamins in it.
13. I would definitely use it in compost. Actually, I allow the water to cool down and I use it to water my houseplants. I have plants that are 25 years old so I think they like it.
14. Yes they are packed full of nutrients, DO NOT DISCARD!! Drink it or reduce the liquid and add it back to the veggies.
15. Yes ! If you make a roast chicken the same night as veggies (by chance) - throw the carcas into that veggie water - add onion, garlic, more veggies, salt, pepper - bring to boil and simmer 1.5 hrs on low (as you do dishes). Strain out all stuff so you have just broth - voila - chicken stock for your next recipie. Freeze in 1-cup containers and make a whole bunch !
16. absolutely not that is why the big processing plants sell all that sort of stuff including the drying up sawdust to Mc Donald's, Mc Donald's don't want the reputation of selling anything that could be described as healthy
17. If you are steaming your vegetables correctly , there should not be any colour in the water. Next time try using less water. Steaming is the most effective way to get all the nutrional value that you can from your veggies.