Waterless cooking is a very healthy way to cook. Understanding your waterless cookware and exactly what it is designed to do means you will get the most out of your cookware. Learning to use it properly is not hard, but following these suggestions may help you shorten your learning curve.
Food cooks in it's natural juices. Just rinse the food you wish to prepare in cold water, drain and place in the pot.
Pick the right pot so the produce you are cooking will fill the pot about 2/3 of the way. Too big an air space tends to dry the food and destroy nutrients
Turn the heat on medium, not high
A high heat will destroy nutrients and vitamins, plus turn fats into trans fats. It ruins your pots and pans, too!
There is enough water clinging to the food (plus what is naturally in food) to form the needed steam heat
For safety and until you are more familiar with the waterless cooking process you can add a little water to the bottom of the pan, but no more than about 1/8 inch.
The Cooking Process
Start with a cold pot and cool water. Put the food in the pot, and turn the heat on medium. Make sure the valve on the lid is in the open position. Wait until the steam valve begins to whistle, then close the valve and turn the heat down to low to finish the cooking process. If there is leakage around the edge of the lid it could mean your heat is not low enough. It may take a few tries to learn how best to use your cookware and your stove together for best results.
Leave That Lid Alone!
Oh, it's so tempting to open that lid and take a peek at the food. But if you do, you have just broken the seal and let all that steam that was doing to cooking escape. Now it's going to take longer to cook!
The chart below gives you approximate times for cooking. However these times do vary depending on how much you are cooking, the size of the cut vegetables, and your own stove. You also may want to shorten the time for crispier vegetables. You'll need to do a little experimenting with your pot and your stove. It may vary a bit depending on how your stove heats, how you cut the veggies, etc.
Vegetable
Time In Minutes
Asparagus
13
Broccoli
25
Brussels Sprouts
15
Cabbage (shredded)
12
Cauliflower (whole)
25
Carrots (medium, cut 1/2" size)
22
Corn (off cob)
11
Corn (on cob)
15
Greens (spinach, swiss chard, beet greens)
12
Green Beans
20
Lima Beans
30
Peas
15
Potatoes (large, quartered)
23
Potatoes (small, whole)
35
Squash
17
Turnips (whole)
25
The waterless cookware we offer is made of stainless steel with a very hard finish. These are heavy pieces that are multi-ply, so there is extra strength and rigidity. This prevents the bottom of the pan from warping, so it lies flat on your stove burner for heating efficiency. You don't need high heat.
