The Common Mistake You're Making When Cooking Veggies

Preparing vegetables doesn't need to be an arduous process. All you need to do is clean them, season them, and apply your favorite cooking method. Whether it's by sticking those veggies in the oven, pan-frying them, or air frying them, there are practically a million ways to do it. But there is one key detail you won't want to overlook, as it might net you a disappointing outcome: Make sure your veggies are dry before you cook them.

That's because any residual surface liquid will end up steaming while the veggies cook, so rather than giving you a nice, caramelized exterior, you'll end up with something pale and soft. Another reason you want veggies to be dry is that oil will slip right off their wet surface, resulting in uneven cooking. Ultimately, cooked vegetables that start out damp will have less flavor and might potentially end up being mushy. This is important for cooking methods like sauteing, frying, and roasting. Dry off your vegetables in a salad spinner or let them sit out for long enough that they aren't wet. If you don't have a salad spinner or enough patience, dry vegetables like leafy greens completely with this towel hack. 

That being said, there are a few cooking methods where you won't want to bother drying off your veggies. If you're going to steam, boil, poach, stew, or sous vide your vegetables, your ingredients will be in direct contact with moisture anyway, in which case, there's no point in drying them off. 

When you heat them this way, you are essentially immersing or exposing the vegetables to water or vapor, and cooking vegetables via the sous vide method means that they'll be cooking in their own extruded moisture. You won't need to bother with the drying part, since they're about to get wet during cooking no matter what. But if you're going to use most other cooking methods, and you want to tease out the best possible flavor from your veggies, it's really best to make sure they're dry. They won't caramelize well unless they are, and we all know that adding color also means adding flavor. We also have some more cooking tips for you in case you're looking for the best tricks for making vegetable dishes more exciting.