Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/05/10/lekue-cooking-mesh-makes-boili.html
It’s pricier than the five-buck alternative, but my Lekue silicone cooking mesh bag [Amazon] has survived dozens of boils.
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Here are some delicious mini-cabbage things I boiled with it:
AKA: Brussel Sprouts
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I want to say one word, just one word: Steaming.
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Been steaming my vegs for over 20 years just fine, thank you.
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It’s a groovy little gadget, but in my experience, zero vegetables require boiling. I’m with these fine folks that whisper truth: steaming.
Or, if you’ve never roasted brussel sprouts, you have missed out. Toss them in olive oil (or liquid bacon grease for a little hedonism) and roast for 30-ish minutes at 400 degrees.
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Steaming all the way, and especially Brussels sprouts.
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Brussel sprouts would never have gotten the reputation they have if humans had never strayed from this one commandment. My 2 year old eats roasted brussel sprouts by the bushel.
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He said delicious, which rules those out.
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This looks like way more work than a skimmer…
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What you really want is something like this:
If you really want to go nuts get a bamboo steamer and, optimally, a wok.
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Pro Tip Here: Use lid. Slightly offset lid leaving gap smaller than smallest veggie. Rotate Pot until water starts to pour out. Slowly rotate until all water is removed. Rotate Pot back to upright. Remove lid. Deposit veggies in bowl/plate.
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Whoa, a pot with a lid?
We don’t like any of your fancy unitaskers here.
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But if your pot lid fits on a pan it’s not a unitasker!
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Bah. A unitasker used for something other than its original purpose is still a unitasker.
A rice cooker, for example, is still a unitasker, even if you put pancake mix in it and use it to make ricecookercakes.
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It’s not the mesh that fails, but the drawstring
However, the drawstring on this silicone bag has a tiny mini glans. So even if the string does break, you have Barbie’s birthday gift sorted.
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makes boiling veggies fun again
There was a time it stopped being fun?
Anyway, I am much too attached to my Black & Decker steamer. Veg goes in, dinner comes out. Blissful simplicity.
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Although I’d agree with almost everyone above that steaming is superior than boiling for cooking veggies, I could see using this for blanching. That’s where you boil something (green beans, asparagus) for just a couple minutes, then drain and put into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. With this gadget, you could skip the colander.
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I’m not sure why, but I have some of those cotton mesh bags butchers use. They work for veg boiling, too.
The silicone thingie @agies posted looks less likely to go moldy than a bamboo steamer. Although I’ve only ever had one of those go moldy, which is a noteworthy accomplishment in my environment.
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This just seems to solve a problem that doesn’t exist. Maybe for some people that have trouble with a steady hand or grip strength, then i think this is ideal so i’m definitely not saying this is stupid. But i have never boiled or blanched veggies and done the “I WISH THERE WAS AN EASIER WAY” thing while dumping half of it on the floor by accident.
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Wild plants can benefit from a good boil, since it both will clean them better than a rinse, and also some things will have bitter flavors boiled out of them. I have a wild edible field book which recommends boiling some things several times to make them palatable.
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