Why do we cook veges?

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mrdairyflat, Jun 29, 8:02am
They were a perfect food in a natural state, apart from habit why cook them?

ps spuds straight from ground taste ok fresh and sliced.
cake4, Jun 29, 8:04am
coz I like cooked veges too, and raw ones. :)and dont some veges have toxins that are destroyed by cooking? (like kidney beans I mean)
nfh1, Jun 29, 8:16am
Because some taste better cooked. Why do anything?
uli, Jun 29, 8:23am
Waiting for cookessentials or elliehen to give the ultimate answer ...
bodnz, Jun 29, 8:29am
good point - however 'spuds' hmmmm -not so sure :?
toadfish, Jun 29, 8:54am
Thats so funny, I only entered this thread to see what "wise" input you were going to give Uli.

I guess we cook them to make them easier to chew? ... to change and enhance their flavours? ... .

I suppose its like most things in life... I don't really think about the why... just accept that I do.
elliehen, Jun 29, 9:29am
Why does uli cook her meat? She still has her fangs and her claws ;)
lilyfield, Jun 29, 9:30am
raw potatoes are poisonous, so are beans in quantities
herself, Jun 29, 10:01am
'cos there is nothing like a good hot dinner on a cold winters night! ... ... . . and I love crunchy well roasted potatoes! ... . and hot fluffy mashed spuds... ... and spicy wedges with sour cream... ... no not just a habit, I love them cooked! !
unknowndisorder, Jun 29, 10:21am
It depends on the vege.
I like a little bit raw (or, in some cases, half raw), but the flavour is more palatable when slightly cooked. Some veges don't taste good raw at all (spuds for one).
Some taste good frozen (beans), but only a little bit, not a "helping".
I grew up eating some veges raw (as a treat), but even those, only like samples, rather than servings (my plate will generally have more veges than meat).
Flavours can be enhanced by cooking, but over-cooking kills them off as well. It's a fine line sometimes.
Frozen and raw veges can give me a bit of indigestion, (a treat for me about age 7 was raw cauliflower stems/heart). I also remember stealing frozen beans to suck on around that time and for the next few years - I'm not adverse to raw veges.
It's more what the body can digest and utilise, I think, rather than "habit".
I just don't like raw spuds (raw onions, in small quantities, is good).
Other veges are better raw (not sure on cucumber - vege or fruit, but would hate to eat that cooked).
elliehen, Jun 29, 10:35am
Ultimately... it's also the individual palate, isn't it? Some people like wilted lettuce and some like their lettuce crisp.
mrdairyflat, Jun 29, 10:37am
Oh, they tasted ok
nfh1, Jun 29, 10:42am
do you eat all your veges raw mrdairyflat?
buzzy110, Jun 29, 10:53am
I quite like mine fermented. Best of both worlds. The fermenting partially digests them to make them easier for the eater to digest, neutralises the anti-nutrients (phytates) present so that all the nutrients can be made available, especially the iron, and yet the texture is still crispy crunchy and raw tasting. As an aside, the fermenting process also keeps intact the vitamin C content and it actually adds in all the B vitamin complex bar B12.

Couldn't say better than that.
beaker59, Jun 29, 10:53am
Tonight I steamed some Brocolli and while it was cooking ate the off cut stems strange EH! cook the tender part and eat the stringy bitraw.
mrdairyflat, Jun 29, 11:00am
No, but well cooking some spuds that I unearthed this arvo did wonder why we cooked them, vegs and fruit is best freash and while nutrients are live, h202 etc.
Did have a small raw one tonight and it didnt taste as good as one I had mid summer. Can they be plucked too soon?
nfh1, Jun 29, 9:23pm
I love carrots, cauli and brocolli raw but give me mashed, roast, jacket any day over raw potatoes!
fruitluva2, Jun 29, 9:34pm
Like all food thats what they are for to experiment with all the different taste you can derive from them whether cooked or raw. I love eating some raw veggies broccoli, cauli, carrots etc but not too keen to try a raw spud'.
uli, Jun 30, 3:03am
... well to answer the above questions: I actually like my liver raw with ginger and garlic and a bit of vinegar. I also eat some meat raw if I have known it personally and the same with fish. I eat most veges raw as well as most fruit apart from what I either ferment or actually bottle. I have the odd raw egg which I also know personally and I eat all my home made cheese and yoghurt raw.

Why "we" cook veges I don't know - as I more often not cook them LOL.

However there was some research that claimed that pre-humans had to start cooking veges in order to become humans, as it was getting to the stage that they had to chow through something like 10kg of raw vegetable food a day in order to keep their growing brains fed with enough glucose to function ... not sure how serious I want to take that bit of research though ... google it poster#1 if you are interested ...
bedazzledjewels, Jun 30, 3:07am
I know why I cook them - they're a reason for melted butter or olive oil!
dorothy_vdh, Jun 30, 3:10am
goodness I must have missed something. Whats with all the sarcastic remarks
cookessentials, Jun 30, 4:15am
Thats normal for some dorothy.
"When people are full of envy, they disparage everything, whether it be good or bad”
bedazzledjewels, Jun 30, 4:18am
Actually Dorothy your comment made me scroll back through this thread and I can only see one post that is sarcastic - #7.
Just my opinion of course.
I thought there was a lot of interesting info on here about the different ways people use veges.
calista, Jun 30, 4:31am
I had the impression that raw carrots aren't as good for you as cooked (something I heard, but not sure where), butI definitely prefer them raw as I like the crunch. Raw spuds though don't appeal at all.
elliehen, Jun 30, 5:54am
Actually Prue your comment made me scroll back through this thread and find that post #4 was the sarcastic one that provoked post #7.

And yes, the vege preferences are all interesting. Surprising to discover that some people eat their meat raw too, although chopped raw liver does exist in many old NZ cookery books as an invalid's meal.