Scientists Found a Healthier Way to Cook Broccoli, But There's a Catch

Broccoli has gained a reputation as an excellent vegetable due to its high levels of a beneficial compound called sulforaphane.

It's no wonder that broccoli pills are on the rise, with early-stage studies showing how this compound plays a role in blood sugar control and possibly even has anti-cancer benefits.

A team of Chinese researchers decided to try and find the best way to cook broccoli after a study showed that eating the whole vegetable gets you more sulforaphane than taking a supplement.

It's a tough sell if you have better things to do with your time, but they were a clear winner when they published their results in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

There is a method behind the madness. The broccoli is ready to be eaten. The vegetable has compounds called glucosinolates.

Plants have evolved to defend themselves against herbivores. We want the glucosinolates to become sulforaphane, which is what they get through myrosinase activity.

You would think cooking would help kick myrosinase activity into gear.

The amount of glucosinolates in broccoli can be reduced by boiling and microwaving, even if you just zap it for a few minutes. Myrosinase is also sensitive to heat.

The largest amount of sulforaphane you can get from broccoli is when you eat raw florets. It's really bad.

The team of researchers thought about the results of stir-frying, the most popular method for preparing vegetables in China.

The researchers noted that no report has focused on the stability of sulforaphane in the stir-frying process.

The team bought a bunch of broccoli from the market and were going to measure the levels of compounds in the vegetables as they went.

They pulverized the broccoli, chopping it into 2-millimeter pieces to get as much myrosinase activity as possible.

They divided their samples into three groups, one was left raw, one was stir- fried for four minutes straight after chopping, and the third was chopped and left alone for 90 minutes.

The 90-minute waiting period was to see if broccoli would have more time to develop its beneficial compounds before being lightly cooked.

The team found that the broccoli that was stir- fried right away had less sulforaphane than the broccoli that was left to develop.

"Our results suggest that after cutting broccoli into small pieces, they should be left for about 90 minutes before cooking," the team concluded, adding that they didn't test it but thought "30 minutes would also be helpful."

We're not sure if we're willing to commit to all that effort.

The study was published in a journal.

The first version of this article was published in February.