Most of us learned how to cook from our mothers, grandmothers, or perhaps from a cookbook. The traditional way to cook most foods is to put them in a stainless steel pot and pan with water and bring to a boil or simmer. But studies have shown that the best way to maintain food’s nutritional value, as well as its natural flavor, is to cook it without water in special stainless steel containers that allow the food to cook in its own juices. So what are the other advantages of cooking without water?

Most cooks will see the same problems when cooking:

• ease of cooking
• Time to cook
• cleaning time
• Amount of fat and oil in the food.
• Taste
• Nutritional value

Waterless cooking is easy and can take less time than conventional cooking. The heat is evenly distributed, and without burning or sticking, pots and pans are much easier to clean. What’s even better, no oil is needed to prevent sticking, making your favorite dish lower in fat and calories. The food is cooked in its natural juices, which enhances the flavor and preserves the nutritional value.

The principles of waterless cooking are relatively simple and straightforward. High-quality stainless steel cookware protects food. Aluminum cookware heats up faster, but studies have shown that some aluminum gets into the food, which may not be good for your health. The waterless cookware is made of high quality stainless steel and does not allow metal flavors to seep into the food.

Stainless steel pots and pans are also easier to clean and don’t require a Teflon coating, which can also get into your food. Surgical stainless steel is the highest grade, but it’s more about marketing than cooking.

The bottom of the stainless steel cookware is machined flat. This ensures that as much surface area as possible comes into contact with the coils on an electric stove or the grates on your gas stove. An aluminum or copper plate distributes heat evenly along the bottom of pots and pans, preventing hot spots that can burn food and providing heat to the bottom in all directions.

The special lid forms a seal, blocking the natural moisture that emanates from the food during the cooking process. This allows the food to cook in its own natural juices and allows the flavor, vitamins and minerals to be preserved. Much of the nutritional value of vegetables is cooked from boiled vegetables and poured out with the cooking water. With waterless cooking, there is no need to add water as vegetables contain a large amount of water. The water that is released from the vegetables when cooking them turns into steam and is contained by the lid and the vegetables are steamed in their own juices.

A steam whistle or valve notifies the cook when the natural juices generate enough steam, and the cook can turn off the heat, saving energy and preventing overcooking. Food cooks at a constant temperature due to the heat retention capacity of pots and pans and the heat of the steam inside the pot. Stainless steel cookware does not radiate much energy and the iron core or plate maintains a constant temperature to continue cooking even with the heat turned off. That translates to energy savings and that’s a huge advantage in today’s slow economy. The food also cooks faster, at lower temperatures, and in its own juices, making it tastier and better for you.

Where can you buy this stainless steel cookware for cooking without water?

Most waterless stainless steel cookware is sold through “cooking parties” in people’s homes. The price of pots and pans is expensive. You can also buy similar cookware cheaper at department stores, but the quality is not as high.

At a typical cookware party, a vendor (who receives a cut) usually demonstrates how to prepare a meal with their product, and guests can watch the process and taste the food. The host or hostess usually receives a free tray as a reward for having the party (which adds more cost to the product).

I have attended cooking parties in the past and have found that the taste of food cooked with stainless steel cookware without water is excellent: tender and flavorful without using oil. The added benefit was that the food went from raw to table in about 10 minutes. Food didn’t stick to the stainless steel pots and pans, so cleanup was a breeze. The broccoli was simply delicious and very tasty. The potatoes were good and the chicken was evenly cooked and flavorful.

This really got me interested in cooking without water. I love to cook and am always interested in new ideas and recipes. Unfortunately, the stainless steel waterless cookware sold at cookware parts is extremely expensive. A set of pots and pans from this manufacturer ranged from $2,000 to over $5,000! Due to their construction, waterless cookware is of higher quality and costs more to manufacture. There are several websites that sell these types of cookware at very reasonable prices. They are also of the same quality as the cookware sold at cookware parts.