Why do Brits boil everything ?

[Lotc]

I’m European but not British. I have to say the way you guys cook (vegetables in particular) ie boiling everything) really isn’t for me. It just makes everything so bland even if you add butter and salt after. Carrots especially. Why not roast or lightly sautee in a pan with some olive oil? My husband boils everything. I’ve never seen anything like it. Why boil carrots? Same as ILs. The first time I met ILs we had poached chicken. It’s so weird to me. Is it a health thing?

How do you know this? How many households have you visited and inspected their cooking habits?

Which is it?

Is everything boiled or is everything parboiled?

I think I only boil pasta. Veg is steamed

Ok so I am going against the grain and saying we actually do boil a lot of stuff which I had never thought of as wierd till now!

It's still not weird that people in countries/cultures all around the world cook their foods differently.

Where are you from OP?

Maybe some of us have opinions about your national culinary habits?

I cook carrots in fresh orange juice and zest. Is that boiling them?

And butter! I forgot the butter.

Lots of us Brits don't ever, ever boil vegetables. In my house they're steamed or roasted. And not overcooked.

This!!

Some stuff roasts better that way. Potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli. They can get a bit dry done from raw. You can't get a fluffy edge on a roast potato to crisp up deliciously if you haven't parboiled.

Boiling in general is not my favourite vegetable method, but it has its place. If you buy good carrots (generally we are talking the ones with green tops) and boil them in large pieces, then let sit in a little butter and add some fresh chopped parsley you will have a delicious side dish. If you buy cheap carrots, cut them in coins until soggy and then fail even to add butter then yes, I will die of boredom.

I asked a friend why she boiled baby potatoes and then added a knob of butter at end. She said it’s faster and easiest. But roasted in oven to me is easier!

If you like the taste of vegetables then boiling them is the perfect way to eat them. They don't need oil or butter. It is important for them to be fresh though.

I can’t imagine anything worse than boiled chicken 😳

I do boil carrots because I actually like them that way and they take far less time than roasting them.

And posting habits if we're to join the OP in generalising about everyone born/raised in the same country.

Without the olive oil and chilli, I'm sure you are still a troglodyte

Just from what I see with friends and family

I may boil the odd potato but everything else has been steamed these last 30 or so years. Have you been watching old films?

It's a very common tactic on this forum.

Slag off Britain while being coy about your own country.

Roasting jersey royals is a crime against nature. IMO.

I do roast other little potatoes, with paprika , in the airfryer, but not The Royals.

Stews and casseroles are also made by cooking meat and veg in water/stock. They seem to be part of most European countries' cuisine.

I use various cooking methods including boiling/steaming/poaching. Not everything needs added butter or oil 🤷‍♀️

You'd be glad of it if you had gall bladder issues or digestive issues .
My mother could only eat poached chicken until she had her gall bladder removed!

It depends on what other foods you'd be having. I personally would never pair roasted potatoes with a salad, they'd be new/baby potatoes and boiled until just tender.

I think your husband is behind the times @Lotc. We airfry everything now. 😆

Carrots. Potatoes. Anything that was once boiled (or fried or baked) is now airfried.

I absolutely love how the OP has deliberately name changed, is completely anonymous and yet they still won't say which country they're from 😂

Are we to assume your fellow country folk have no backbone at all OP?

My in laws and my mum boiled them so much needed a spoon to eat them with as just mush. Yuck!

Also - do you pay the electric bill re. cooking the odd potato or carrot in the oven?