I’ve been trying to get more veggies, for a multitude of reasons, but no matter how I cook broccoli, it stinks up the whole house. Steamed, baked, pan fried. If it were just me I’d probably deal with it, but my partner has a sensitive nose. Any ideas? I don’t love it raw, but it’s still pretty good.

  • southsamurai@sh.itjust.works
    321·
    14 hours ago

    Baked didn’t work?

    We do that as the default, and the smell is never there.

    Here’s our process.

    First, defrost if frozen. Otherwise you’re essentially steaming it as it thaws in the oven, which means that instead of browning up and getting sweeter, you end up with the sulfur compounds forming before that can happen.

    If not frozen, you should be fine to start.

    If you’re working from whole heads of broccoli, break it down into roughly even sized florettes, with the stems being cut down to maybe a half inch or so.

    Make sure it’s well oiled. It helps the heat transfer, which reduces the end smell. A big bowl helps get it evenk drizzling really isn’t great for roast veggies imo.

    Season after oiling; the salt, pepper and optionals will stick better and not burn. Now, here’s an optional, but it really is highly recommended. Acid. Lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, white wine or champagne vinegar, even balsamic. It helps break up the chemicals as they form and get released. Sliced lemons work too, though definitely keep the juices and add them too.

    Preheat to 400 or 425. No lower, you want the heat to be high enough that it cooks fast, fifteen to twenty minutes, checking at 15 and staying close after. If you have a convection oven, go with 400 for sure, and check at about 12 minutes and keep a close eye on it.

    You want the broccoli browned, and fork tender. Once it hits that, pull it.

    Over cooking is where the smell comes from. So if you get the first hint of that sulfur smell, pull it immediately, even if it isn’t done, since you don’t want the smell. Carry over cooking can finish the job, it just won’t be as yummy without that deep browning.

    Roasting is the least “smelly” option.

    Steaming, the window is short between perfectly cooked and smelly. Maybe as little as a minute. Lots of lemon slices over the top helps though.

    Boiling, you gotta parboil, blanche, then repeat. It keeps the sulfur compounds from taking over before it’s cooked through.

    Deep fried works, but it really seems like a bad idea to me. Why eat something as healthy as broccoli and dump it into hot oil? It adds unnecessary calories even if you drain it well, and breaded broccoli ia similar, plus you don’t taste the broccoli as much.