DAWN OF THE NEW STEAM AGE

Far more sophisticated than your stove-top pot, the latest steamers prep lean meals with precision. MH test-runs the best

While stir-fries, stews and roasts certainly have their place, for maximum health benefits in the shortest time possible you can’t do better than steaming. After all, if you’re selecting your ingredients for their unique nutritional properties as much as you are their flavour, then you need to consider how much of that goodness will survive the journey from hob to plate.

Frying and boiling generally cause nutrient loss of 20-60%, but studies show crucial vitamins and carotenoids are almost entirely preserved when steaming – which, when you’re ploughing through another meal prep’s worth of sweet potato, is pretty significant.

But the contents of your steamer needn’t conform to bland stereotypes, and nor is it hard to achieve the precise texture you want. The right steamer will leave your vegetables tender, while delicately cooking your meats and fish without stripping them of moisture. Our MH Lab team took the latest models over to the Good Housekeeping Institute for rigorous testing. These are our hot picks for health at the touch of a button.