Boil Your Summer Vegetables In A Butter Bath And Thank Us Later

Getting your fill of vegetables can seem like a daunting task. And in the heat of the summer sun, it might feel even more laborious than usual. Among the various tips for cooking with vegetables, keeping the focus on flavor is key. If you're looking for a simple way to enhance your summer vegetables without having to crank up the heat too much, you need only look as far as the dairy aisle of your local grocery store. Although you might not love being drenched in sweat from the unbearable summer heat, you will absolutely enjoy drenching your vegetables in a brilliant butter bath and boiling them to richly decadent perfection.

A butter bath is a wonderful way to add a luxurious element to your favorite summer vegetables. The basics of the method involve boiling your vegetables in a mixture of water, butter, milk, and salt –- as well as any other seasonings of your choosing -– until they are fully cooked and delightfully tender. This way of cooking allows the creamy flavors to fully permeate your vegetables, giving them a strong mix of both sweet and savory notes. This stovetop style also saves you the hassle of turning on the oven for roasting or firing up a BBQ grill, which not everyone has the space or means to accommodate. With so many delicious vegetables to choose from, giving your favorites a butter bath boil will rival the quality of the best restaurant veggies you've ever had.

Looking at the array of summer vegetables, there is a mix of different tastes and textures, any of which would be great for using this fun butter hack. The most obvious vegetable to boil in butter is corn. It's really not corn on the cob without a generous helping of butter, and the butter bath method truly takes this notion to the next level. Rather than having to prepare in a hot oven or on a BBQ grill, the butter bath takes the ho-hum process of boiling corn in plain water and exponentially increases the sweet and salty goodness.

For cruciferous favorites, midsummer vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower are an excellent combination to chop into florets and bathe in butter alongside fresh garlic and your favorite spices. Try boiling fresh potatoes in a butter bath with green herbs for an explosion of earthy and rich flavors. Getting back to your roots, carrots also do well in a butter bath, tenderizing to perfection while staying sweet. Eggplant and zucchini are particularly fun to cook using this method to make a wonderful savory side dish. Any way you choose to butter-bathe your summer vegetables, it's sure to be a winning move.