Water Vapor: Steaming
Steaming is by far the fastest method for
pouring heat into food, thanks to the large
amount of energy that water vapor releases
when it condenses into droplets on the food
surface. However, it works rapidly only as
long as the meat surface is cooler than the
boiling point. Because heat moves through
meat more slowly than steam deposits it on
the surface, heat accumulates at the surface,
which soon reaches the boiling point, and the
heat transfer rate falls to a level just sufficient
to keep the surface at the boil. Though it heats
meat by means of moisture, steaming does not
guarantee moist meat. Muscle fibers heated to
the boiling point shrink and squeeze out much
of their moisture, and the steamy atmosphere
can’t replace it.
Because steaming brings the meat surface
to the boil so quickly, it’s a method best
suited to thin, tender cuts of meat that will
cook through quickly in just a few minutes,