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Stovetop. Microwave. Bags. What's the best method of getting crisp and flavorful veggies? We test them all.

There's no cooking method better than steaming if you want to taste the pure essence of a vegetable. And it's the healthful way to go — nutrients aren't boiled away, and no fat is involved.

We decided to stage a steam-off to find out how the new methods compared with traditional microwaving and steaming on the stove.

We picked green beans for the test, and aimed for a crisp-tender result.

Here's what we found.

What we used: Collapsible metal steamer over water on the stove

Cooking time: 3 minutes to bring 6 water to a boil; 8 1/2 minutes to cook.

Cost: Bought fresh at $2.29 a pound.

Appearance: Vibrant green, plump-looking.

Taste and texture: Very sweet, fresh-tasting. Juicy; almost burst in the mouth.

How did it rank? The winner in terms of taste and texture. Cooking time was longer than any of the others, but still not much more than 10 minutes.

What we used: Washed green beans in a microwave-safe bowl

Cooking time: 4 minutes

Cost: Bought fresh at $2.29 a pound.

Appearance: Good green color; not as bright as the traditionally steamed beans. Some shriveling.

Taste and texture: Nice green-bean flavor, though not as sweet as the traditionally stove-steamed beans. Excellent crisp-tender-crisp texture.

How did it rank? A very good green bean, though cooking was a little more uneven than with the traditional steaming method.

What we used: Glad SimplyCooking Microwave Steaming Bags

Cooking time: 4 minutes cooking, 1 minute standing

Cost: Beans bought fresh at $2.29 a pound; bags were $2.50 for a package of 10, or 25 cents per bag.

Appearance: Similar to conventionally microwaved; Good green color; not quite as bright as the traditionally steamed beans. Some shriveling.

Taste and texture: True green-bean flavor, though not quite as sweet as the traditionally steamed beans. Nice crisp-tender texture.

How did it rank? Very good, though, as with conventional microwaved green beans, cooking was a little uneven.

What we used: Target Archer Farms steam-in-the-bag extra-fine green beans

Cooking time: 6 minutes cooking, 1 minute standing

Cost: $1.99 for the 16-ounce bag

Appearance: These green beans were much smaller than the fresh ones we used in other trials. Though not quite as bright as the beans produced by the other methods, they were still a nice, even green color.

Taste and texture: Reasonably good green-bean flavor; tender, but a little dry and mealy.

How did it rank? If convenience is a priority, the bag's advantage may outweigh any taste/texture disadvantages. Cooking is no faster than microwaving from fresh, but with these you don't have to "top and tail" the beans first, as you do with fresh. Also convenient is the fact that you can stash them in the freezer and have green beans available anytime. One disadvantage is that you have to cook the whole bag, even if you're just cooking for just one or two.

Bottom line

We deemed the traditionally steamed beans the best, but not by a commanding lead; the microwaved beans still got high marks in flavor and texture. And even the freezer-to-microwave bag, though the clear loser in terms of taste and texture, produced pretty good results.

Among the things we found: For traditional steaming, we couldn't discern any differences in taste and texture among beans cooked in a bamboo steamer, a collapsible metal steamer and a pot with a steamer insert.

The beans microwaved conventionally — in a bowl covered with plastic wrap — and in the special microwave steamer bags were just about identical, too. One major advantage of the steam-in bags was that they eliminated the need to wash a bowl.

Steaming tips

Traditional method: For even cooking, beans should be in one layer, which makes a steamer insert or a large bamboo steamer preferable to the smaller collapsible metal kind. With a tiered bamboo steamer, you can steam another item at the same time.

Microwaving: If beans are freshly washed, the water clinging to them will be enough; if they are dry, sprinkle a little water over them before covering the microwave-safe container with plastic wrap.

Microwave steaming bag: Be very careful to avoid the steam vents on the sides of the bag.

Frozen steam-in bag: If you like the convenience of this packaging, shop around and try several brands to see which you prefer.