How 10 cooking mistakes steal nutrition

Did you know? Even if you choose nutritious ingredients every time, the nutrients will slip away if the cooking method is not reasonable. What exactly steals your nutrients during the processing steps of washing, cutting, blanching and frying?

Peel all fruits and vegetables

Many people are afraid of pesticide residues on the skin of vegetables, so they usually peel them before cooking, such as eggplant skin, zucchini skin, radish skin, etc. In fact, the skin of vegetables contains a variety of nutrients such as dietary fiber, vitamins, chlorophyll, minerals and antioxidants. Peeling the skin before eating actually loses a lot of nutrients. To reduce pesticide residues, it is best to scrub the fruits and vegetables vigorously under the tap first. Fruits and vegetables with a "firm" appearance can also be scrubbed with a small brush. Once you feel they are clean, rinse them with water for 15 to 20 seconds and you can eat them with confidence. Soaking in tap water can also remove some pesticide residues, but don't soak it for too long, about 10 minutes is appropriate.

Cut vegetables before washing

Many people cut the vegetables first and then wash them together for the sake of convenience. However, by doing so, water-soluble vitamins such as B vitamins and vitamin C, and some minerals contained in the vegetables will dissolve into the water and cause losses. For example, many people soak potato and eggplant shreds directly in water after cutting them. Although this can avoid discoloration, a large amount of nutrients are also lost. Moreover, if you wash the vegetables after cutting them, pesticide residues and dirt on the surface can easily enter the cross-section. Therefore, the correct approach is to wash the vegetables carefully first and try to drain the moisture before cutting. In addition, when washing rice before steaming it, do not rub it repeatedly, otherwise a large amount of B vitamins will be lost.

Too finely chopped

As the saying goes, “The better the food, the better”, but from a nutritional point of view, the finer the vegetables are cut, the better. Because the smaller the pieces are, the larger the surface area, the greater the possibility of contact with air and hot pan, and the greater the loss of nutrients. Some nutrients will also be lost with the vegetable juices. Moreover, some people are in the habit of cutting and preparing vegetables in advance, but this will cause the loss of some vitamins that are easily oxidized, such as vitamin C, vitamin E and B vitamins. Therefore, it is best to cut and fry the dishes immediately and eat them immediately after cooking.

Blanching time is long

Some vegetables need to be blanched in boiling water after being cut. This can remove oxalic acid and even residual pesticides, so that all ingredients can mature at the same time. However, if there is too little water in the pot and the fire is too low, the blanching time will increase, causing a lot of nutrients in the vegetables to be lost. The solution is to add as much water as possible when blanching vegetables, adjust the heat to maximum, and shorten the blanching time. Generally speaking, the vegetables can be taken out as soon as their color changes slightly. You can also add a few drops of oil to the water to "seal" the cross-section of the vegetables and prevent them from oxidative damage.

Abuse of alkali in pickled meat

Many people like to use alkaline substances such as baking soda and tenderizer to marinate meat to make it smoother and more tender, but these alkaline substances can denature proteins and make them difficult to be absorbed by the human body. Fat will undergo a saponification reaction when it comes into contact with alkali, and it will not only lose its value but also produce an odor. Moreover, a large amount of B vitamins in the meat will also be lost. When marinating meat, you can mix the meat slices with salt, pepper, Shaoxing wine, egg white and starch, and then cook them with oil at an appropriate temperature. This will preserve the nutrients well and the taste will also be good.

Fry the vegetables before cooking

When making dishes such as three fresh vegetables and stir-fried green beans, many people like to fry the ingredients in oil first, then take them out and stir-fry them. This will make the dishes bright in color and fragrant. However, this cooking method not only destroys the nutrition of the dish itself and loses the original rich vitamins, but also makes the fried meat difficult to digest and leads to excessive fat intake. Therefore, when cooking at home, it is best to skip this step and choose cooking methods such as blanching, stir-frying, cold dressing and steaming.

High cooking oil temperature

Many people will heat the pan before cooking. They especially like to heat the oil until it smokes and then add onions and ginger, and then cook until the aroma comes out. But at that time the oil temperature has often exceeded 200°C. The vitamin E, phospholipids, unsaturated fatty acids, etc. in the oil are easily oxidized after high temperature, and other nutrients in the vegetables are also destroyed. In addition, when cooking, if the heat is too low or the cooking time is too long, a large amount of nutrients in the ingredients, such as vitamin C, anthocyanins, chlorophyll, etc. will flow away with the juice. Therefore, it is recommended to put the food into the pan before the oil smokes, and you can use high heat to stir-fry quickly to shorten the heating time.

Adding salt too early

Many people have the habit of adding too much salt or adding salt too early when cooking. This will cause excessive juice in the vegetables to flow out, which will not only cause nutrient loss, but also make the dishes wilt and affect the taste. If you add salt to meat too early, the protein will coagulate prematurely, making it difficult to digest, and the fishy smell will not evaporate, and the flavor of the soup will not be able to penetrate into it. It is recommended to add salt when the dish is 70% to 80% cooked, or before serving.

Add vinegar to green leafy vegetables

Many people like to add some vinegar when cooking to enhance the flavor. However, if too much vinegar is added when stir-frying green vegetables, the dishes will turn brown and yellow, while adding vinegar will have no effect when stir-frying yellow or white dishes such as shredded potatoes and lotus root slices. This is because green vegetables contain a lot of chlorophyll and magnesium. After adding vinegar, the hydrogen in the acetic acid will immediately replace the magnesium in the chlorophyll, and this important nutrient will be "stolen" away. Therefore, when cooking green leafy vegetables, do not add too much vinegar, or it is best not to add vinegar.

Pour away all the soup

After cooking, many people will pour out the soup in the pot. But vegetable soup actually contains a lot of dissolved nutrients, including hydrolyzed protein, amino acids, various vitamins and some minerals, antioxidants, etc. At this time, you can use an appropriate amount of water starch to thicken the food. This will not only allow these nutrients to re-attach to the surface of the food, but also form a protective film on the surface of the food, which will play a role in heat preservation and anti-oxidation.