This archive report was first published on 20 June 2020.
Preserve Food Nutrients While Cooking ¶
Published on June 20, 2020, a recent article highlighted the importance of preserving food nutrients while cooking. It's one thing to cook food well, but another to cook it and have it nutritious.
When cooking, it's essential to consider the nutrients level to avoid doing your body more harm than good. Here are some ways to help preserve food nutrients while cooking:
Vegetables ¶
When preparing vegetables, cooking with a small amount of water and keeping the cooking pot covered is key in keeping the nutrients. This makes the cooking process turn into a steaming kind of style.
As a tip, vegetables get more nutrient-depleted when they get constantly reheated. Avoid overcooking the vegetables as most of them should be able to be eaten raw.
Dairy Products ¶
Dairy products spoil very fast and lose out on their key nutrients. After boiling your milk, avoid keeping it exposed to light, as a considerable destruction of riboflavin can occur.
Roots ¶
Root vegetables like sweet potatoes, cassava, and arrowroots need a specialized cooking technique. They should be boiled with skins on and then peeled after boiling.
When you do this, it helps the nutrients to migrate to the centre of the vegetables. If you can, enjoy the cooked root vegetables when they still have their skin on.
Other Tips ¶
When peeling the skin of vegetables, be keen on peeling as thinly as possible. The nutrients in vegetables and fruits are mostly concentrated below the skin.
Also, avoid using baking soda to retain the color of your vegetables as well as speed up the cooking process, as it tends to destroy thiamine and vitamin C.
Lastly, if you're a deep-fried foods lover, ensure that you avoid leaving the food to stay in the hot oil for too long during the cooking process. You can wrap your foods with aluminum foil to prevent moisture loss, which also evaporates with some essential nutrients.
