Fruits and vegetables are a group of foods rich in vitamins but also have the risk of being contaminated with chemicals during the farming process. Therefore, processing and cooking also affect the safety and nutritional value of the food.
Balancing the benefits of opening and closing the lid
Closing the lid of the pan during cooking helps retain heat in the pan, resulting in faster cooking and retaining more vitamins and essential oils. Opening the lid helps chemicals that are destroyed by heat to evaporate, reducing the toxicity of the food. Closing the lid makes the food smell stronger and the vegetables turn yellow. Opening the lid allows some vitamins and nutrients to be lost through the steam.
In today’s context, we can see that vitamins and minerals do not evaporate much, but harmful substances evaporate with the water, which is safe for consumers. Nutrition is found in vegetables and in the cooking water. Therefore, it is better to prioritize opening the lid rather than closing it.
However, vitamins in fruits and vegetables can be easily destroyed when boiling for a long time. Therefore, for vegetables that have water-soluble vitamins (green vegetables, turnips, zucchini, etc.), when boiling, it is advisable to put the vegetables in boiling water, close the lid, and turn up the heat to bring the pan back to a boil, then open the lid until cooked. This helps the pan boil quickly and allows the chemicals to evaporate quickly with the steam.
Especially for vegetables such as beans, fresh bamboo shoots, and cassava roots, which have natural toxins, it is advisable to open the lid to let these natural toxins disappear, which is much more beneficial than closing the lid.
In addition, to preserve the nutrients when stir-frying or boiling vegetables, you should pay attention to the following:
Avoid cutting before washing
Vitamins in fruits and vegetables are easily destroyed when you cut them before washing because it increases the contact area with water. Moreover, cutting before washing makes it difficult to clean the vegetables. It is best to wash the vegetables under running water to clean them easily, and then cut them.
Cook immediately after cutting
If you wash and cut vegetables and do not cook them immediately, they will be exposed to more light, causing the vitamin content to decrease quickly. In addition, wet vegetables that are cut and left for a long time are more susceptible to bacteria. Therefore, you should pick, wash, cut, and cook the vegetables immediately.
Cook with high heat
When boiling or stir-frying vegetables, avoid simmering the vegetables for a long time, which will make them overcooked and lose nutrients and flavor. You should adjust the amount of cooking according to the size of the pan and the type of stove, avoiding small stoves boiling large pots with a lot of water, which makes the water slow to boil again, resulting in overcooked and less flavorful vegetables.
Use less oil when boiling vegetables
Oil helps cover the surface of vegetables, preserving their nutritional value and color when boiling.
Eat both the vegetables and the water
After boiling or stir-frying vegetables, a significant amount of vitamins and minerals dissolve into the water. Therefore, you should eat both the water and use the vegetable water to maximize the nutrients.
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