Vegetables are daily food that cannot be missed in meals. All types of vegetables have vitamins and different nutrients to supplement the body. But you may not always absorb all the nutrients in vegetables because you forget that when cooking, you have lost most of the vitamins and nutrients in the vegetables.
Therefore, the method of processing food to retain most of the vitamins and nutrients in vegetables is very important. Here are some methods of processing vegetables to supplement nutrition in daily meals.
Methods of processing green leafy vegetables
Green leafy vegetables must be stir-fried quickly at high heat, at a temperature of 200 – 250 degrees C, for no more than 5 minutes to avoid losing vitamins and soluble nutrients. But be careful not to use too much cooking oil when stir-frying to avoid absorbing too much fat. If you’re worried about burning the pan, you can use a non-stick pan.
High heat stir-frying is an effective method to quickly deactivate oxidative enzymes in vegetables, thereby preventing the oxidation-induced loss of vitamin C. By employing this cooking technique, leafy vegetables can retain an impressive 60-80% of vitamin C, 76-94% of vitamin B2, and carotene. It is worth noting that different cooking methods such as boiling, cooking, and stewing may result in substantial vitamin C loss from processed vegetables.
Advice: Stir-fry quickly and evenly at high heat, maintain even heat, shorten cooking time to avoid excessive loss of water and soluble nutrients; at the same time, chlorophyll is less destroyed, pectin is less broken down, thus preserving the crispness and green color, as well as preserving the nutrients in vegetables.
Simmering and boiling are suitable methods for root vegetables. This is because the ingredients are cut into large pieces, with less surface area exposed compared to when sliced. If the ingredients are lightly sautéed with cooking oil, the surface will be protected by a layer of cooking oil, reducing nutrient loss due to oxidation.
Most vegetables need to be heat-treated before they can be eaten, so nutrient loss is unavoidable. Therefore, it is necessary to choose the appropriate processing method to reduce the loss of vitamins and nutrients in vegetables.
Advice when processing vegetables
To fully absorb the nutrients in vegetables, we need to know how to process them properly to avoid losing too much vitamins and nutrients.
When boiling vegetables, use less water and wait for the water to boil before adding the vegetables. If boiling root vegetables, cover the pot to avoid vitamin loss, and boil for about 20 minutes.
When stir-frying vegetables, use less cooking oil to retain moisture. Add the vegetables to the pan and stir, then cover the pot to retain heat, and then reduce the heat so that the vegetables cook on their own in their own water.
Steaming vegetables in a microwave is a quick method of processing with high efficiency, allowing the vegetables to cook and still retain their crispness.
When processing green vegetables, add a little salt to reduce nutrient loss. For red-colored vegetables like red amaranth and white or light-colored vegetables like kale, cabbage, and potatoes, you can add a little sourness like vinegar to enhance the crispness and freshness of the vegetables.
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