Are “non-fried” foods healthy? Check out the misunderstandings you don’t know

Excessive intake of fried food can easily lead to obesity, high blood lipids, coronary heart disease and other diseases, so it was once called "junk food" by many health experts. People have become wary of "fried snacks". Therefore, non-fried foods have been popular in the past two years. Snacks such as potato chips and shrimp crackers with "non-fried" labels in supermarkets have given people the "hope" of enjoying crispy and delicious snacks. However, are "non-fried" foods really "delicious and healthy"?

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What are non-fried foods?

"Non-fried food" as the name suggests is food that is not fried in high temperature oil.

For example, the production process of non-fried instant noodles is basically the same as that of fried instant noodles. The main difference is that the noodles are made by micro-expansion and hot air drying. The moisture content of non-fried instant noodles is below 14.5%, which is relatively high.

Compared with fried instant noodles, non-fried instant noodles have the following characteristics: longer drying time and fine texture of noodles. In order to shorten the drying time and cooking time, the noodles of non-fried instant noodles are thinner. The fat content is less, so it is close to raw noodles and has a light taste.

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These characteristics also contribute to expanding the variety of flavors using fat-containing soups.

Is non-fried food really healthier? Actually, it depends on the ingredients and the process.

Non-fried ≠ oil-free

No frying means no fat? In fact, for the sake of taste, many non-fried foods add a lot of cooking oil. Non-fried does not mean that people do not use oil!

To be honest, the popcorn sold in the cinema is authentic non-fried food, but it still tastes greasy...

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In addition to the uncontrollable nature of food purchased outside, if you make it at home using some non-frying methods, you can still sacrifice some taste and use as little oil as possible.

Non-fried foods may also produce carcinogens

According to Health Times, acrylamide, a carcinogen that may be found in fried foods, may also be found in non-fried foods.

For example, fried foods such as fried potato chips and instant noodles have high fat content, which can bring too much energy. The processing temperature is high, and starch is prone to produce carcinogens such as acrylamide when fried at high temperatures. So, does "non-fried" food have no carcinogens?

Take some potato chips currently on the market as an example. Ordinary potato chips are fried, while non-fried potato chips are baked. The baking temperature often reaches above 200°C, and sometimes even higher than the frying temperature. When the baking temperature exceeds 140°C, acrylamide will also be produced. Therefore, fried foods are unhealthy, and "non-fried" foods may not be healthy either.

The article is compiled from:

1. Does “non-fried” mean low in fat? (Popular Health Magazine)

2. Is “non-fried” really healthier? (Dad’s review)

Source: Chongqing Tianji Network Co., Ltd.

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