Steaming, stir-frying, boiling, frying, braising, which is the healthiest cooking method?

The Chinese delicacies presented in the food documentary not only make the audience salivate, but also leave a deep impression on us with more than a dozen cooking methods such as steaming, stir-frying, boiling, frying, and braising. Perhaps few people realize that cooking is actually a double-edged sword. While it makes food cooked from raw to cooked and adds to its deliciousness, it also causes certain nutrients to be destroyed under conditions such as high temperature. So, how can we cook to prevent nutrient loss to the greatest extent and make our food both nutritious and delicious? Let's briefly introduce several commonly used cooking methods.

One of the best cooking methods – steaming

Friends who like Cantonese cuisine may have a special liking for steaming as a food processing method. Steaming is considered a very healthy cooking method that can retain the nutrients in food to the greatest extent. It is applicable to almost any food, including water-soluble vitamins that are sensitive to heat and water. Compared with boiling, the advantage of steaming is that it can better retain water-soluble vitamins. It is worth mentioning that almost all cooking methods will cause the loss of water-soluble proteins and water-soluble vitamins, but steaming has the least impact on them.

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Therefore, steamed food not only has less damage to the original molecular structure, retaining the original nutrients such as protein and cellulose, but also maintains the original flavor of the dish and brings out the freshness of the food. In addition, since steaming is oil-free cooking and the temperature is stable throughout the process (maintained at 100°C), steamed dishes are easier to digest than fried dishes.

The most common cooking method - frying

Frying is a common cooking method in life. Put the food in a pan, heat it with a small amount of oil, add meat, vegetables or eggs after the oil is hot and stir-fry quickly over high heat. Because of its high temperature and short cooking time, it is very practical in the family. Many people think that frying is an unhealthy cooking method because the oil temperature is difficult to control and high temperature will destroy the fish.

Omega-3, protein and amino acids in meat, etc.; at the same time, long-term heating of food at high temperature will produce carcinogenic chemicals. In fact, if the heat is properly controlled, short-term heating can effectively prevent the loss of vitamins, and the oil used in cooking can also help absorb nutrients.

Therefore, it is best to stir-fry quickly over high heat, use healthy oil, avoid overheating the oil and frying for a long time, so that most of the nutrients can be preserved. Try to add as little water as possible when cooking; you can also add some vinegar to add flavor and reduce the loss of vitamin C. When processing meat ingredients, add a little starch to reduce the loss of nutrients and improve the taste.

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Simple, fast and nutritious cooking method - baking

Baking has become increasingly popular in China in recent years. It is a cooking method that heats foods such as bread and muffins in an oven for a long time at high temperature. The nutrients contained in wheat flour, a common raw material used in baking, are relatively high compared to other grains; in addition, due to the physical and chemical effects of yeast, baked foods are rich in protein and amino acids, easy to absorb, and have a good taste and color. Therefore, in Western countries, baked foods have almost become synonymous with food and grain.

Baking is a cooking method that heats food from all sides. During this process, food is cooked evenly without losing a lot of vitamin C. Therefore, baking is also considered a healthy cooking method. Studies have found that baking reduces the folic acid content of bean products by 50%. Due to long-term high-temperature baking, this will cause a loss of 40% of B vitamins. In addition, it will hardly cause other obvious nutritional losses.

Of course, we should also pay attention to controlling the temperature and time when baking to avoid harmful substances produced by over-high temperature. Baking can make the protein in meat and grains better absorbed. Therefore, we can use baking to process meat and grain foods to preserve the nutrients in the food to the greatest extent.

The most tangled cooking method - barbecue

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Barbecue is a dry roasting method that uses charcoal fire to heat food directly. Adding various delicious seasonings during barbecue can make

The food is bright in color, rich in flavor, tender in meat, and not greasy. It is loved by many people, and even many children love to eat barbecue and grilled fish.

However, studies have shown that although barbecue is delicious, it does not seem to be a healthy way of cooking. Since the charcoal fire directly heats the food, it is difficult to maintain a constant temperature, the food is not heated evenly, and some nutrients are lost in the process. When grilling, the vitamins in the meat will be destroyed in large quantities, the fat and protein will change, and when the nutritious gravy and fat drip from the barbecue, the minerals in it will also be lost. In addition, if the heat is not strictly controlled, chemicals such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and benzopyrene will be produced. These are carcinogens that can accumulate in the body, reduce the body's immune function, and increase the risk of cancer. At the same time, barbecue will also produce harmful gases and dust such as carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide, which will not only pollute the air, but also have adverse effects on human health. Therefore, barbecue food should not be eaten too much. From the perspective of nutrition and hygiene, eating barbecue food should be stopped in moderation, especially children should not eat too much, so as not to affect their health.

In summary, cooking methods need to be used reasonably and more importantly, they need to be nutritious and healthy to ensure that the nutrients in food meet the normal needs of the human body. No matter what cooking method is used, try to avoid nutrient loss during the cooking process. It is best to eat less midnight snacks and eat more fruits, vegetables and milk. Pay attention to less oil and salt in cooking to make the food both delicious and nutritious, which will be of great help to our health.

Source: Chongqing Science Writers Association

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