Grilling may not be as unhealthy as you think

When it comes to grilling, people naturally think of unhealthy dietary factors such as high fat, high salt, and carcinogens. Even those who love barbecue may feel guilty while continuing to enjoy the food. However, grilling may not be as unhealthy as we think.

1. Roasting and grilling are actually quite different

Since our ancestors learned to use fire, the processing of food and the intake of nutrition have entered a new level. The original purpose of roasting was to process food until it was cooked, so as to facilitate the digestion and absorption of nutrients. As for killing bacteria in food and improving the flavor of food, it can be said that it was an unintentional gain for our ancestors. In other words, roasting at that time was to avoid food safety issues and to increase the absorption and utilization rate of food. Therefore, for the original roasted food, the problem of high oil and high salt should not exist.

The barbecue that has become popular again this year with Zibo barbecue is very different from the ancient barbecue. Modern barbecue focuses on enjoying delicious food. Although the ingredients are also mainly meat, they are generally much richer than those in ancient times. In addition to using a large amount of cooking oil and seasonings such as salt and sugar in the process of pre-marinating and baking, modern barbecue also pays special attention to repeated high-temperature roasting. Under the high temperature of barbecue, sugar and protein exist at the same time, which is particularly prone to Maillard reaction, making the finished product of the barbecue very beautiful reddish brown and fragrant. The final barbecue product has a greasy and chewy taste, the meat is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and the color, aroma and taste are extremely tempting. Sometimes I jokingly think that the grilled food that the ancients regarded as delicious is probably one of the most failed barbecue restaurant works under the barbecue mode of modern people.

Image source: Tuchong Creative

2. Grilled food, these foods and seasonings are very suitable

Nowadays, putting aside everyone’s negative impression of barbecue, barbecue can actually be eaten very healthily.

First, in the selection of grilled ingredients. Vegetables, especially those with low starch content, often need to be coated with a lot of oil to maintain their color and taste when grilled, which increases fat intake. It can be seen that large leafy green vegetables, such as lettuce, spinach, cabbage, etc., are not suitable for grilling.

However, there are some vegetables that are very suitable for roasting. They either have a special smell at ordinary times, and the smell becomes lighter after roasting and heating, such as garlic and leeks, which have no pungent smell after roasting and become much softer; or they usually have a bland taste and need a lot of oil to set off, but after pickling and roasting, they can be low in oil and delicious, such as eggplant and zucchini, which are soft and melt-in-the-mouth after roasting; or they usually have a hard taste and are difficult to taste, but after roasting, they have a crispy or soft taste, and the taste doubles after being dipped in seasoning, such as asparagus, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, green peppers, etc., which have a milky sweet taste doubled after roasting; or they are delicious at ordinary times, but only play a supporting role and cannot highlight the characteristics, but after roasting, they are gorgeously transformed and the taste has a qualitative leap, such as button mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, pumpkins, etc. The roasted button mushrooms are so delicious that it makes your eyebrows drop, and I strongly recommend you to try it.

Secondly, the ingredients used in barbecued food can be very interesting. Traditional barbecues usually use a lot of oil, salt and ingredients to highlight the deliciousness. However, if we are willing to carefully feel the original taste of the food, we will easily accept food that is only sprinkled with a little seasoning after baking. For example, if it is also barbecue, changing the cheese baked cauliflower to olive oil and black pepper roasted cauliflower is just as delicious; for example, changing the grilled chicken wings on the night market stall to oil-free tin foil garlic roasted chicken wings, the taste is not inferior at all; for example, changing the hot-selling fried potatoes on the street to low-oil lightly roasted seasoned potato pumpkin cubes, the taste is not downgraded. What's more, the air fryer that has become popular in recent years has its own concept of oil-free and low-oil baking, which can help us reduce the amount of oil used in barbecue. Here I especially recommend black pepper, white pepper, coarse salt and chopped basil. Just a little combination of these is a barbecue seasoning with its own spicy, salty and fresh taste.

Another trick is to make good use of the flavor of the food itself. For example, cherry tomatoes have a sweet and sour taste, so they can be grilled with other vegetables and meat to enhance the flavor. Sweet pineapple slices are also particularly suitable for grilling meat. Not only can they make the meat sweeter and more tender during the marinating process, but when grilling, the aroma will permeate the meat under high temperature, bringing a richer taste experience.

3. Healthy roasting: temperature and time are key

Although we have made certain choices of ingredients and condiments for barbecue to ensure that barbecue is relatively healthier, it is undeniable that high-temperature barbecue is indeed prone to produce carcinogens such as acrylamide and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which is also an important health hazard. In order to reduce the production of carcinogens, it is necessary to have a certain grasp of factors such as barbecue temperature and time.

First, if conditions permit, grill it yourself and choose a grill without an open flame.

When grilling over an open flame, grease dripping onto the flame will produce carcinogens such as benzopyrene. The temperature of an open flame is difficult to control, and if the temperature is too high and the burnt part is burnt, the content of carcinogens such as heterocyclic amines will be very high. Based on this, if conditions permit, it is recommended that you grill your own food, and it is best to choose grilling without an open flame. For example, use an oven, air fryer, or electric oven, which can maximize the control of temperature and time and reduce the production of carcinogens.

Secondly, pre-process the ingredients.

The pre-processing mentioned here includes not only cleaning, cutting and marinating, but also processing those ingredients that are not easy to bake to medium or seven-well done in advance. For example, if you directly bake large pieces of steak and lamb legs, the surface is likely to be burnt, and there is still blood inside when you cut it open. It is better to cook the large pieces of meat to medium or seven-well done in advance, so that it only needs to be baked at high temperature for a short time to be cooked. It can not only improve the color of the surface and bring a burnt aroma, but also reduce the baking time, thereby reducing the production of carcinogens.

Third, pair it with some foods rich in vitamin C.

High-temperature baking will cause the loss of water-soluble vitamins in the ingredients, such as vitamin C and B vitamins. However, sufficient vitamin C and B vitamins can improve the efficiency of the body's metabolism of carcinogens. Therefore, when eating baked food, it is recommended to eat more foods rich in vitamin C, such as fresh fruits and vegetables.

Fourth, use more garlic, beer, turmeric powder and other seasonings to marinate the ingredients.

Studies have found that ingredients marinated with garlic, beer, turmeric powder and other spices produce less carcinogens during high-temperature baking, which may be related to the strong antioxidant capacity of the above foods.

One of the great contributions of the Chinese to the global culinary history is that they promoted the cooking methods of heating food with water, such as boiling, steaming, stewing and braising. However, looking back at the most important cooking method of our ancestors - roasting, we found that it turns out that truly high-quality roasting can also be very healthy.

The article is produced by Science Popularization China-Starry Sky Project (Creation and Cultivation). Please indicate the source when reprinting.

Author: Wang Lu, Chinese registered dietitian, Master of Public Health, Peking University

Reviewer: Xue Qingxin, the first batch of nutrition instructors of the National Health Commission, China registered nutritionist