Preparing vegetables without vitamin loss
Fruits and vegetables are healthy because there are many vitamins in them? Every kid knows that. When it comes to the preparation, you often stumble over the term "cooked dead". Nobody wants to buy expensive organic vegetables to wash down the healthy nutrients in the drain. How many of the valuable ingredients are lost in the preparation of fruits and vegetables and how can you get the most out of the vitamin bombs?
About the gentle handling of vitamins
Vitamins are pretty sensitive and unfortunately not that easy. Not only by heating up they can be damaged, they do not last long storage, too much oxygen or light, There are some differences in the individual vitamins that you should know and pay attention to. In our vitamin table you will find a clear presentation of the individual vitamins and their weaknesses.
Roughly one differentiates water and fat soluble vitamins, Especially when cooking and washing you have to be careful with foods that contain water-soluble vitamins. Otherwise, the vitamins can be light be flushed out and so make the most of the drain with their health benefits. Minerals are harder to eat and are not destroyed by heat. But since they are also water-soluble, they can also be leached out during washing or cooking. Here is more information about all water-soluble vitamins.
On the other hand, to ingest fat-soluble vitamins, it may be beneficial to add the vegetables cooking to make them usable for the body, As the name suggests, fat-soluble vitamins should always be consumed together with some fat to increase the recording. Especially in beta carotene, the precursor of vitamin A, for example, contained in carrots, the body can through cooking, pureeing and adding fat many times more valuable substances, Since crushing and the associated breaking up of the cell walls brings here the decisive success, while on heating unwanted other nutrients are destroyed, this is the best method for enjoyment. In this tip, there's more to know about fat-soluble vitamins.
Fat-soluble vitamins can stored in the body In the case of water-soluble vitamins, there will be an excess directly excreted in the urine, This means that an overdose is almost impossible with water-soluble vitamins, but they must be taken regularly in order to supply the body optimally. Fat-soluble vitamins, however, can be overdosed by the intake of preparations, The body forms reserves, which it can fall back upon with insufficient supply.
| vitamins | photosensitive | heat sensitive | oxygen sensitive | Water soluble |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| vitamin C | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Vitamin B1 | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Vitamin B2 | ? | ? | ? | |
| Vitamin B6 | ? | ? | ||
| Vitamin B12 | ? | ? | ? | |
| folic acid | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Vitamin A | ? | ? | ||
| Vitamin D | ? | ? | ||
| Vitamin E | ? | ? | ||
| Vitamin K | ? | |||
| minerals | ? |
A scavenger hunt: where the vitamins are lost
Of course we would like to eat fruits and vegetables as much as possible benefit from the full charge of vitamins, It is therefore advantageous to rethink the type of preparation and adapt it to the preferences of the vitamins. The loss of vitamins does not begin with processing. Who wants to enjoy the full vitamin package must already pay attention to a few things during storage, Here you will learn how to store vegetables properly.
But even if you start with storage and do everything right after you buy it at the supermarket, much of the fruit and vegetable life after harvest is not covered at all. The food is spent in warehouses, boxes and on the truck. You can go to the supply chain while not directly intervene by you though regional and seasonal shopping, the best at the weekly market or directly from the producer, you minimize these vitamin losses.
Frozen products The motto seems to be "to eat as fresh as possible", but are a great alternative, if just no harvest fresh from the farmer available. The majority Vitamins do not bother cold and TK products are usually frozen immediately after harvest. Thus, even more of the healthy nutrients are contained here than with fresh products from the supermarket, which already have a long way to go. If you like to go shopping once a week, you can think about using the Tiekuhl variation on vegetables that are not eaten the next day.
You have all the tips heeded? The last hurdle is the processing, so be careful, because here it goes to the vitamins again really on the collar. Always wash the food for a short timeso as not to flush out any vitamins. If possible, you should Eat a bowlbecause most or all vitamins and minerals hide in or directly under the shell. Once the goods have been peeled, washed or sliced, process them as soon as possible, In the air, many nutrients are decomposed, this effect is multiplied by the larger surface area. If the vegetables have to be left lying around longer, it helps Drizzle with vinegar or lemon juiceto make the surface less vulnerable. Incidentally, the same applies to fresh squeezed juices or smoothies: the contained Nutrients are very vulnerable to comminution, the juice should therefore be drunk immediately.
Vitamin loss in different cooking methods
Cooking is not the same roast? the type of preparation makes a big difference to the picky vitamins. It is not just about the temperature, but also the addition of water and the duration of the cooking process have a decisive influence on the vitamin loss.
Especially the sensitive vitamin C as well as the folic acid suffer heavy losses during cooking. Do not put the vegetables into the water until it is already hot. Enzymes that break down vitamins are particularly active at temperatures of 40-70 degrees, therefore the vegetables undergo the greatest loss of vitamins when heated slowly, Always chop the vegetables after cooking, sliced material loses more vitamins in the water, Dissolving vitamins in cooking water can be reduced if cooked in as little liquid as possible becomes.
With a short searing or grilling, the sensitive nutrients are spared, if not too high temperatures are used. Especially recommendable is the preparation in wok, because it is fried only very briefly? the vegetables stay crisp and the nutrients are preserved.
Baking vegetables in the oven is rather unfavorable for the vitamins, as they usually have very high temperatures. If you but at low temperatures and ideally in a clay pot, the vitamins are spared and can not disappear in the water in contrast to cooking.
Most vitamins are obtained when steaming or stewing, The vegetables are cooked over water vapor or in their own juice, with no to minimal amounts of fat and water are added. Thus, the vitamins can not be leached and by relatively short cooking times, there are also fewer losses due to the effect of heat.
A life serving the vitamins?
In general, that applies raw consumed fruits and vegetables containing most nutrients, But does everyone have to become a raw food to ensure the supply of vitamins? Sometimes you can not or do not want to eat raw and some vegetables such as potatoes or legumes can not be eaten raw at all. The enjoyment of course plays a big role and many people taste it cooked or fried just better. Anyone who likes to eat raw food anyway, of course, can be happy about many vitamins and enjoy to your heart's content. You often hear that raw food is badly tolerated? By intensive and long chewing one can improve the compatibility enormouslybecause an important part of the digestion already takes place in the mouth.
However, those who prefer to eat warm despite everything, fortunately, also have no fear of acute vitamin deficiency. When the vegetables are heated, the should Cooking time kept as short as possible become. Also Long warming or repeated warming up you should avoid, thereby unnecessarily destroying vitamins. The You can use cooking water for sauces or soups, It contains many vitamins extracted from the vegetables, which can also find their way into the body.
For the perfectly vitamin-rich dish, there is no magic recipe and many factors of vitamin loss simply are not in our power. who cooks varied and uses a variety of preparation methods, the vitamins are certainly well-disposed. Just be aware that the Nutrient content may differ greatly from the theoretical information when consumed and you can actively influence how many vitamins you consume with your purchase, storage, and preparation.
