The Lviv Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine has prepared tips that we hope will help you
How not to lose vitamin C during heat treatment
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is the most necessary for the human body among all vitamins, which participates in more than 300 biological processes, so the normal life of the body is impossible without it.
Its daily requirement is an average of 80 mg, while the total requirement for other vitamins is 20 mg.
Unfortunately, our body is not able to synthesize vitamin C on its own, so it is necessary to regularly include fresh fruits, vegetables, and greens in our diet. The largest amount of vitamin C is found in vegetables such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, sweet peppers, tomatoes, peas, and potatoes. Among greens, this organic compound is abundant in chard, spinach, dill and parsley. Among the berries, the leaders in the amount of vitamin C are rose hips, black currants, sea buckthorn, strawberries, strawberries.
At the same time, even if you constantly consume products containing ascorbic acid, it is unlikely that you will be able to save it in such a quantity. It is important to remember that vitamin C is usually easily destroyed by high temperatures and air. As a result, its amount in products is reduced by at least half, and if you leave the cooked dish for the next day, you can forget about it altogether. For example, boiling and blanching reduce vitamin C content more than any other method. Yes, broccoli and spinach lose up to 50% or sometimes more vitamin C if they are boiled.
At the same time, in order to preserve vitamin C in ready-made dishes, it is necessary to follow several rules when preparing food:·
When cleaning vegetables, remove the skin as thin as possible, because vitamin C is not in the middle of the fruit, but on the surface. It is optimal to boil vegetables in their skins.
· Boil potatoes, beets, carrots and other vegetables whole, without cutting them into pieces for quick cooking. Most of the vitamins are released during cooking, so it is better not to drain the broth in which to boil vegetables, but to cook sauces or other dishes on it.
Put vegetables in boiling water, do not pour cold water over them. This will help preserve a little more vitamin C in the finished dish. Do not let the water boil too much, as this also contributes to the destruction of the vitamin. Remember that a part of vitamin C is obtained by pre-soaking vegetables in cold water.
· To cook vegetables, you should use enameled dishes, and copper and iron help destroy vitamin C.
· Vitamin C does not tolerate long-term heat treatment, so it does not take long to cook.
It is better to store products in a dark and cool place, as light and heat also contribute to the destruction of vitamin C.
The most useful are vegetables and fruits, just removed from the garden. Of course, in urban conditions, this is almost impossible, and therefore you need to be careful about the selection of vegetables and fruits in the market, and store them only in the refrigerator.
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