Before you start to cook, here are suggestions on cooking methods for bringing out the best results.
Baking:
This consists of heating the food in a dry oven without any moisture present other than that which is already in the oven. Temperature may be related from 200 degree F to 550 degree F. For best nutrient conservation, baking should stopped as soon as the food is well cooked. Breads and casserole dishes can be cooked in this manner.
Broiling:
To cook under or over direct heat. This may be done in a broiler section of your oven, directly under the heating until or over a fire. There are also portable electric and gas broiler. If broiling is brief, the nutrient content is retained. It is comparable to light roasting. If the food is cur thin, allowing a large surface exposure, the vitamin loss is high. This is favorite cooking method for meats.
Boiling:
This consists of cooking food in actively boiling water. Usually this is at about 212 degree F. To get the most taste and nutrient supple, add the foods to a small volume of actively boiling water. Keep the vessel covered. You will lose precious nutrients and also deplete a juicy good taste if you resort to slow heating from cold water or boil dry with air exposure. Boil your water first, insert food, keep kettle covered. Boil until sufficiently tender.
Steaming:
To cook over boiling water in a tightly covered kettle. The food should be above liquid. The steam from the boiling liquid does the cooking. Available are special steamers kettle with fitted racks. Conserve taste and nutrients in vegetables and other foods by steaming gently in a little hot water and vegetable oil. The water supply should be less than the amount of food to be cooked. Use a heavy kettle with a tight cover. Cooking in a double boiler is a form of steaming in which the material is cooked somewhat below the normal boiling temperature of water.
Roasting:
This method utilizes adjacent heat. It calls for cooking in the oven, uncovered. For best taste and nutrient supply, cook just until done and then remove.
Simmering:
To cook gently below the boiling point. The liquid should be barely moving. Sauces, stews and other foods that require long, slow cooking are usually simmered.
Pressure-cooking:
Cooking takes place in a confined kettle at a pressure greater than atmospheric pressure, and usually the temperature within the pressure boiler is also greater than the 212 degree F, normal boiling temperature. Since this method excludes all air, there is essentially no oxidation of nutrients. Thus, you retain much more vitamins and minerals. Pressure-cooking is a method for quickly boiling foods and for boiling and predigesting certain foods, such as beans which would require prolonged boiling to render them properly digestible.
Waterless Cooking:
Very satisfactory for vegetables which contain up to 90 per cent water. This water content is sufficient for cooking if the heat is controlled so no steam escapes. The waterless cooker should have a tight-fitting lid. The heat should be evenly distributed to the sides and the lid. This way, vegetables are cooked by heat coming from all directions. You need not add any water when cooking vegetables by this method, but it is wise to add two tablespoons in the preheated utensil to replace oxygen by steam. Most important to remember is to keep the heat low after the first few minutes so no steam escapes. This is very good for vegetables because it conserves precious nutrients.
Frying:
To cook on top of the stove in a large amount of fat quite deep in the pan. Someone said that Heaven sent us food but the Devil sent us frying pans. Frying is a destructive process for most nutrients that are sensitive to oxidation. Furthermore, much fat will coat the food and make it difficult to digest. In health food cookery, you defeat yourself when you fry. You can ruin delicious T-bone steak, meat balls, nourishing chowders, by frying. But there may be some situations that are unavoidable, so here are some suggestions. Use vegetable oils only in your frying pan. Use just enough to keep the food from sticking to the frying pan.
Deep-fat frying:
This should be avoided except when you are absolutely unable to resort to another type of cookery method. Deep-fried foods are not wholesome. This process calls for total immersion of food in fat and subsequent frying. Obviously, the taste is ruined and the nutrient store is partially destroyed.
Sandy A. is a food lover who has been into food business for more than 20 years. She shares her experience in cooking tips, recipes as well as healthy cooking way.
She maintains her site at: Low Carb Diabetic Diet
Read her blog at: Low Carb Diabetic Blog
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