by What is the pre-cooking process and its importance
As the name suggests, it refers to the preparation that is done before cooking the dish, which involves washing, cutting, grinding, fermentation, sprouting and so on. These steps are m[oat because they help in the cooking of the dish and also helps maintain the nutritional values of the dish. But it should be done in a controlled manner to avoid the loss of nutrients. For instance, excessive washing of rice and pulses will result in loss of certain minerals and vitamins. Also, cutting vegetables into small pieces exposes a greater surface area of the foodstuff to the atmosphere, resulting in loss of vitamins due to oxidation.
Methods of processing food at home to improve and retain nutrients in food
As per ICMR, soaking, popping, puffing, sprouting/germinating, malting and fermentation are some of the methods that improve the digestibility and bioavailability of nutrients from wholegrains and legumes.
Also Read: Why ICMR has advised against cooking in non-stick pans
Right way of sprouting
The guidelines duly mentions the right way of sprouting, which helps maintain the nutrients values intact and also boosts gut health. It is suggested to place the cleaned grains in a strainer, rinse well, and drain the water. Next, soak the grains in a bowl with excess water, and let it rest at room temperature overnight or for at least 12 hours. Drain the water in a strainer and rinse it well. Place the grains in a moist muslin cloth and cover the grains loosely to allow air circulation. Keep it out of direct sunlight at room temperature and in 1-3 days sprouts will be ready.
ICMR suggests steaming over blanching of vegetables as the nutrient content is better retained with the former.
Healthy cooking methods suggested by ICMR
Importance of cooking: As per ICMR, cooking improves digestibility of most foods. Foods get softened on cooking and become easily chewable. Proper methods of cooking make foods palatable by improving their appearance, taste, flavour, and texture, thereby enhancing acceptability.
Open and closed lid cooking: It is said that in open lid cooking, food takes a longer time to get cooked and exposure to air accelerates nutrient loss. While in closed-lid cooking food gets cooked quickly and nutrients are better retained because of the shorter cooking time.
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Boiling and pressure cooking: As per ICMR, boiling or pressure cooking is the best way to improve the nutritional quality of pulses since anti-nutritional factors are destroyed during boiling and pressure cooking. Hence, these methods increase the digestibility and therefore protein availability.
Steaming: In contrast to boiling, during the process of steaming, the food merely comes into contact with steam. Steaming is the best cooking method to increase the level of both antioxidants and polyphenols in vegetables and greens.
Frying: ICMR states that due to the high temperatures in the frying process, changes occur in nutrients such as proteins and vitamins. The main disadvantage of this method, if often used, is that it increases the consumption of fats and oils, which are linked with increased risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. ICMR says that repeated use of oils used for frying should also be avoided. Further, already used oils should not be mixed with fresh oils and reused.
Shallow frying: It has higher nutrient loss. As per ICMR, compared to deep frying, there’s a lot more exposure to ambient oxygen, this causes fats and oils to degrade significantly when combined with high temperature.
Stir-Frying: This method preserves nutrients when compared to cooking in liquid. The rapid cooking seals in nutrients but heat-labile vitamins will still begin to degrade.
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Microwave cooking: The nutritional effects of microwaves on protein lipids, vitamins, and minerals are minimal. It is preferable to use glass or microwave safe ceramic vessels and to avoid plastic vessels.
Roasting: The use of the constant oven temperature of 150-150 degree Celsius throughout the cooking period results in lower cooking loss when compared to a high starting temperature.
Barbecue and grilling: These cooking methods introduce harmful compounds like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and advanced glycation end products (AGEs) if not done properly.
Slow Cooking: In this, cooking cell walls break down and there is a release of powerful antioxidants from vegetables making them more available to the body.
Air Frying: It stimulates deep frying without the excess use of oil. Also, air frying significantly decreases the amount of oil absorbed into foods compared to deep frying. Less oil leads to less calories, which can reduce the risk of weight gain and obesity.
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