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HOW TO LIMIT VITAMIN
LOSS WHEN COOKING AND STORING FOOD
Vitamins and Minerals in the Kitchen
You can find vitamins and minerals in nearly every product, but what happens to these vitamins and minerals during preparation? During cooking there won't be any loss of minerals, but you will lose vitamins because they can be very sensitive to heat, moisture and light. So you can see it's an art to store and cook food so that vitamin loss is kept to a minimum.
Vegetables
Vegetables are one of those foods most vulnerable to vitamin loss. Those vitamins that can get lost easily during storing and preparation are: Vitamin C, Folic Acid and Vitamin B6. They are exactly those vitamins that are present in great amounts in vegetables. We cannot say exactly how much gets lost during cooking, but with the information we have about Vitamin C loss, experts assume that when the Vitamin C amount in a product drops, that Folic Acid and Vitamin B6 amounts will drop as well.
Vegetables: Fresh, Frozen or from a Jar or Can
Of course there will be some loss of vitamins and minerals during the deep freezing and canning processes in the factory. But after cooking frozen vegetables you will have the same amount of vitamins as you have in cooked fresh vegetables. Vegetables from a jar or can contain fewer vitamins compared to frozen vegetables, but the differences are very small. The reason is that high quality fresh vegetables are used for deep freezing and canning. Moreover, frozen vegetables have a very short cooking time (always follow the cooking instructions on the label) compared to fresh vegetables, so the loss of vitamins is smaller. Vegetables from a jar or can should just be heated up, not cooked for a prolonged time.
Cooking Vegetables in the
Traditional Way
Because moisture and heat can cause vitamin loss it's important not to cook vegetables the wrong way, using too much water and cooking too long. This can cost you a heavy loss of vitamins. So use just a small amount of water so that your vegetables can stay above the water. Always cover the pot so the cooking time is short.
Six Rules to Limit Vitamin Loss in
Vegetables:
Store your vegetables in the fridge and make sure that the vegetables you buy don't have damaged spots or are overripe. Remember that moisture can cause vitamin loss. Always look for the best quality.
If you buy fresh vegetables that have already been cut into small pieces, eat them the same day.
Wash the vegetables and cut them just before cooking and not a day or way before.
Don't leave vegetables in water.
Cook only a short time with a small amount of water.
Eat vegetables directly after cooking. Storing and reheating loses too many vitamins.
Potatoes
Fresh potatoes are also good sources of Vitamin C; however, instant mashed potatoes don't contain any. Other fresh potato products like mashed potatoes or fries contain about the same amount of Vitamin C as cooked vegetables. It's important to mention that the whole potato contains Vitamin C and that includes the skin. So to limit Vitamin C loss use only a small amount of water for cooking, making sure the potatoes stay above the water. Cover the pot to shorten the cooking time.
Fruit Juices
Often you hear that Vitamin C can be easily lost in a glass of fresh orange or grapefruit juice. The truth is that this process is slower than you think. To explain, if you leave a glass of fresh orange juice standing for a good while it doesn't mean that all the Vitamin C has been lost. After a day there is a loss of only 1.5 - 2% of Vitamin C. Of course the product should be closed and stored in a cold place. One glass of 100% citrus fruit juice is the equivalent of one fresh citric fruit.
Milk
Milk is a good source of Folic Acid, Vitamins B1, B6 and B12. Pasteurized milk (that milk that's kept cold in the supermarket) has a short storage life compared to sterilized milk that can be stored for months. In both pasteurized and sterilized milk there will be some loss of these vitamins, but it's minimal. During the longer storage life of sterilized milk there may be extra vitamin loss, but it's still a good alternative to pasteurized milk. Light can cause some Vitamin B2 loss so it's best to store milk in the dark. Angélique Salsbach
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