Today is the last solar term of autumn - Frost fall . After this time, the grass and trees in the world withered and yellow, sting insect begins to hibernate, and all things gradually turn to bleakness, and winter is not far away.
As the saying goes, "It is better to replenish frost than to replenish frost in a year." After the frost, the weather gets colder and colder. Only by replenishing energy for the body can we better cope with the arrival of severe cold.
However, before everyone is busy with various tonic foods, the waiter has a question: Will you blanch the ingredients in advance when cooking? Many people may think that blanching is nothing more than making the dishes look better and there is no need. But this is not the case!
Seven reasons
Let you not omit the step of "blanching"
blanching. Simply put, put the preliminarily processed ingredients into a pot with water, let it heat until half-cooked or fully cooked, and then take it out and set aside. This not-so-complex process can play 7 functions:
1. Remove the fishy smell
represents food: tofu, pork, mutton, etc.
Blanch the tofu in water before cooking, which can help remove the fishy smell of beans.
Pork, lamb or some not-fresh meat ingredients, blanch them in advance before cooking, which can effectively remove residual blood and stains inside and reduce the odor in the meat.
2. Keep bright and bright
represents food: green leafy vegetables such as Chinese cabbage, spinach, rapeseed, etc.
Add a little salt and oil to the water, then put the green leafy vegetables in the pot and blanch them properly. The color will become green and bright, which will not only look good but also helps to enhance appetite.
However, it should be noted that the blanching time should not be too long, otherwise some water-soluble nutrients may be lost in large quantities. In addition, after blanching the water with salt, add less salt during subsequent cooking to avoid excessive intake.
3. Shorten the cooking time
represents food: potatoes, kelp, pig's trotters and other difficult-to-cook ingredients.
blanching can make the ingredients reach a semi-cooked or mature state in advance, thereby shortening the time for subsequent frying and stir-frying, and keeping the taste fresh and tender.
Moreover, by blanching, different ingredients can be controlled to a certain degree of maturity, so that they can be cooked evenly in subsequent cooking, avoiding the situation where some are cooked but some are still very raw.
4. Reduce nitrite
represents food: Chinese toon , etc.
nitrite is very toxic, and intake of 0.3~0.5 grams can cause poisoning; it may also form carcinogen nitrosamine in the stomach. Therefore, excessive nitrite intake can pose health risks.
Although vegetables contain more or less some nitrites, they basically do not exceed 1 mg/kg, and even fewer than 0.5 mg/kg. But Chinese toon is a little exception. Its nitrite content can sometimes be calculated directly in grams/kg. Especially for old Chinese toon that are picked late, the nitrite content is usually relatively high.
Fortunately, nitrite is easy to soluble in water. Studies have found that blanching in boiling water for 30 seconds can reduce nitrite by 81% and retain most of the vitamin C and polyphenols substances. Therefore, it is best to blanch the toon before cooking, and do not eat too much.
5. Reduce the oxalic acid content
represents food: spinach, bamboo shoots, purslane , etc.
If vegetables contain more oxalic acid, it will not only bring a bitter taste, but excessive intake may also affect the absorption and utilization of minerals such as calcium and iron, and have the opportunity to form insoluble substances such as calcium oxalate , increasing the risk of kidney stones .
Oxalic acid is also soluble in water. Blanching these vegetables with high oxalic acid in water can greatly reduce the oxalic acid content and remove the bitter taste.
6. Destruction toxin
represents food: green bean , lentil , fresh daylily , etc.
Some fresh beans such as green beans and lentils contain saponin and phytohemagglutinin. They are strongly irritating to the digestive tract mucosa, causing nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and may also cause hemorrhagic inflammation.
colchicine contained in fresh daylily will oxidize into extremely toxic dicolchicine after entering the human body.
These toxins can be decomposed after thorough heating, but it takes a long time.Blanching ahead of time can help reduce cooking time and make the food cooked more thoroughly, thereby destroying toxins and reducing toxicity.
Tips: The content of saponin and phytohemagglutinin in different varieties of beans is high and low, and the risk of poisoning is also large and small. Generally speaking, the risks of green beans, lentils, and oil beans are relatively high, while the risks of cowpea and Dutch beans are relatively low.
7. Remove pesticide residues
represents food: mushrooms, broccoli and other ingredients that are not easy to wash.
In hot water, the solubility of pesticides is enhanced, so the effect of removing pesticide residues is better than that of cold water. Studies have shown that blanching for 1 to 10 minutes will help remove pesticide residues.
In general, although not all ingredients must be blanched before cooking, vegetables with high nitrite content, vegetables with high oxalic acid content, and raw toxic dishes must be blanched before cooking, otherwise it will be harmful to health. Other dishes like difficult-to-cooked or strong-odor dishes can also be blanched in advance to facilitate the next step.
How to make blanching?
Vegetables and meat blanched
each have different requirements
These are suitable for potting in cold water
① Meats with large volume and strong fishy smell. Let the meat heat up with cold water, so as to prevent the surface protein from coagulating prematurely; the maturity between the inside and outside is relatively consistent, making it easier for blood foam and odor to be discharged.
In addition, when blanching meat, you can add some cooking wine, onion, ginger, pepper and other seasonings to remove the fishy smell better.
② Large size and difficult to mature rhizome vegetables. Ingredients such as potatoes and bamboo shoots are also suitable for blanching in cold water, which makes it easier to mature. When blanching the cold water pot, just add water to the pot without too much ingredients, so don’t overdo it. During this period, everyone should turn the ingredients frequently to make them evenly heat them and avoid sticking to the pot.
These are suitable for boiling water to cook
① Most vegetables. Most vegetables such as spinach, rapeseed, bean sprouts, broccoli, etc. are more suitable for blanching in boiling water. On the one hand, it helps to reduce the loss of water-soluble vitamin , and on the other hand, it can maintain the color and crispy taste of the vegetables.
②Seafood and some meats with little blood stains, small size and light smell. Seafood and small pieces of meat are easy to mature, and there is less blood stain, so blanching in hot water is better.
Blanching time
In the subsequent cooking situation, if you need to continue cooking:
leafy vegetables are generally taken out for about 15 seconds, and the color becomes darker, and it is not suitable to blanch them for too long;
Broil blue flowers, bamboo shoots and other vegetables take a little longer, usually 1 to 2 minutes;
poultry and livestock meat is put in a pot with cold water, and a lot of floating foam appears;
Aquatic seafood and other seafood are boiling water, and they can be taken out when they change color;
Blank toxic vegetables can be blanched for a longer time to ensure that the ingredients are thoroughly cooked.
Source: CCTV Go home for dinner
