Six Methods for Retaining Calcium in Cooking by the Clever Cook's Kitchen

Poor dietary and cooking habits can often affect the body's absorption and utilization of calcium. Therefore, when cooking, it is important to minimize factors that inhibit calcium absorption.

1. Use vinegar when cooking meat dishes

Dishes like sweet and sour fish and sweet and sour ribs are the most beneficial for calcium absorption. During cooking, you can use low heat for a long time to stew, allowing the calcium in the fish and ribs to be more completely dissolved.

2. Stew tofu with fish

Fish contains vitamin D, which can promote the absorption of calcium in tofu, greatly increasing the bioavailability of calcium.

Catfish Stewed with Tofu

3. Dishes like scrambled eggs with tomatoes and pickled mustard greens with soybeans have a "calcium-supplementing" effect

Vitamin C promotes calcium absorption, and tomatoes are a food rich in vitamin C. When stir-fried with eggs, the vitamin C in the tomatoes can enhance calcium absorption, increasing the absorption rate. Pickled mustard greens are also rich in vitamin C; when eaten with soybeans, they can similarly greatly improve the absorption and utilization of calcium.

4. Blanch green vegetables like spinach and amaranth first

In the digestive tract, oxalic acid and phytic acid can easily bind with calcium to form insoluble compounds, hindering calcium absorption. Since oxalic acid is water-soluble, you can blanch spinach, amaranth, and similar vegetables in boiling water before cooking to remove the oxalic acid. Then, stir-fry them with tofu; this prevents the formation of insoluble calcium oxalate.

5. Soak rice in warm water beforehand or make more fermented flour products

Rice and white flour contain a lot of phytic acid, which can form insoluble calcium phytate, affecting calcium absorption. To address this, fermenting the flour or soaking the rice in warm water beforehand can remove some of the phytic acid.

6. Eat soybeans after sprouting

Soybeans have a high phytic acid content. Sprouting can be used to remove the phytic acid from soybeans. At the same time, the content of reducing vitamin C, which is not originally present in soybeans, increases significantly, promoting the absorption and utilization of calcium.