Fruits have always been eaten raw, earning them a reputation for zero loss of nutrients. However, it is now the height of winter, and most people prefer to eat warm food to warm their bodies. For those who are sensitive to cold, prone to diarrhea, or have indigestion, cold fruits have therefore fallen out of favor. In fact, fruits don't necessarily have to be eaten cold; many are actually quite suitable for being eaten cooked.
Cooking apples retains most of their nutrients
Some might say: Isn't cooking apples a loss of nutrients? What's the point of eating them then? This sounds reasonable, but it's not actually the case.
Common fruits like apples, pears, peaches, bananas, and pineapples contain very little vitamin C, as well as small amounts of vitamin B1 and folate.
The nutrients that are sensitive to heat are none other than these. Fat-soluble substances like carotene and lycopene are not afraid of being heated to 100 degrees Celsius, and minerals and dietary fiber are not lost due to heating. The polyphenolic antioxidant substances in them are mainly water-soluble, and under boiling conditions, most of them can be retained. Therefore, if your goal in eating fruit is to increase your potassium intake, add dietary fiber, or increase your water intake, eating them cooked will not be a hindrance.
Cooked apples are not suitable for people trying to control their weight
After being boiled, steamed, or roasted until soft, the cell walls of the fruit soften, the texture becomes mushy, the digestion speed increases, and the feeling of fullness decreases.
When eating a raw apple, one can feel very full, and few people would immediately ask for a second one. However, eating a cooked apple is easy to consume. At the same time, drinking apple soup before a meal is sweet and sour, not very filling, yet very stimulating to the appetite. Therefore, cooked apples are not very suitable for weight control but are more suitable for people who need to gain weight and those with indigestion.
Fruits rich in vitamin C are not suitable for cooking
Of course, fruits that are particularly rich in vitamin C, such as kiwis, oranges, grapefruits, and strawberries, do not need to be cooked. However, fruits that are not too high in vitamin C and have a relatively firm texture that can withstand cooking can be considered for eating cooked in the winter.
The reason why apples are praised and revered in various countries, besides their health benefits, is another important one: they are suitable for various cooking methods and suit everyone's taste preferences. They can not only be boiled and steamed, but also roasted, and even stewed with meat, all of which are rare delicacies.
Delicious Apple Soup
Wash the apples that are past their prime at home, core them, cut them into eight pieces with the skin on, and throw them into a clay pot. Wash a few large red dates, snip a slit in each, and also throw them into the clay pot. Add two or three pitted hawthorns. You can also add a few pieces of white fungus and a small handful of raisins. Add a little less water, just one bowl, bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat for half an hour. If using an electric pressure cooker, it's even simpler: just set the timer for 15 minutes, and after the pressure is released, the apple soup is ready.
If you add too much water, the fruit will taste sour after cooking, and you will need to add sugar or honey to achieve the best taste. Therefore, it is still best to use less water and rely on the natural sugars from the fruit and dried fruit to maintain the sweetness.
Tips
In addition to fruit, you can also add other ingredients to the soup. For example, adding fermented rice wine (laozao) to make a fruit soup with a sweet wine aroma, which is more suitable for breakfast. Adding glutinous rice to make a congee, or adding lotus root starch to make a fruit and lotus root starch soup, is also very delicious. To expand the range of ingredients further, you can also add diced sweet potatoes, diced yams, and other tuber foods, as well as dried fruits like raisins, dried persimmon pieces, and dried apricots, making the dish richer in content and more diverse in flavor.