What seems like a simple, everyday kitchen issue actually concerns the food safety, health, and nutrition of your family. 1. Don't add salt too early when cooking meat:
The main component of salt, sodium chloride, can easily cause the protein in the meat to coagulate, making the meat shrink, become tough, and difficult to cook tender. 2. The frying pan shouldn't be overheated:
Frequently eating dishes fried in an overheated pan can easily lead to hypochlorhydria or gastric ulcers. If left untreated, it can even lead to cancer. 3. When boiling meat or bones, avoid adding cold water:
Meat and bones contain large amounts of protein and fat. Suddenly adding cold water during boiling causes the temperature of the broth to drop sharply. The protein and fat will then quickly solidify, and the spaces in the meat and bones will suddenly shrink, preventing them from becoming tender. Furthermore, the natural flavor of the meat and bones will also be affected.
4. Undercooked soybeans should not be eaten:
Soybeans contain a substance that interferes with the activity of trypsin in the human body. When people eat undercooked soybeans, they have difficulty digesting and absorbing the soy protein, which can even lead to diarrhea. However, eating soybeans that are thoroughly cooked and tender will not cause any problems. 5. Monosodium glutamate (MSG) should not be added when cooking eggs:
Eggs themselves contain glutamic acid, the same component as MSG. Therefore, it is unnecessary to add MSG when scrambling eggs. MSG will destroy the natural umami of the eggs, which is also a waste. 6. MSG should not be added to acidic or alkaline foods:
When MSG is added to acidic food and heated at high temperatures, it will lose water and turn into sodium pyroglutamate. Although it is non-toxic, it loses all its umami flavor. In alkaline food, when the solution is in an alkaline condition, MSG will transform into disodium glutamate, which has no umami taste. 7. Reused frying oil should not be consumed:
The energy utilization of repeatedly used frying oil is only about one-third that of regular oil. Furthermore, the unsaturated fats in the oil, when heated, produce various harmful polymers. These substances can stunt human growth and cause an enlarged liver. Additionally, vitamins and fatty acids in this type of oil are destroyed.
8. Frozen meat should not be thawed at high temperatures:
Thawing frozen meat near a stove or in boiling water is not advisable. Because the water in the meat's tissue cannot be quickly absorbed by the cells and will leak out, the meat cannot restore its original quality. When exposed to high temperatures, the surface of the frozen pork will form a hard membrane, which hinders the diffusion of heat to the inside of the meat, creating an opportunity for bacteria to multiply and making the meat spoil more easily. Frozen meat is best thawed naturally at room temperature. 9. It is not advisable to peel eggplants when eating them:
Vitamin P is a very beneficial vitamin for the human body. Among all vegetables in China, eggplants contain the highest amount of Vitamin P. The place where Vitamin P is most concentrated in the eggplant is at the junction of its purple skin and flesh. Therefore, eggplants should be eaten with the skin on, and it is not advisable to peel them. 10. Aluminum and iron cookware should not be mixed:
Aluminum is softer than iron. For example, if a wok is made of iron and the spatula is aluminum, the softer aluminum spatula will quickly wear down and mix into the food. Consuming excessive amounts of aluminum is very harmful to the body.