10 Healthy Home Cooking Tips for Early Autumn
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 thoroughly.
2. Don't let the cooking oil get too hot:
Frequently consuming dishes fried in oil that is too hot can easily lead to hypochlorhydria or gastric ulcers. If left untreated, it can even lead to cancerous changes.
3. When boiling meat or bones, avoid adding cold water:
Meat and bones contain a large amount of protein and fat. If cold water is suddenly added during boiling, the temperature of the broth will drop rapidly. The protein and fat will then solidify quickly, and the spaces within the meat and bones will suddenly contract, preventing them from becoming tender. Additionally, the natural flavor of the meat and bones will be affected.
4. Don't eat undercooked soybeans:
Soybeans contain a substance that interferes with the activity of trypsin in the human body. When people eat undercooked soybeans, it is difficult to digest and absorb the soy protein, and it can even cause diarrhea. However, eating soybeans that are well-boiled and tender will not cause any problems.
5. Don't add MSG 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, and it is also a waste.
6. Don't add MSG to acidic or alkaline foods:
When MSG (glutamic acid) is added to acidic food and heated at high temperatures, it loses water and turns 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 (sodium glutamate) converts into disodium glutamate, which has no umami taste.
7. Reused frying oil should not be consumed:
The thermal energy utilization of reused frying oil is only about one-third that of fresh oil. Furthermore, the unsaturated fats in the oil produce various harmful polymers when heated. These substances can stunt human growth and cause an enlarged liver. Additionally, vitamins and fatty acids in such oil are destroyed.
8. Don't thaw frozen meat at high temperatures:
Thawing frozen meat near a stove or in boiling water is not advisable. The moisture in the meat's tissue cannot be quickly absorbed by the cells and will leak out, preventing the meat from returning to its original quality. At high temperatures, the surface of the frozen meat will form a hard layer, which hinders the diffusion of heat to the inside and creates an opportunity for bacteria to multiply, making the meat spoil more easily. Frozen meat is best thawed naturally at room temperature.
9. Don't 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 area where Vitamin P is most concentrated in an eggplant is at the junction between its purple skin and the flesh. Therefore, eggplants should be eaten with the skin on, and it is not advisable to peel them.
10. Don't mix aluminum and iron cookware:
Aluminum is softer than iron. For example, if a wok is made of iron and the spatula is made of aluminum, the softer aluminum spatula will wear down quickly and mix into the food. Consuming too much aluminum is very detrimental to the body.