Tips for cooking healthier
If we cook food properly we not only ensure the elimination of bacteria -making them safer for consumption-, we also improve their flavor, being more palatable and rich on the palate. However, overexposure to heat and cooking too much food can lead to the appearance of some substances that are not recommended for a healthy diet.
Each food has a wide range of characteristic flavors that are formed during cooking. Changes in texture, color and taste - which appear when the food surface is subjected to a heat source - are due to the reaction between the different nutrients that make them up and which we finally observe as an "effect toasted". During cooking, hundreds of compounds are produced that give rise to different flavors, which in turn trigger others, making them a delight for profane and gourmets. It is important to find the balance between insufficient and excessive cooking; It is not difficult and it is about applying only common sense and remembering some simple tips, to which the moderation of salt consumption is added.
Tips for cooking meats and fish
Cooking meat or fish in excess -both red meats and poultry- can lead to the formation of substances called nitrosamines, which are potentially harmful; in experimental animals it has been shown that they produce different types of cell damage. To avoid the formation of these compounds we should avoid exposure to excessive heat.
Tips to enjoy the family barbecue safely:
1. We should not grill the meat or fish over the direct flame, but on burning embers and at a distance from them.
2. It is convenient to adjust the exposure time to heat: If you use a thermometer to measure the temperature of the meat center, it will tell you when it is ready. Whether it is poultry, fish, hamburgers or sausages, the center of the food must reach a temperature of at least 65 ° -70 ° C, for about two minutes, before removing it from the heat source.
3. Marinating meat reduces the formation of some of these harmful substances. You can marinate meat in beer, red wine, sauces, olive oil or other marinades.
4. We must remove burned meat and make sure to discard the charred parts before consuming it.
Avoid toasting too much carbohydrates
When it is cooked high temperatures foods rich in starch, like cereals (rice, wheat, oats ...), compounds called acrylamides, which in experimental animals have been associated with adverse health effects. To avoid this we should try not to toast the bread too much, nor other foods that contain starch such as rice, potatoes, biscuits or cookies.
The formation of acrylamide can be reduced with the following measures:
- Take toast with a light brown color, instead of dark brown. Do not consume very dark areas completely.
- Do not cool too much the breaded or battered.
- It is preferable to boil the potatoes or make them in the microwave, whole with the skin ("cooking in the microwave or in the oven").
- Avoid very burned rice of the background of the paella.
We must know that one of the foods in which more acrylamides appear are the industrial chip chips, the "chips".
Clean oil for frying
Frying in oil that has already been used several times not only affects the flavor of the food, but also results in the formation of chemical products called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The most common is benzopyrene, a potential carcinogen.
EFSA has warned about the health problems associated with these compounds and advises against them. One way to avoid their training is to cook with clean oil, which in addition to improving the flavor of the dishes, will make them safer and healthier. PAHs are not only formed during frying, but also in other cooking in which high temperatures are reached and where fats / oils are present, such as when smoking meat or when fats and sauces are heated.
Thus, when roasting in the oven or grill a piece of meat, the fat and juices of it drip on the hot surfaces where it is cooking; if the fat melts on the embers, or when the food burns, a large amount of PAHs are produced; it is then when the flames and fumes facilitate that these stick to the surface of the meat. To reduce them we will put a tray that collects the fat, which we will gradually remove. Burned meat parts also contain many PAHs and, therefore, we should not consume them either.
Herminia Romero
