COOK FOOD WELL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 1 December 1938, Page 10

COOK FOOD WELL

SOME USEFUL HINTS. Loss of vitamins during cooking occurs in a number of different ways. Some are easily destroyed by heat; others disappear when exposed to air; others are destroyed when certain substances (soda, for instance) are added during cooking. Others as well as mineral salts are readily dissolved in water and are washed out when the vegetables are soaked in water too long, cooked too long, oi’ in too much water, and then this water laden with all the good properties is just strained off and discarded. Here are a few practical ways to conserve the health-giving portion of every-day foodstuffs; it really is very simple. Potatoes are served daily, but rarely to the full advantage for the conserving of their vitamin and mineral content. By paring away the skin, the best part of the potato is lost. Just what a large amount of valuable nutriment is thus lost in a year of the child’s development and thrown away in the peelings! By scraping the potatoes, or, better still, cooking them in their jockets, the valuable minerals which lie close under the skin, and the vitamin that would otherwise be destroyed by contact with the air, are retained and eaten. ' To get the greatest food value from green peas, soda should not be added merely to preserve their green colour. Peas can be attractively green and also most palatable, if cooked in a little water to which sugar and mint are added, as well as some of their own pods, which should be removed before serving. Cabbage will cook as well without soda, if after washing the leaves carefully they are chopped into small pieces, dropped into a very small amount of boiling water, and covered with a well-fitting lid and only cooked for a short time. Mixed with butter and flavoured with salt, it makes a very much more appetising food than the one-time dish of cabbage boiled to a pulp in oceans of water with the aid of soda to soften it down, and then the remaining good properties strained off down the sink. Spinach should be cooked in a closed saucepan with only the water which adheres to the leaves after washing. Vegetables lose less vitamins when cooked at high temperatures for short periods, but should not be overcooked. *Any water that is left over when the cooking is completed should be used in making soups, gravies, or sauces, thus saving most of the vitamins and minerals.

Taking into consideration that cooking may cause the loss of some of the valuable contents of vegetables, even with raw salads and fruits, there can still be a leakage of vitamins and minerals. The deep green outer leaves of the lettuce are far richer than the inner white leaves, and, if properly shredded. make a health-saving, money-saving salad. Fruit and vegetables, once cut open, lose in value if allowed to stand exposed to the air for a length of time. Orange juice is by no means as rich in vitamin C if allowed to stand for several hours. Baby then should have his orange juice squeezed just when he is ready to drink it.