| The Vegetable Revolution - By Karnail Singh |
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| Posted on Wed 09 Apr 2008 by admin (309 reads) |
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The Vegetable Revolution The advantage of eating fresh vegetables is their low calorie count, especially considering their high levels of other nutrients. That makes them nutritionally dense, with a great concentration of nutritional value packed into each calorie. Vegetables have now become a source of pleasure appreciated for their bright colours, delightfully crisp or tender textures and flavours that range from sharp or pleasantly bitter, to tangy, to nut sweet or mellow. Their wholesomeness has long been acknowledged but they are no longer regarded as a chore to eat, limply, drably mounded on the side of the plate. Proper care in growing, harvesting and handling storing and preparation has made this vegetable revolution possible. Today vegetables are attractive to look at and eat as chefs are exploring new ways of serving them both raw and cooked. They are a welcome addition to meal, often becoming the central focus, especially as their nutritional value is better understood. From elaborate salads to vegetable soufflés and casseroles to pasta with vegetable sauces, vegetables have become a daily source of discovery. Interest in ethnic cuisines has also broadened the vegetable horizon. Vegetable in the past might have been badly overcooked loosing nutritious value are sliced or silvered raw into salads or included on platters with dips. Broccoli, spinach, cauliflower white turnip jicams and kohlrabi have joined cucumbers radishes carrots and celery as salad bowl favorites. The Freshness Factor It is not difficult to become a good judge of vegetables. Generally speaking a vegetable that looks fresh and sound will be fresh and sound and be most appealing to eat. That is because the kind of ripeness you expect in a piece of fruit the development of sugar in the mature specimen is a factor in selecting vegetables. Small size is sometimes a guarantee of tenderness because in some vegetables the larger specimens can be overdeveloped or woody but size is not always a consideration. Some people prefer the convenience of a large potato, tomato or onion for certain purposes whereas others prize finger sized zucchini potatoes no larger than golf balls or miniature or baby carrots. The size will depend on the end product to be served. Fresh herbs and leafy greens should be bright and lively looking with no signs of browing or wilting. With fragile highly perishable vegetables freshness does not usually relate to the speed with which they arrive in the store but is also depends on the storage and handling from the field to the green grocer. In general look for vegetables with tart, unbroken skins or flesh, with even shapes no evidence of shriveling wilting, cracking, bruises, soft spots or rotting. Leaf or flower clusters should be tightly furled and not yellowing. Moist stem ends free of browning are another indication of quality. But sometimes discolorations such as red streaks on green peppers or brownish traces on artichokes are not sings of deterioration. The most important factor therefore affecting the quality of fresh vegetables is the condition in which they are maintained from the moment of harvesting until they are served. For most vegetables careful cold storage throughout is essential . At cold but not freezing temperatures, the action of enzymes that may course flesh stems, bulbs leaves or roots to soften or discolour are slowed. Also evaporation of the natural moisture of the vegetable of the through the skin is retarded. Most vegetable such as brinjals and cucumbers are treated with an edible wax like coating or a vegetable oil to protect them. Vegetable coming from the fields are generally washed. This removes the natural protective coating called cuticle. This waxing is done to replace this coating otherwise the vegetable will spoil faster. This coating can be washed off or the vegetables peeled before using. A wide variety of evoking methods are suitable for vegetables. Some vegetables should be cooked only briefly snow peas and green beans are best if they remain crunchy and bright green whereas other like artichokes and potatoes cooking until one tender and they are less suited to the quick methods such as stir frying the shortest possible cooking times depending on the vegetable and the method is always desirable since it will not only preserve the appealing textures and colours but also help to retain the nutrients Some useful hints on cooking or vegetables: 1 With the exception of green or red peppers and onion vegetables must be blanched before they can be frozen. 2 To preserve the bright colour of blanched vegetables, rinse them in cold water as soon as you drain them. This is called refreshing. 3 When boiling artichoke at a heat proof plate or a pot lid smaller than the pot right into the pot to weight the artichoke and keep them submerged. 4 A good way to boil asparagus is to stand them up in a double boiler with boiling water in the bottom and the top of double boiler inverted over the asparagus tips. Broccoli spears may also be cooked in the same manner. 5 Steaming is may be the optimum method of cooking vegetables from a nutritional point of view since it requires no fat and preserves the nutrient that might otherwise be drained off into the cooking liquids. 6 Steaming is a good method to reheat cooked vegetables quickly without loss of flavours or texture. 7 Vegetables that have a spongy texture such as mushrooms or brinjals should be sautéed over very high heat to sear them. 8 Do not season vegetable with salt when stir frying or sautéing because that will cause them to give off moisture. 9 Vegetable coated with crumbs should be refrigerated for 30 minutes before deep frying to set the coating. 10 For better results dry vegetables before deep frying 11 Batter should be applied thinly but evenly a heavy batter may become soggy. 12 Broil or grill green or red peppers until they are completely charred, then place the peppers in a paper bag for 10 minutes. The skin will come off easily. 13 Always pierce whole vegetables such as brinjals potatoes or squash before micro waving them to prevent them from bursting. 14 Although you can use very little liquid makes sure there is enough to maintain the steam through out the cooking process when using a pressure cooker. To Preserve the Nutrients in Vegetables 1 Make sure they are as fresh as possible. 2 Do not overcook them or cook them at very high temperatures 3 Cook the whole wherever possible, or cut through into larger pieces. 4 Remove as little peel as possible 5 Do not allow them to soak in water 6 Try to use the vegetable cooking liquids in soups or sauces to recapture some of the nutrients. By: Karnail Singh Head of the Department C.T.I.H.M.C.T.,Jalandhar, INDIA |
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