Cooking Methods

Pretty much all living things consume food the way it’s found in nature. Except us. It’s bizarre: we love the instant foods (everything that’s been processed to near-toxic levels), yet the most instant foods involve taking a big bite of something on the ground or a tree. Rather, we’ve gone further and revolutionised cooking methods that claim to be quick and make it easy to prepare our food. Anyway, though raw foods is what your body metabolises best, it’s  not possible for us to live solely on raw ‘anything’. While cooking can destroy many nutrients, it can even enhance few. Let’s touch upon the various methods and machines used for cooking and choose the best from the list.

Baking and roasting: The oven is the most under-appreciated kitchen appliance. Baking and roasting can significantly reduce fat calories since they require little or no oil. Just brush a little oil on vegetables, fruit and meat, set the right temperature and bake in a nonstick aluminium foil. If you’re not a fan of the way Indian food turns out in an oven, bake first for a little while and then use the traditional stove-top method.

Broiling: In broiling, the food lies directly under a continuous heat source. Cooking under direct heat for a short period of time is a great way to cook tender meats. To prevent excessive built up of toxins and nutrient-loss don’t overcook. Marinate the food first and use lots of lime juice or vinegar as they act as a protective shield while cooking the meats.

Grilling (and barbecuing): In grilling and barbecuing, the food lies directly over the heat source. This method leaves the food crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside and intensely flavourful. It requires little to no oil (making it obviously better than frying).

Frying: There are three main methods of frying: deep-frying, pan frying and stir-frying. Don’t even think of the first two. It adds fat and calories to food because the food absorbs a lot of the fat in the pan and the high heat required for frying destroys heat-sensitive vitamins. You can stir-fry the Chinese way: small pieces. Use the oven first to slightly soften the raw food; stir-frying will then be quicker and healthier.

Steaming: Since there is less contact with water and a shorter cooking time, certain heat sensitive vitamins like vitamin C and other B vitamins are well retained while steaming. If nothing else, use it as another way to part-cook food before resorting to the frying pan.

Boiling: In this method, many vitamins get migrated from the food into the boiling water. You’ll still benefit from those nutrients if you consume the liquid. The nutrient value of certain boiled vegetables especially for carrots, zucchini and broccoli is higher compared to other cooking processes (even better than serving them raw). Boiling carrots, for example, significantly increases carotenoid levels compared to eating raw carrots.

Microwave: Speaking of quick, this is a fast method of cooking food. In fact certain nutrients in vegetables are retained better through this process. Microwaving broccoli is the best way to preserve its Vitamin C. But I don’t recommend going crazy with the microwave; it is nuked food after all.

Air fryer: An air-fired potato chip may have a little less oil than a normal one (and far less taste or satisfaction), but you’re still going to eat a potato. I am not a fan.

The bottom line is there is no one cooking method which is superior for preserving 100 percent of the nutrients. Use multiple methods of cooking to get the best of all worlds.