According to China's authoritative statistics, 90% of the essential vitamin C comes from vegetables, and 60% of the essential vitamin A class also comes from vegetables.
However, despite this, some vegetables cannot be eaten directly, because they not only have various ingredients that are beneficial to the human body, but also have toxic substances that must be blanched before they can be eaten.
The so-called "boiling water" is Chinese's unique name for the cooking ingredient steps, which refers to the boiling of the water after the food is instantly put into the pot and blanched for tens of seconds, fished out and then start the next processing.
For example, the following three types of food must be blanched and eaten, otherwise it will not only have a poor taste, but also may cause food poisoning:
1. Yellow cauliflower
Yellow cauliflower has a very good nickname "Forget Worry Grass", it is one of the most common ingredients and Chinese herbal medicines in China, it is rich in trace elements, proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and is a common accessory on the table. Its taste is delicious, with beauty and beauty, diuretic and other effects. However, before eating broccoli, it must go through the step of boiling water.
This is the case because broccoli contains a toxic substance called "colchicine", which can cause irritation to the urinary system and gastrointestinal tract, causing patients to have multiple symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. And because colchicine is a water-soluble substance, after blanching, its toxins will be filtered out by water, and it is the safest to eat at this time;
2. Toon
This is a delicacy that can only be eaten in spring, it refers to the youngest buds on the toon tree, which has a unique aromatic smell and contains a large amount of nutrients, and is the most common delicacy on many regional tables in spring.
Not only that, toon also has certain medicinal value, which can alleviate digestive discomfort and play a role in strengthening the spleen and appetizing. However, toon contains a certain amount of nitrate components, which can be converted into nitrite when entering the body, and a large amount of ingestion can cause nitrite poisoning.
And nitrite will also be converted into a class of carcinogen nitrosamines in the body, which has no health benefits. Therefore, before eating toon, it is necessary to blanch it with hot water to remove the nitrate;
3. Spinach
Spinach is the most common delicacy on Chinese tables, and it is very inexpensive and can be purchased all year round. Related studies have shown that spinach is rich in beneficial ingredients such as vitamin C, carotene, calcium and protein.
However, whether spinach is made into soup or mixed with cold vegetables, it must be blanched before processing. Because spinach is extremely rich in oxalic acid, it inhibits the absorption of calcium and reduces the taste of spinach. Long-term intake of large amounts of oxalic acid is easy to cause osteoporosis.
Written in the end: the purpose of blanching vegetables is actually because they contain some water-soluble toxins, which can remove toxins after boiling, and can increase the taste of food and make it safer to eat. However, we need to pay attention to the time of boiling water, do not blanch for a long time, so as not to cause the loss of nutrients and reduce the taste of food.