Many people think that the microwave is just a tool for hot leftovers, but in fact it is a little whirlwind of cooking, which is quick and convenient for cooking. In addition, the microwave heating method is highly efficient and takes a short time, so compared to traditional frying and stir-frying, there is less loss of nutrients in food, and cooking with it is beneficial for health.
Microwaves are electromagnetic waves that do not generate heat themselves, but they can cause polar molecules (such as water molecules) in food to move back and forth billions of times per second, friction to generate heat, and cook themselves. Whereas traditional cooking transfers heat from the outside in, microwave cooking food heats both inside and out, and the time it takes to achieve the same doneness is greatly reduced.
Microwave vegetables
Healthier than boiled
The study found that the retention rate of vitamin C in microwave vegetables was significantly higher than that of boiled vegetables at the same level of doneness, and it was not inferior to healthy steamed vegetables.
The antioxidant flavonoids in vegetables have been linked to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. Microwave can well reduce the loss of flavonoids, antioxidants, and may even increase the content of flavonoids. Under the condition of rapid internal heating, the destruction of the cell wall of plant tissues and the loss of secondary structure caused the partially bound flavonoids to become free forms, which led to the elevation of the detection results. In addition, the efficient heating of microwaves passivates the enzymes that cause the loss of flavonoids, thereby reducing the loss to a certain extent.
The antioxidant capacity of vegetables such as bitter gourd, zucchini, celery, and artemisia annua has been improved after microwave.
Microwave meat
Beneficial ingredients are retained
Less production of harmful substances
Poultry meat can provide high-quality protein, B vitamins and other nutrients. But B vitamins are sensitive to heat and can be easily destroyed. The researchers heated fresh chicken in a regular microwave oven, a convection microwave oven, and a conventional oven to a core temperature of 79°C, measured the retention rate of vitamin B1, and found that both microwave heating methods were higher than the oven.
When charcoal-grilled, meat is prone to carcinogens such as benzopyrene. The experiment found that after the pork pieces were heated in a 900W inverter microwave oven for 5 minutes and 6 minutes, no benzopyrene was detected. Moreover, it only takes 70~80 seconds to cook the pork pieces under microwave power, and the experiment deliberately extended the heating time and did not detect benzopyrene.
Additionally, when cooking meat in the microwave, the meat can be cut into small pieces to avoid uneven heating. At the same time, it is recommended to set the time in stages, such as heating for 2 minutes and then heating for 1 minute.
Microwave fish
Less impact on beneficial fatty acids
Fish is a good source of high-quality protein, vitamins, unsaturated fatty acids. For example, some marine fish are rich in omega-3 unsaturated fatty acids, which can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, but the beneficial fatty acids are unstable and easily oxidized when exposed to heat.
Studies have found that microwave processing takes a short time and retains omega-3 unsaturated fatty acids better. Experiments comparing microwave ovens with conventional electric stoves showed that the preservation rate of unsaturated fatty acids after microwave was 92%.
As the cooking tool with the highest heating efficiency known at present, the microwave oven can not only retain food nutrients well, but also be convenient and quick to use.
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Editor: Li Ling
Source: Popular Science China