Three tips to reduce carcinogens in cooking

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I’ll teach you three tips to reduce carcinogens in cooking. Frying is a skill that Chinese people are good at. However, the cooking procedures are too complicated; although the taste is good, it often results in a loss of nutrients in the food, and may even produce some carcinogenic substances. The following three tips will show you how to reduce carcinogens generated during cooking, so you can enjoy delicious food while staying healthy. 1. Coat with batter and then fry. Fried dishes have a strong aroma and a crispy texture, such as fried chicken legs, fried fish, and grilled steaks. When frying such foods, the proteins, under high temperatures, can produce large amounts of strong carcinogens such as heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. To reduce the formation of carcinogens, the raw material can be coated with a layer of batter of appropriate thickness (made from a mixture of starch and egg whites) before being fried in oil. These pastes act like a \"protective coat\" for the ingredients, preventing them from being heated directly in hot oil and thus minimizing the formation of carcinogens. When coating with the batter, it should be applied as evenly as possible and to an appropriate thickness to ensure even heating. Additionally, when frying food, it is best to keep the oil temperature below 200 degrees Celsius (use medium heat), and the frying time should not exceed two minutes. 2. Add vinegar when cooking dishes. Reduce carcinogenic factors during cooking, and also absorb as much vitamin C as possible. Because vitamin C can prevent the formation of nitrosamines (a substance that can cause digestive tract cancers). Adding vinegar has two benefits: the first is that it protects vitamin C in food, as vitamin C is more stable in an acidic environment. Second, adding vinegar can promote the absorption of vitamin C. This is because vitamin C is absorbed in the digestive tract by specialized cells that are capable of selective absorption; these cells have a preference for acidic environments, and the acetic acid found in vinegar stimulates them to absorb large amounts of vitamin C. 3. Thicken the sauce before serving. When cooking, nutrients such as minerals and vitamins in the ingredients are lost into the broth. And the sauce acts like a \"protective layer,\" helping to retain more vitamin C. Generally, it is important to get the timing of thickening right; it should be done when the dish is 90% cooked. Doing it too early will cause the sauce to burn ； Delaying will result in the vegetables being exposed to heat for a longer time, causing them to lose their crisp and tender texture.