Is baking vegetables healthier than cooking vegetables? How healthy you eat depends not only on the product, but also on the method of preparation. It is partly healthier to bake vegetables than to cook, say Spanish scientists. The Nutrition Center advises to vary between, for example, cooking, steaming, baking and preparing in the oven.
The University of Granada in Spain conducted research into different methods of preparing vegetables, including baking in extra virgin olive oil and boiling in water. Antioxidants in the different vegetables would be better preserved in the baked versions, according to the researchers. In some cases, they saw that heating in extra virgin olive oil actually increased the nutritional value.
Effects of preparation on vitamin retention
The method of preparation affects the number of nutrients that the body absorbs. When baking and frying in a frying pan, the product itself usually does not exceed 100°C. Because no water is involved in the preparation, no vitamins leak out.
Baking pros and cons
This advantage is relative, as there are no known public health problems in the Netherlands that are related to vitamin deficiencies. When you fry vegetables, they absorb oil or fat. You need healthy fats, but fats provide relatively many calories at the same time. It is plausible that people who eat fried vegetables consume more calories. Vegetable oils or liquid shortening and cooking fat are a good choice if you want to bake. Incidentally, the Nutrition Center advises against frying in extra virgin olive oil, because when heated, unhealthy substances are created.
Healthy Preparation Techniques
Other cooking techniques that you can alternate with are cooking in little water, steaming and cooking in the oven. No oil or butter is used for this and the fat does not partially absorb into the product, as is the case with baking, roasting and deep-frying.
Tips to prevent vitamin loss
There are many ways to minimize the loss of nutritional value when preparing cooked vegetables. For example:
- Cut the vegetables yourself. Pre-cut vegetables may contain less vitamin C than uncut vegetables. Vitamin C is lost during peeling and cutting. When cutting green vegetables, a substance is released that breaks down vitamin C. The loss of vitamin C is limited if the pre-cut vegetables are packed airtight.
- Cook vegetables in boiling water: When vegetables are cooked in cold water, the vegetables are heated for a while at lower temperatures, causing more vitamin C to be lost.
- When cooking briefly with little water, more vitamin C is retained.
- Cook with the lid on the pan: When cooking without a lid, a lot of oxygen can reach the product, and there is loss of heat and cooking liquid (with vitamins). The smaller the pieces, the more surface area from which vitamin C can leak. So preferably cook larger pieces of vegetables.
- Place the vegetables in a steamer basket, so that the vegetables are cooked through the hot steam. That way, fewer vitamins leak out.
Vegetables are always possible
By alternating raw vegetables and prepared vegetables, both cooked and baked, you get as many different nutrients as possible. You can also put vegetables on bread or eat them as a snack in between.
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