Cooking of food
Cooking improves the flavor of food and also makes the food easier to chew and more digestible. Micro oirganisms present in the food are killed during cooking which makes the food safer to consume. Various methods of cooking are listed below :
Boiling
Involves cooking the food at the boiling temperature of water ie 100 degree centigrade.
Example : Eggs , potatoes etc
Advantages :
Healthy and fast as it does not require any oil
Softens food which makes it easier to chew.
Disadvantages :
Water soluble vitamins are lost.
Baking
Cooks food in dry heat in an enclosed space like a convection oven.
The dry heat involved in the baking process makes the outside of the food go brown, and keeps the moisture locked in.
Example: Pastries, bread , cake etc
Advantages :
Food cooked by baking is soft and easy to digest
Cooked with a set timer so does not require constant attention
Disadvantages :
Takes time to cook food sometimes in hours.
Frying
Food is submerged in hot oil which gives it a crisp texture
Example : french fries, chips etc
Advantages :
Frying foods is quick and faster than preparing to cook a meal.
It is tasty .
Disadvantages :
Oil, which is what fried foods are cooked with, is full of fat which is high in calories and bad for the body
Nutritional value of fried food is poor.
Heating vegetable oil above 300oc damages the oil thereby causing toxin formation in the food.
Fried foods clog arteries and most times lead to stroke.
Roasting
It is a method that uses dry heat to cook the food item. Roasting is best used for larger pieces of meat or some types of vegetables
Advantages :
Many vitamins stay in the food rather than being cooked away
Requires less oil than frying.
Disadvantages :
It takes a while for meat to roast thoroughly.
Grilling
Uses dry heat from a gas , glowing charcoal or electric grill . This is similar to barbeque.
Example : Tikkas , grilled mushroom , grilled vegetables etc
Advantages :
Fast way of cooking
Requires less oil than frying.
Disadvantages :
Surface of the food can easily get burnt if enough oil is not brushed.
Steaming
Food is cooked by the water vapor or the steam produced by boiling water.
Example : Steamed vegetables, momos , Idli etc
Advantages :
Softens food which makes it easier to chew.
Requires little or no oil
