The Reason Cutting And Washing Leafy Vegetables Is Bad

Vegetables are nutritious, healthy, tasty and edible. It is one of the major source of vitamin and mineral. They are very common in Nigerian cuisine. Most people buy their vegetables from the market. Very few get them from organic stores or home grown.

Leafy vegetables

After buying your vegetables, it is important to decide if it is to be use immediately or stored. The way of preparation is different. Another thing to consider again is the type of vegetable. Leafy vegetables require a different approach than string ones.

Leafy Vegetables

Most sellers gives the option to help slice up the leaf. This save you time and energy especially when you are very busy. They may wash it before doing this. Taking the slice up leaf home and cooking with it like that is a bad idea. The water the market woman use to wash the leaf may be use to have wash many others. The water obviously will no longer be clean. It is possible it is contaminated. Their knife is another source of contamination.
Read Also: What Multivitamin Products Contain
Now, some people wash the slice up leave after cutting at the market or at home. This is another bad method of removing microorganisms and contaminants. The cutting increases the surface area of the leaf and open the cells. Washing the leaf will only encourage leaching of the nutrients from the leaf into the washing water. At the end, you end up eating shaft and less ingredient.
The best way to prepare your leafy vegetables is to buy them fresh. If you wish to store them in the fridge, put them in the fridge without cover. Washing them before storing in the fridge will encourage microbial growth. Discard bad ones and cut off rotten parts.
For those that will require immediate preparation, wash your hands with soap and warm water or tap water. Wash the leaf in running tap water whose temperature is a little bit above that of the leaf. This help to remove microbes and contaminants. As for leafy vegetables that cannot stand firm under running water, wash them in a bowl with clean cold water. Soaking leafy vegetables can lead to leaching. Modern chemical cleanser have not proven more valuable than distilled or tap water. So I don't advise the use of chemical cleanser.
When the weather is hot, most leafy vegetables will wilt. Warm water will also make them wilt. To revive them, soak them in cold water. Soaking onion and others in that category will make them have strong flavour. Mushroom on the other hand will have their flavour diluted.
Read Also: Why Olive Oil Good For Cooking

Strong Vegetables

To prepare vegetables like carrots, it is good to wash them very well. A mixture of vinegar and water help a lot. The use of other chemicals don't increase the effectiveness of washing. Half glass of vinegar in two cups of distilled water bring out most diets and removes microbes. Rinse with water. Soaking in water or brushing the hard skin hasten the washing process and help remove dirt and microbes.
In all, use all vegetables within a week.
Share On Social Media With Family And Friends To Show You Care!