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When Preparing Vegetables for cooking by any method it is important to retain their color, flavor, and nutrients. Prepare vegetables just before you need them since they deteriorate quickly once they are peeled or cut.
Green Vegetables
Green vegetables, especially those that have delicate leaves, such as spinach, lose vitamins quickly once cut. If possible, tear the leaves rather than cutting or slicing them otherwise, use a very sharp knife to ensure that the leaves are damaged as little as possible.
Removing Stalks
To remove the stalks from large spinach leaves without cutting, fold each leaf vertically, grasp both sides with one hand, and pull the stalk sharply away from the leaf with the other hand.
Using broccoli stalks to make thick broccoli stalks instead of discarding them, trim and slice them horizontally into 5-mm thick slices. Cook them for the same period of time as the tender florets.
Preparing Leaves
• Cleaning leaves: To remove insects and dirt from green-leaved vegetables, wash leaves in a large bowl of cold, salted water before using.
• Shredding leaves: Stack and tightly roll leaves of spinach, lettuce, or cabbage, and slice into coarse shreds to prepare for sauteeing or frying.
• Using outer leaves: Save the tough outer leaves of a green cabbage for stuffing with a savory filling. To make the leaves flexible, blanch them in boiling water for one minute, then drain.
Bulb vegetables include different varieties:
They are also natural antibiotics. Onions and onion, garlic, and leek, all of which are garlic seem to help lower blood cholesterol invaluable source of flavor in savory dishes, levels and therefore protect against heart disease.
Avoiding Onion Tears
• Leaving roots intact: Leave the root end intact when slicing or dicing an onion. This will prevent the release of the strong juices anti fumes that cause eyes to water.
• Using vinegar: Sprinkle a little distilled white vinegar onto the cutting board. This will counteract the lite effects of the onion juices.
• Burning a candle: Light a candle nearby when preparing onions to burn off the sulfuric fumes.
Using a garlic press: When using a garlic press, leave the peel on the garlic clove. The soft garlic flesh will still be pushed through the mesh, and the garlic press will be easy to clean out after use.
Washing out dirt: To make sure you remove all the dirt between the leaves of a leek, slit it lengthwise, almost to the root end. Hold the leek under running water, fanning out the leaves to wash them thoroughly.
