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_Cook Your Vegetables By Color |
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Enhancing the color of a vegetable requires a different technique for each hue. Chlorophyll, the pigment in green vegetables, is destroyed by excessive heat or by exposure to acid. This means that greens cannot be marinated, cooked for long periods, or cooked with wine or lemon. Less obviously, green vegetables should not be boiled for long in a covered pot. During boiling the natural acids of the vegetable are released into the water. If the pot is covered, these acids become trapped, causing the water to grow increasingly acidic. After about 7 minutes, the water will become acidic enough to cause the vegetable to discolor.
The phenomenon is reversed when cooking red and purple vegetables. Their pigment, called anthocyanin, is enhanced by exposure to acid and turns blue when heated with an alkaline substance or when not enough acid is present. That is why recipes for red cabbage or red peppers often add a bit of vinegar or lemon to the mixture, or instruct you to keep the lid on the pot.
White vegetables discolor with long storage or overcooking. Both of these situations allow oxygen to mix with the pigment, causing it to turn gray or brown. That is why mushrooms and cauliflower are best cooked quickly, and why potatoes must be cooked as soon as they are peeled. It is also why leftover potatoes turn gray if they are not coated with butter or oil.
Orange-colored vegetables, like carrots and squash, are almost impervious to hue abuse. Nothing short of culinary conflagration could cause their color to change.
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01-The Changing Face of Homemade
02-What's Your Hurry?
03-The Ingredients
04-Organic and All-Natural Ingredients
05-Setting Up A Pantry
06-Using the Recipes
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