Far From Gourmet
Saturday, August 26, 2006
The Hiearchy: Fresh, Frozen, & Canned
The key hierarchy of foods is simple: Fresh is always best. The problem is fresh isn't always available, might not be economical, and usually lacks convenience.
So the hierarchy exists as fresh, then frozen, then (mostly in the case of fruits & vegetable) canned.
Fresh is at the top for the obvious reasons. There is no better way to eat or prepare a food than with the direct from nature version. Butcher grade meats and farm fresh fruits and veggies are awesome, as they've had little to no processing done to them. But factor in the three problems listed previously (availability, economy, and convenience), and it’s up to you to figure out if it is really worth it. A garden salad, sure you want fresh vegetables. Big Fourth of July barbeque go see the butcher for the best cuts of meat. Coming home late from work on a Tuesday and you promised a special someone a home cooked meal, time and effort chopping and slicing may be you downfall.
Frozen is almost as good as a nutritional choice, and in most cases a better choice on your time and wallet. Most of the nutrients in your veggies will be locked in, and you can stash it away until you want or need that meat or vegetable that you plan to eat. What you will most likely lose is prettiness and presentation. For example, I always have bags of frozen chopped onions and chopped green peppers to toss in to recipes, but if I'm looking for a dish to impress, I go out and buy a fresh onion and pepper so that I can chop them in big pieces for visual presentation. Or, for something like the green salad mentioned earlier, you don't want soggy, thawed vegetables.
Canned is considered by some a last resort, but for many it’s the best bet of all. It takes mere moments to open a can of vegetable and put it in a pot for a side dish ready in the time it take water to boil. And canned vegetables are usually cheaper and keep a lot longer. The actual downfall of canned goods is the canning process, which is believed to cooks away a lot of the nutrients from the food. I actually did some research on this for this posting, and found a link to a 1995 study entitled, COMPARISON OF SELECTED FRESH, CANNED AND FROZEN FRUITS, VEGETABLES, LEGUMES AND PROTEIN FOODS which states that for the most part, commercial can foods are just as good as fresh or frozen. For home canning, here’s THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION FACT SHEET ON BASICS FOR CANNING VEGETABLES, which tells home canners to prevent loss of flavor and nutrients, rinse all produce thoroughly but do not soak.
- COMPARISON OF SELECTED FRESH, CANNED AND FROZEN FRUITS, VEGETABLES, LEGUMES AND PROTEIN FOODS
- THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION FACT SHEET ON BASICS FOR CANNING VEGETABLES
Diet To Your Door
So the hierarchy exists as fresh, then frozen, then (mostly in the case of fruits & vegetable) canned.
Fresh is at the top for the obvious reasons. There is no better way to eat or prepare a food than with the direct from nature version. Butcher grade meats and farm fresh fruits and veggies are awesome, as they've had little to no processing done to them. But factor in the three problems listed previously (availability, economy, and convenience), and it’s up to you to figure out if it is really worth it. A garden salad, sure you want fresh vegetables. Big Fourth of July barbeque go see the butcher for the best cuts of meat. Coming home late from work on a Tuesday and you promised a special someone a home cooked meal, time and effort chopping and slicing may be you downfall.
Frozen is almost as good as a nutritional choice, and in most cases a better choice on your time and wallet. Most of the nutrients in your veggies will be locked in, and you can stash it away until you want or need that meat or vegetable that you plan to eat. What you will most likely lose is prettiness and presentation. For example, I always have bags of frozen chopped onions and chopped green peppers to toss in to recipes, but if I'm looking for a dish to impress, I go out and buy a fresh onion and pepper so that I can chop them in big pieces for visual presentation. Or, for something like the green salad mentioned earlier, you don't want soggy, thawed vegetables.
Canned is considered by some a last resort, but for many it’s the best bet of all. It takes mere moments to open a can of vegetable and put it in a pot for a side dish ready in the time it take water to boil. And canned vegetables are usually cheaper and keep a lot longer. The actual downfall of canned goods is the canning process, which is believed to cooks away a lot of the nutrients from the food. I actually did some research on this for this posting, and found a link to a 1995 study entitled, COMPARISON OF SELECTED FRESH, CANNED AND FROZEN FRUITS, VEGETABLES, LEGUMES AND PROTEIN FOODS which states that for the most part, commercial can foods are just as good as fresh or frozen. For home canning, here’s THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION FACT SHEET ON BASICS FOR CANNING VEGETABLES, which tells home canners to prevent loss of flavor and nutrients, rinse all produce thoroughly but do not soak.
- COMPARISON OF SELECTED FRESH, CANNED AND FROZEN FRUITS, VEGETABLES, LEGUMES AND PROTEIN FOODS
- THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION FACT SHEET ON BASICS FOR CANNING VEGETABLES
Diet To Your Door
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Deep-Fried Green Beans
T.G.I. Friday's has a new appitizer, Fried Batterd Green Beans with Ranch Dressing, something up until a week ago, I could have never have imagined. But apparently some else could imagine it, because I found plenty of recipes for it, battered and non battered. I think if your gonna fry something, you might as well go with the battered version:
Deep-Fried Green Beans
1 pound green beans, trimmed
4 cups (about) peanut oil (for frying)
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup water
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Cook beans in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain. Cool in bowl of ice water. Drain again.
Heat oil in deep fryer or large saucepan over medium-high heat to 350 F. Combine flour, 3/4 cup water, eggs, baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper in large bowl; whisk until smooth batter forms. Dip 6 beans at a time into batter; shake off excess. Add to hot oil and fry until golden brown, about 4 minutes per batch. Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain. Sprinkle with more salt and serve hot. Serves 6-8
Deep-Fried Green Beans
1 pound green beans, trimmed
4 cups (about) peanut oil (for frying)
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup water
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Cook beans in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain. Cool in bowl of ice water. Drain again.
Heat oil in deep fryer or large saucepan over medium-high heat to 350 F. Combine flour, 3/4 cup water, eggs, baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper in large bowl; whisk until smooth batter forms. Dip 6 beans at a time into batter; shake off excess. Add to hot oil and fry until golden brown, about 4 minutes per batch. Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain. Sprinkle with more salt and serve hot. Serves 6-8
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Healthy Cooking Tips
I had healthy cooking forced upon me when I found out that I had Type II Diabetes, and that my diet could either be my enemy or my friend. While I didn’t have much choice but to modify my menu, I quickly learned that the basics my mom and dad had taught me in the kitchen weren’t to far off from where I need to be, and that it was just a few modifications to (relatively)good tasting and (relatively) good for you food.
One of the keys to healthy cooking was to start with ingredients as fresh or as close to fresh as possible. Going to the butcher or farmers market daily would be ideal…and completely unrealistic. Buying good cuts of meat and then putting them in the freezer, or buying frozen vegetables instead of canned ones are the next best thing. It’s not a knock against canning, it just that their are more natural nutrients left in your vegetables in the frozen bag then after they have been through the canning process.
Sneak vegetables into as many dishes as possible. If you have a rice cooker with a steamer basket, put in a handful of frozen broccoli pieces or some frozen green peppers and onions, and quickly mix them in you cooked rice, along with some pepper of your favorite spices. Green peppers, onions, and okra are a staple for black eyed peas.
Spice is the key to making the bland better. As you’ll see, I’ve got about 12 different ways to make baked chicken (and counting), and the difference is what I decide to bake my chicken in that day. Spices like pepper and hot sauce help me to get over the blandness of me dropping salt almost completely from my cooking, and no salt substitutes help make it easily to get over my love for Tony Chachere's
Le Gourmet Chef
One of the keys to healthy cooking was to start with ingredients as fresh or as close to fresh as possible. Going to the butcher or farmers market daily would be ideal…and completely unrealistic. Buying good cuts of meat and then putting them in the freezer, or buying frozen vegetables instead of canned ones are the next best thing. It’s not a knock against canning, it just that their are more natural nutrients left in your vegetables in the frozen bag then after they have been through the canning process.
Sneak vegetables into as many dishes as possible. If you have a rice cooker with a steamer basket, put in a handful of frozen broccoli pieces or some frozen green peppers and onions, and quickly mix them in you cooked rice, along with some pepper of your favorite spices. Green peppers, onions, and okra are a staple for black eyed peas.
Spice is the key to making the bland better. As you’ll see, I’ve got about 12 different ways to make baked chicken (and counting), and the difference is what I decide to bake my chicken in that day. Spices like pepper and hot sauce help me to get over the blandness of me dropping salt almost completely from my cooking, and no salt substitutes help make it easily to get over my love for Tony Chachere's
Le Gourmet Chef
