We try to reduce the processed foods we consume in this house. Fresh, whole foods come with all of their nutrients intact. They have not been cooked at high temperatures, extruded, canned, or frozen, all of which will reduce the nutrient content to some degree. But the irony in my kitchen is some of my kitchen practices that are probably much harder on my food than are some of the commercial processing techniques.
As you spend your valuable time cooking your food so that you ensure an abundance of nutrients in your diet, consider some of these cooking techniques that will be much easier on those foods than some of your current practices.
Braise, don't boil
You do not have to cover your food with water to boil it. For many recipes calling for boiling, you can put an inch or so of water in the pot with the vegetables and bring it to a boil. Put a lid on the pot and your produce will boil and steam. Just watch the pot so that the water doesn't boil out.
Cut bigger pieces: decrease the surface area
The nutrient loss in your cooked food will increase with the surface area in that food. If you cut a potato in small pieces so that it will boil or fry quickly, the nutrient loss will be much greater than if you bake that potato in its skin.
Use produce scraps
Many nutrients are contained in the skin and stems of produce. Trim your produce minimally and save the trimmings to make soup stock. Read more about my mom's vegetable stock method.
Don't overcook
Cook your vegetables until they are tender. Cook your meat until medium or medium rare. Thinly sliced cuts of meat can be flash-cooked. Ask your butcher (even the butcher at a regular grocery store) to slice your meat about ¼ of an inch thick on cuts like shoulder steak and sirloin. Heat a bit of oil in a pan, cook meat for a couple of minutes on each side. Watch for my mom's article on flash cooking.
Preserve your food naturally
Your annual cucumber harvest does not need to be heated and canned. Use traditional preservation methods to ferment your food with no heat. Without heat, you will preserve the vitamin C and B-vitamins that are otherwise heat-sensitive. Keep the pickles year-round in one of those antique pickle crocks.
