What Food Temperatures Preserve Nutrition?

Wellness

oi-Anwesha

By Anwesha Barari

Wednesday, November 23, 2011, 12:29

Food temperature plays a huge role in preserving its nutrition. Some food nutrition facts that take temperature into account can really shock you. Most of the time we eat and store food that has been improperly preserved at unsuitable temperatures. This is partly because of ignorance and partly because of laziness. If you want your food to be safe then there are certain guidelines regarding temperature that have to be followed. These guidelines include cooking, storing and heating of food because there is a chance of contamination at every step.

Here are some food temperatures that need to maintained at different times to preserve nutrition.

Facts About Food Temperature & Its Importance:

• Cooking destroys many microorganisms in the food. However, undercooked or overcooked foods can destroy the nutrition of food. It is a well known food nutrition fact that overcooking vegetables destroys the nutrients in them that is why they should always be cooked on low flame.

• Some special non vegetarian items like prawns, fish etc also need to cooked on low flame and also minimally to preserve their nutrition and taste. Particularly seafood looses all the minerals of salt water if overcooked.

• When it comes to meat then a certain food temperature is essential for it to be cooked well. Especially roasts and grills need to be cooked well from within and therefore a minimum internal temperature is required.

• When you are roasting or cooking meat in the oven it is better to keep a food thermometer at home to see if that threshold of 325 degree Fahrenheit is reached instead of just guessing. Under cooked meat is not safe food to eat.

• The danger zone or the favourite temperature range of microorganisms is 40 degrees to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. This is roughly our room temperature; post 90 mean you are in a hot tropical climate. Food should never be left without refrigeration for more than 2 hours and 1 hour if its really warm.

• Refrigeration in the fridge and the freezer are different. In the freezer you need to store raw materials and they last longer. The fridge too has a temperature control so you can regulate it according to your convenience.

• You must always cool food to room temperature before refrigeration because if its still piping hot them the bacteria will work at it even inside the refrigerator. Similarly food need to be reheated to the right temperature. Heat it in the microwave depending on the quantity until it is steaming.

• Whenever you are using the microwave for heating food you need to cover it and then heat so that the heat spreads evenly.

• Certain eatables require a basic food temperature that has to be maintained regularly. Milk for instance needs to be boiled again and again. This food nutrition fact indicates that the microorganisms are sometimes dormant and they start multiplying as soon as they get favourable conditions.

Follow these good health tips to eat healthy.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or a qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.