Modern Era Of Cooking

Epicure takes a closer look at the science behind healthier, modern day cooking methods that claim to maximise the nutritional content of food.

- Priyanka Elhence

Unless you’re on a raw diet, there’s no denying the fact that heat and water combined alter the way nutrients behave in food. A reduction of nutrients is unavoidable upon cooking, with some foods losing up to 40 percent or more of their healthy assets when cooked. Nutrient depletion or alteration typically occurs when foods are cooked at high temperatures for an extended period of time, especially in a moist environment like a pot of boiling water or a deep fryer. Comparatively, cooking methods that expose foods to heat and water for shorter amounts of time are believed to offer maximum nutrient retention, as minerals and antioxidants are less at risk of being degraded.

Air frying, slow cooking, dehydrating and pressure cooking are becoming increasingly popular alternatives in addition to the usual steaming, sautéing, grilling, roasting and baking cooking methods, as they offer less nutrient loss with minimal amount of fat. Hence it’s not surprising to see an increasing number of revolutionary, all-inone cooking appliances that offer home cooks the option of preparing healthier meals. For instance, new to the Singapore market are three innovative Ninja air fryers developed by SharkNinja USA, a pioneer in nutri-extracting and food processing solutions for busy lifestyles. Ninja’s unique selling point is to provide revolutionary kitchen appliances with multiple functions in one machine, saving kitchen space, time and money for home cooks. Multi-functionality in one machine certainly has its advantages, as consumers don’t have to invest in multiple gadgets for different cooking methods.

We take a closer look at these different alternative cooking methods and the science propelling their benefits and nutritional advantages.

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