Is it true that if you heat a lemon before juicing it, you'll get more juice?
You don't actually get more juice by warming lemons or other citrus fruits such as oranges, but it certainly seems that way.
That's because when the fruit is warmed, even just to the touch, it tends to release its juice more readily. In other words, you work at it less.
To warm fruit, place the lemon in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes or in the microwave for 20 seconds. You can also soften a fruit's rind by rolling it on the countertop a few times.
Why do vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage stink when I cook them?
Broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage are all members of the cabbage family, which contains sulfur compounds called mustard oils or isothiocyanates.
When these vegetables are cooked, sulfur compounds break down to form various odoriferous compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide (also known as the "rotten egg smell"), ammonia, mercaptans and methyl sulfide.
These odors, which are not harmful, become stronger with cooking.
To reduce the odor, briefly steam the vegetables until they are tender-crisp. You may also want to try adding a few pieces of bread to the cooking water to absorb the odoriferous compounds.
What is the difference between stir-frying and panfrying?
Panfrying is done by adding a small amount of fat to the frying pan and allowing fat to accumulate during cooking.
Stir-frying is similar to panfrying except the food is cooked quickly using very little oil and stirred almost continuously.
Stir-frying is done over high heat, using small or thin pieces of food such as meat and vegetables. This quick-cook method seals in the nutrients, texture, flavor and color of the food while keeping added fat to a minimum.
Are there any tricks of the trade when stir-frying?
Follow these five secrets to a successful stir-fry, offered by the American Institute of Cancer Research, to prepare a nutritious meal in a snap.
1. Stir-fry waits for no cook. All preparations should be done in advance, and all ingredients near at hand. Once cooking has begun, ingredients must be added quickly and stirred constantly so the vegetables remain tender-crisp.
2. Think small to cook fast. Cut vegetables in small pieces and meats in short, paper-thin slices so they need only a brief time to cook. (Meats can be more easily cut into thin slices if first placed in the freezer until firm but not completely frozen.) Meat should be cooked only long enough to turn color brown for red meats, opaque for poultry and fish.
3. Keep it moving. Use a pan large enough for ingredients to be tossed and stirred easily so all cut surfaces make frequent contact with the heat. If the pan gets crowded, remove cooked ingredients to a warm oven (preheated to 200 degrees) to make room for additional batches.
4. Turn up the heat. Without constant exposure to high heat, vegetables release moisture and become soggy. Because of its high "smoke point," peanut oil is the usual oil of choice, although canola oil can be substituted.
5. Treat the meat. In addition to providing more flavor, marinades reduce the amount of carcinogens formed when meats are cooked at high heat. Standard marinade ingredients include soy sauce, sugar, rice cooking wine (or broth) and optional seasonings like garlic, ginger and green onion.
This stir-fry recipe, from the cancer institute, can easily be adapted to whatever vegetables and meat are on hand. Use a variety of colorful vegetables to increase eye appeal and maximize the range of cancer-fighting phytochemicals.
Classic Stir-Fry
For marinade:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon minced scallion (optional)
1 tablespoon Mirin (Japanese rice wine) or chicken or vegetable broth plus 1 pinch sugar
1/4 teaspoon minced ginger (optional)
For sauce:
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon Mirin or chicken or vegetable broth plus 1 pinch sugar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch or arrowroot
For stir-fry:
1 cup thin-sliced chicken, beef or fish
2 to 3 tablespoons peanut or canola oil
1 cup cut-up green vegetables, such as string beans, snow peas, broccoli
1 cup cut-up red or orange vegetables, such as bell pepper, carrot, red onion
1 cup cut-up light-colored vegetables, such as onion, bok choy, zucchini
3 cups steamed rice (preferably brown)
Combine marinade ingredients in a wide, shallow bowl. Add meat and marinate 10 to 30 minutes (during vegetable preparations). Drain and pat dry with paper towels to remove excess liquid.
(Discard used marinade, which should never be reused as a sauce. It may be contaminated by potentially harmful bacteria and could lead to food-borne illness.)
Combine sauce ingredients in small bowl until well-blended.
Heat pan until very hot. Add 1 tablespoon oil, or enough to stir-fry meat, and heat until very hot. Add meat and stir-fry until it turns color. Remove with slotted spoon and set aside.
Using small amounts of oil as needed, add vegetables in batches and stir-fry, starting with those that take the longest to become tender-crisp. If pan becomes overcrowded, transfer cooked vegetables to an oven preheated to 200 degrees.
When vegetables are tender-crisp, return all vegetables and meat to pan. Stir sauce and add to pan, stirring until sauce thickens. Remove from heat and serve immediately with steamed rice.
Makes four servings. Although calorie values will vary according to meat and vegetables used, each serving contains about 360 calories and 10 grams of fat.
Susan Krumm is an Extension agent in family and consumer sciences with K-State Research and Extension-Douglas County, 2110 Harper St. She can be reached at 843-7058.
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