Nutrient-Saving Tips
Vegtables
1. Trimming
The outer leaves of lettuce and cabbage,
and the leady parts of collard greens, turnip
greens, and kale have higher values of
vitamins and minerals than the inner,
tender leaves or stems and midribs.
2. Storing
Vegetables, especially the leafy, dark
green variety, need to be refrigerated
promptly in the vegetable crisper or in
moisture-proof bags to stay fresh. Their
nutrients keep best at temperatures near
freezing, at high humidity, and away from
exposure to air. Unripe tomatoes keep their
nutrients best if they are ripened away from
sunlight at temperatures from 60-75
degrees Fahrenheit. Cover them with a
cloth to ripen. Don’t put them on a hot
windowsill or in the refrigerator (they’ll get
soft and watery).
3. Cooking
To retain the high levels of nutrients in
vegetables, microwave cooking, steaming,
or using a pan or work with very small
amounts of water and tight-fitting lid are
best. The less contact with water, the more
nutrients retained. A good nutrition practice
is to save any water used to cook
vegetables and use it as a base for soup.
Carrots, sweet potatoes, and potatoes are
best prepared in their skins in either the
microwave or the oven (baking).
Microwave cooking helps to retain the
nutrients present in food. Analysis of
thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B, folacin, and
vitamin C content showed that microwave
cooking was comparable to or better than
conventional cooking methods. Using
minimal water and cooking times yields the
highest nutrient values.
4. Holding and Reheating
Cooked vegetables reheated after two or
three days in the refrigerator have only
one-third to one-half as much vitamin C as
when prepared while fresh. Although
cooking enough food for later meals may
save time, this is at the expense of
nutrients. The microwave has made
vegetable preparation easy and quick so
that bulk cooking is no longer necessary. In
addition, using a microwave is an excellent
way to preserve nutrients.
Fruits and Fruit Juices
1. Vitamin A value is high in yelloworange fruits such as apricots,
peaches, cantaloupes, mangos,
and papayas.
2. Vitamin C is well retained in citrus
fruits and juices, which can be
canned or frozen with little loss of
this vitamin. Orange juice can be
kept in the refrigerator for several
days before any vitamin C is lost.
3. Whole citrus fruits kept their
nutrients well for several days at
room temperature.
Frozen Foods
1. Frozen vegetables and fruits are
often better than supermarket
“fresh” in total nutrition. This is
because such foods are often
frozen immediately after harvesting.
“Fresh” food often lingers in grocery
stores or at home for a while before
they’re eaten.
2. Thawing and refreezing food should
be avoided because nutrients,
flavor, and quality are negatively
affected.
Canned Foods
1. In general, the longer the storage
period and the higher the storage
temperature, the greater the loss of
nutrients.
2. When canned fruits or vegetables
are stored for a year at 65 degrees
Fahrenheit, only about 10 percent
of the vitamin C is lost. Canned
tomato juice shows virtually no loss
of vitamin A in storage.
3. To get the full nutritive value from
canned vegetables, serve any liquid
packed with the vegetable. This can
be used in soup. To reduce the salt
content that can often be high in the
liquid, look for the newer, lowsodium canned varieties.
Milk
1. Keep milk cold, covered, and away
from strong light. Riboflavin may be
lost in direct light.
2. The calcium and protein values stay
about the same whether the mile is
whole, skim (nonfat), or low-fat.
3. Pasteurization of raw milk does not
destroy the principal nutrients. Raw
milk is an unsafe food because of
the bacteria that are present.
Cereals
1. Whole-grain cereals are those with
the germ and outer layers retained.
That’s where the B vitamins and
minerals are concentrated. Brown
rice, whole-wheat products, dark
rye flour, and oatmeal are all whole
grains.
2. Enriched cereals are milled cereals
to which iron, thiamin, riboflavin,
and niacin have been added.
However, fiber and many other
nutrients are not added back.
Whole-grain products are best.
Saving Vitamins and Minerals in Foods
Water-soluble vitamins and minerals are
subject to losses when foods are cooked in
large amounts of water, if the water is than
discarded. Some vitamins are also destroyed
by heat, exposure to air, light, or alkaline
medium. The following practical guidelines will
aid in preserving vitamins and minerals in
foods.
Harvesting and Storing
 Plan to harvest from a home garden
immediately before they are to be
cooked, frozen, or canned. Vitamin C
and other vitamins are gradually lost
from vegetables after harvesting, if
store properly.
 Generally, fresh fruits and vegetables
retain their vitamin content well when
stored in wholesale warehouses under
proper conditions of temperature and
humidity. These foods should be kept
cool in the store, too, and should be
transported to the home refrigerator as
quickly as possible.
 Purchase only the amounts of fresh
vegetables that can be consumed
within a short time (5 to 7 days). Fresh
fruits retain a high percentage of their
vitamin content over a period of weeks,
however, if properly refrigerated.
 Prevent evaporation of water, and
consequent wilting, by placing fresh
vegetables and fruits in small covered
containers or in plastic bags in the
refrigerator. Vitamin C, for example, is
rapidly lost as wilting occurs.
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Preparation and Cooking
 Prepare vegetables just before
they are to be consumed raw or
cooked. Avoid soaking
vegetables in water. When
possible cook vegetables peeler
to remove the thinnest possible
peel when preparing
vegetables.
Cook in as little water as
possible; otherwise watersoluble vitamins and minerals
dissolve in large amounts of
cooking water. Bake, steam, or
broil vegetables whenever
possible. In boiling, add only
small amounts of water and use
a tight-fitting lit to diminish
evaporation of water. Often,
added water is unnecessary.
(Contrary to popular belief,
vitamins do not “go off in the
steam.” They are not volatile.)
Use the cooking water from
freshly cooked or canned
vegetables in soups or other
dishes. Use meat or poultry
drippings, after the fat is
removed, in soups, gravies, or
sauces.
Cook vegetables as short a time
as possible. Learn to prefer
vegetables crisp in texture. Long
cooking destroys more vitamin
C, folacin, and vitamin B than
short cooking. Cooked green
vegetables should still retain
their bright green color. If they
become olive-green, they are
overcooked.
Cooked frozen vegetables in the
frozen state. Use only a small
amount of water and cook a
short time. Cooking time is
shortened by freezing.
Avoid exposing cut vegetables
to air for any period of time.
Vitamin C is destroyed by
exposure to oxygen, except
when in an acid medium.
Because of the acidity, little
vitamin C is lost when orange
juice is stored in a tightly
covered glass container with a
minimum of air space at the top.
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Avoid adding soda to preserve
the green color of vegetables.
Vitamin C and thiamine are
more easily destroyed in an
alkaline medium, and the
texture quickly becomes mushy.
Grating, chopping, and
shredding vegetables increase
the surface exposed to air, and
the possibility of destruction of
vitamin C and other vitamins. To
diminish losses, use a sharp
knife or grater to prevent
macerating the tissues.
Suggestions for retaining the maximum amount of vitamins when harvesting,
storing, and cooking foods:
Consume or process vegetables immediately after harvest
 More vitamins, especially vitamin C and folate, are lost the longer vegetables are
kept before they are eaten or processed.
Store vegetables and fruits properly
 The best method is to freeze fruits and vegetables when possible. Blanch them first
(briefly simmer them in water) to retain more flavor. Consult a cookbook for
directions. This method preserves the vitamin content best because it stops the
enzyme activity that destroys the vitamins. However, watch out for texture changes.
 If you cannot eat fruits and vegetables immediately after harvesting them, but plan
to do so within a few days, keep them in the refrigerator. Place them in covered
containers or plastic bags to stop moisture loss.
 Canning fruits and vegetables is possible, but this method causes a greater nutrient
loss because of the high temperatures required. In addition, it can require a lot of
work.
Reduce preparation and cooking of vegetables
The more preparation and cooking of vegetables, the greater the nutrient loss. To reduce
the losses:
 Avoid soaking vegetables in water.
 When possible, cook vegetables in their skins.
 Cook in as little water as possible.
 Bake, steam, or broil vegetables. A microwave often retains vitamins.
 When boiling, use tight-fitting lids to diminish evaporation of water.
 Cook vegetables in as short a time as possible. Develop a taste for more crunch
texture.
 Cook frozen vegetables in the frozen state: don’t thaw beforehand.
 Reduce cutting up vegetables and fruits before cooking. The more vegetables and
fruits are cut up before cooking, the more exposure to air they receive and the greater
the loss of vitamins, especially vitamin C and folate.
 Don’t add baking soda to vegetables. It produces an alkaline pH that destroys much
vitamin C, thiamin, and other vitamins.