Toon is delicious and nutritious but contains nitrite?
Don't forget this step before eating toon
It's spring again, and it's the season of Chinese toon.
Toona sinensis sprouts are fresh buds that grow in spring. Because they grow on the treetops, they are often called "vegetables on trees". Many people are deeply infatuated by its unique taste, and the price has also risen.
For example, in some vegetable markets in Shanghai recently, the price of toon has even risen to about 120 yuan per pound.
Toon is so expensive, does it have any special nutrition?
Today, let's talk about toon, a seasonal vegetable.
Toon is nutritional value
pretty good vegetables
Toona sinensis is also known as toon bud, incense pile head, big red toon tree, etc.
The special taste of toona sinensis comes from its special volatiles, including terpenes, sesquiterpenes and other substances.
It is precisely because of this special fragrance that people who like toon must eat it every spring, and those who don't like it can't avoid it.
Toon is so expensive, does it have any special nutrition?
Toon is a vegetable with quite good nutritional value.
Toona sinensis is rich in potassium, calcium and magnesium elements, and the content of vitamin B group is also among the best among vegetables.
Some studies have also found that toon is helpful in preventing chronic diseases, containing ingredients that inhibit a variety of pathogenic bacteria, as well as being quite rich in polyphenolic antioxidants.
However, many articles say that toona sinensis has various health care effects, such as anti-tumor, blood lipid lowering, blood sugar lowering, etc., which is a bit exaggerated.
In fact, toon is just a seasonal vegetable with a unique taste.
I only eat it several times a year in the spring, and I don't eat much each time, so it doesn't have any special effects.
toon delicious
but contains nitrite
Although delicious toon always makes people who love it willing to empty their wallets, but, did you know, there is often a dangerous element lurking in delicious toon - nitrite.
Why is there nitrite in toon? We know that plants need nitrogen fertilizer when they grow.
Nitrogen is an element that exists widely in nature. Plants absorb nitrogen in the environment and finally synthesize amino acids through complex biochemical reactions.
In this process, the generation of nitrate is an inevitable step.
There are also some reductases in plants, which will reduce a part of nitrate to nitrite.
Virtually all plants contain nitrates and nitrites.
Nitrite is toxic.
Toxicological analysis shows that nitrite has certain acute toxicity, and its half-lethal dose for caries animals is 57 mg/kg.
Also, it increases the risk of cancer because nitrite reacts with protein breakdown products under acidic conditions to produce nitrosamines, which are recognized carcinogens.
before eating toon
Boil it in boiling water first
The good news is that most nitrites can be removed by scalding the toon in hot water before eating it.
For example, studies have shown that when blanching toon, about 80% of nitrite can be removed in 30 seconds, and 83.86% of nitrite can be removed in 45 seconds.
Therefore, when eating toon, be sure to blanch it with boiling water for 30-40 seconds.
In addition, I also remind everyone that when choosing toona sinensis, try to choose tender sprouts, and eat them when they are freshest, because at this time, toon sprouts contain less nitrate and nitrite.
Text / Ruan Guangfeng (Director of Science and Technology Department of Food and Nutrition Information Exchange Center)