How to Save Vitamins

Housewives, if you care about vitamins, handle vegetables with care! So warned the British Lancet last week. For most vitamins are frail: any tampering, let alone improper cooking, ruins them. Vitamin A (carrots, spinach, sweet potatoes) is very stable, stands up under boiling. But vitamins B and C (green vegetables, tomatoes, cabbage) run out with the juice when vegetables are cut, soaked, bruised, or boiled for any length of time. Some Lancet cookery tips:

^ If greens are to be shredded or finely chopped for salads, prepare them just before serving. If allowed to stand, once they are cut up, even raw vegetables are little more nutritious than straw. ^ The smallest possible amount of water should be used for cooking; see that the water boils before vegetables are added. They should be cooked very rapidly in a covered pan, served at once. Use left-over water for soups, gravies, boiling other vegetables. ^ Salt, sugar or vinegar added to cooking water preserves vitamins. Never add soda to save color--it destroys vitamins.

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