10 / 02 / 2018
How to blanch food in the vitalizer ?
By blanching food you
inhibit the enzymes which destroy vitamins at very low temperatures. This
method of cooking also removes the bitterness of some vegetables and aids digestion. Blanching is used to remove
excessive starch as well as to cleanse, eliminate fat, desalinate and firm up
the pieces. Soft-steam blanching in the Vitalizer ensures you blanch without
losing any mineral or vitamin goodness. Unlike boiling-water-blanching which
can de-mineralize vegetables slightly. If you wish to freeze them, they will
keep for longer and their nutritive elements will not be destroyed.
So, how do you blanch food?
You should generally chop them into
small pieces so that blanching is highly-effective. If you leave them whole,
blanching will only take place on the surface and the enzymes will continue to
degrade your food. The more fragile a vegetable, such as leafy vegetables, the
less blanching time required: around one to two minutes. For peas and beans, as
their fibre is harder, they can be blanched for three to five minutes based on
product thickness. You should then quickly remove them from the steamer and
place them in a cold recipient. With the Vitalizer, you won't need to immerse
them in ice. However, you can do if you so wish.
Can the Vitalizer be used for sterilizing?
Yes... and no. It is worth knowing that
bacteria stop developing as of 65°C and from 72°C all dangerous bacteria are
destroyed. These include staphylococci, streptococci, Enterococci, tubercle
bacilli as well as salmonella. Around 37°C dangerous bacteria develop very
quickly: they can double their population every 20 minutes! This is why we keep
food in cold places, fridges, etc. Viruses are tiny non-cellular particles,
thus non-living. They need bacteria to multiply and they cannot survive for a
long time outside the human body. High-temperature sterilization is, therefore,
not required. If you wish to eliminate viruses and toxic bacteria from baby
bottles, you may do so by steaming.
However, if you wish to sterilize, for
example, to put jam in jars or vegetables in large jars... it's better to place
them in a pressure cooker at over 120°C to eliminate all traces
of pathogenic bacteria. Even with boiling water at 100°C, you won't be able to
destroy certain aerobic and anaerobic bacilli such as clostridia. They have a
resistance mechanism known as sporulation which is only comes into play in
conditions where there are substantial nutrient deficiencies which hinder any
metabolism. As such, it is extremely rare and requires a certain amount of time
before the spores develop. If you sterilize baby bottles for 10 min in the
Vitalizer and you use them within 2 days, there is no cause for concern
whatsoever.