Broccoli is known as the 'vegetable crown,' but do you know how to cook it so that it retains its nutrients?

Broccoli is an "imported vegetable" that has only become popular in recent years. In fact, it and the cauliflower we often eat when we are young belong to the cruciferous plant. It is native to Italy, but it is also cultivated on a large scale in the country.

Broccoli is also known as the "vegetable crown" because of its nutrient-rich and crown-like shape. So let's take a look at the nutritional difference between imported broccoli and domestic cauliflower.

Both broccoli and cauliflower are relatively high in vitamin C, between 50 and 60 mg of vitamin C per hectogram, but broccoli is very high in carotene!

Each 100 grams of broccoli contains 7210 micrograms of carotene, which is 240 times that of cauliflower. Appropriate supplementation of carotene can help protect the immune system from the attack of free radical molecules and has an obvious immune-enhancing effect.

In addition, flavonoids contained in broccoli are antioxidants, which can prevent cholesterol oxidation and prevent platelets from clotting, thereby reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke. Middle-aged and elderly people with cardiovascular disease are more suitable for eating broccoli.

In this way, it is no exaggeration to call broccoli the "vegetable crown", so do you know how to cook broccoli in order to maximize the nutrients in vegetables?

In the opinion of most people, the healthiest way to eat vegetables is to boil them in water, especially green leafy vegetables like spinach, which can remove the oxalic acid in the green leafy vegetables after cooking. After oxalic acid enters the body, it will combine with calcium to form calcium oxalate, which reduces the absorption rate of calcium.

But broccoli can't be boiled in water like this. The flavonoids contained in broccoli are water-soluble substances that are easily destroyed in high-temperature boiling water, thus losing the nutrition of the food.

The best way to eat it is to steam it with water, and the time is about 5 minutes. At this time, the color of the food remains bright, it can also be heated and cooked, and the nutrients contained in it will not be destroyed. The carotenoids in broccoli are also better absorbed when heated.

When steaming broccoli, you can put some shrimps to increase the saltiness and umami of this dish and make it more appetizing. Shrimp is a high-protein, low-fat healthy meat option, with 10.4 grams of protein per 100 grams of red shrimp and only 0.7 grams of fat, making it the perfect protein source for summer.

Finally, I remind everyone that there are many deep gaps in the corolla of broccoli. It is difficult to wash it with water directly. You can soak it in light salt water for about ten minutes, and then wash it with tap water.

Friends, do you like to eat broccoli? Do you also know the health benefits of eating broccoli? Feel free to leave a message in the comment section below and share your life experience.