Do you understand these little problems with Chinese cabbage?

As the saying goes, "Cabbage race ginseng after frost"
.
Chinese cabbage that can be stir-fried, stewed and stuffed is common and delicious, and is a traditional winter dish
of many northern people.

However, Chinese cabbage is delicious, and sometimes it will give people a little problem, such as Chinese cabbage has soft rot and rotten heart, and the vegetable gang has black spots with small black spots
.
So, how can you choose a good quality Chinese cabbage, and if you find sick Chinese cabbage when cooking, how to deal with it more reliably and safer?

Say cabbage: long history and nutrients

Our country is the origin of cabbage
.
Six or seven thousand years ago, our ancestors began to cultivate cabbage vegetable crops, at this time it was called kai, which is a vegetable that eats both roots and leaves, and kaku is the common ancestor
of vegetables such as cabbage and turnip.

In the Tang Dynasty, Chinese cabbage had a very elegant name - Shu.

Lu Tong, a Song Ren, said in "Piya": , Lingdong Late Eagle (), common at four o'clock, there is a pine exercise, so it is known as (that is, the character "" from pine).

In ancient times, there were three kinds
of pineapples.
Su Jing, a pharmacist of the Tang Dynasty, wrote in "Xinxiu Herbs": There are three kinds of pineapples, tripe pine leaves are the thickest and sweet; Aster is thin and fine, with less bitter taste; The white pine is like a vine too
.

"Early spring leeks, late autumn evening leeks
.
" Pineapple was once a seasonal vegetable
in the minds of the ancients.
"The white pine is like a lamb, and the bear bean emerges from the soil"
.
In Su Dongpo's poems, the taste of pine is comparable to lamb and bear's paw
.

After the Yuan Dynasty, Shu had a very pyrotechnic name: cabbage
.
In modern times, people's love for it is more straightforward, as the proverb says, "the meat is beautiful with pig's trotters, and the only cabbage in the dish is fresh"
.

Zhang Hui, associate researcher of the Institute of Vegetables of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said in an interview with the "China Consumer News" reporter that Chinese cabbage is known as the "king of a hundred vegetables", don't look at its "value" is not high, but the types are diverse, nutritious, rich in dietary fiber and a variety of vitamins, as well as calcium, phosphorus, iron and other mineral components
.
In particular, the content of vitamin C is higher
than that of some fruits.

Choosing cabbage: Four looks and smells is the trick

As a native Chinese dish, Chinese cabbage has a variety
of types.

Zhang Hui said that according to the ecological classification, Chinese cabbage can be divided into three types
: oval Chinese cabbage, flat-headed Chinese cabbage, and straight Chinese cabbage.
Oval Chinese cabbage types, such as Jiaozhou Chinese cabbage, have clear internal structure, good quality and storage resistance, and are the main raw material varieties of Korean kimchi; Flat-headed Chinese cabbage type, also called white-mouthed Chinese cabbage, common Luoyang Baotou, Erbaotou, etc.
, leaf bulb soft leaf rate is high, leaf gang is small, soft texture, not resistant to storage, should be eaten fresh; Straight cabbage type, also known as green cabbage, such as green hemp leaves, bao tip, etc.
, this vegetable has high dry matter content, strong cold resistance, storage resistance, more suitable for winter storage or making sauerkraut
.

How to choose a good quality Chinese cabbage, Zhang Hui recommends that consumers pay attention to the following aspects:

Look at the roots: the roots of good quality cabbage are white in color, round and neat; If the roots are yellow or hollow, it means that it has been harvested for some time and is not very fresh; If the color of the root is black, it means that it has deteriorated, and the inside of the cabbage has also been "rotten"
.

Look at the vegetable gang: If the vegetable gang is bright in color and does not have any impurities and black spots, it means that the cabbage is
disease-free.
If there is a bruise on the surface of the vegetable gang, it is generally more perishable and deteriorated
.
If you buy it accidentally, you should dispose of
it in time.

Look at the leaves: fresh Chinese cabbage leaves are shiny green or yellow, and the surface of the leaves is complete without damage, mildew, moth, and spots
.
At the same time, the well-hydrated leaves stand up strongly, which is what the northern dialect calls "standing up"
.
If the leaves are soft and collapsed, it means that there is more water loss and it is not fresh
enough.

Look at the feel: good Chinese cabbage, feel firm, no feeling
of emptiness and softness.
Pick it up and throw it, the weight is heavier
.
Generally speaking, the heavier the cabbage of the same size, the heavier the nutrients and water, and the sweeter the taste
.

Smell: Fresh cabbage has a faint fragrance, such as odor, musty, sour and other peculiar smells, even if there is no problem with visual inspection, it is not recommended to buy
.

Eating cabbage: these are the issues to be aware of

In life, Chinese cabbage often gives people a little problem, testing the life wisdom
of home chefs.

Question 1: Can you eat Chinese cabbage with "black spots"?

Zhang Hui said that if the small black dot can be washed off with water, it means that it is likely to be worm eggs or impurities, and it can be washed off with water; If it cannot be washed away with water, then most of it is a physiological disease of Chinese cabbage - nitrogen overdose, mainly caused by
excessive nitrogen in the soil.
At present, there are no studies and case reports to prove that this situation is harmful to health, so just remove the black spots when choosing dishes
.

However, if the diameter of the small black dot exceeds two millimeters, and the black dot is discolored or even exudates or filamentous matter appears, and the leaves wither, then it is likely to be a disease caused by bacteria or fungi, or mildew, bacterial contamination caused by improper storage, which is not eaten
.

Question 2: If the vegetable leaves on the outside are broken, can they still be eaten if they are intact inside?

The outermost leaves of Chinese cabbage rot, which is generally a storage problem
.
If the inside is intact, peel off the rotten leaves and rinse the remaining part with running water
.
If rotten leaves, black spots or peculiar smells appear on the part of the cabbage, it means that it has been infected with a disease or rotten and deteriorated, and do not eat it at this time
.

In addition to the above problems, Zhang Hui also reminded consumers to pay attention to three problems when eating cabbage:

First, cabbage should not be cooked for a long time, otherwise vitamin C and other nutrients will be lost;

Second, some people like to eat raw Chinese cabbage, especially tender cabbage, but cabbage contains a certain amount of organic acids, and the elderly or people with gastrointestinal diseases should not eat too much raw food;

Third, cabbage should not be heated overnight or
repeatedly.
Green leafy vegetables contain a certain amount of nitrate, which is easy to produce nitrite after repeated heating or long-term storage, which is harmful to health
.

Cabbage: These methods work well

Hoarding Chinese cabbage in winter is the habit and even sentiment of many northern families
.
However, how to stock up on Chinese cabbage is very
knowledgeable.
Zhang Hui said that the main component of Chinese cabbage is water, and if you want to preserve it for a long time and maintain its tender quality, you must first protect from light and low temperature to delay or reduce the metabolic process
of Chinese cabbage.

Therefore, you should pay attention to the following points when storing cabbage:

First, before storage, the rotten leaves should be removed, it is best to keep some outer leaves, and put them in a cool and ventilated place to dry for two or three days
.

Second, Chinese cabbage is most suitable for storage at temperatures between minus 2 ° C and 2 ° C, the temperature is too low and easy to frostbite, and the temperature is too high The vegetable leaves are easy to rot.

If the number of cabbage trees is small and small, it can be stored in the refrigerator; If it is a large amount of hoarding, because the inside of the vegetable mound is easy to release heat, resulting in a temperature rise, too humidity, easy to rot, so it is best to put it on
a balcony without heating.
When storing, it can not be directly placed on the ground, and at the same time it is necessary to leave the wall to ensure smooth air flow, and it is necessary to regularly turn it over (that is, the northern winter storage called the inverted cellar) to check whether the cabbage has rotten heart and oozing water, and deal with
the problem in time.

Third, conditions can be used to isolate oxygen, such as wrapping the whole cabbage in plastic wrap and storing it in a cool and ventilated place, which can reduce the cellular respiration of Chinese cabbage, reduce the consumption of organic matter, and extend the preservation time
.

In addition, the preservation methods and retention periods of different varieties of Chinese cabbage are also different, and consumers should pay attention to the differences
.

Generally speaking, the flat-headed "white-mouthed" cabbage has a high soft leaf rate, a brittle texture and a loose structure, so it is easy to lose water when preservation, relatively intolerant to storage, and can buy less and save less
.
When storing after drying, wrap it in plastic wrap or absorbent paper, and then put it in a cool and ventilated place, usually pay attention to check
more.

The straight-barreled "mussel" cabbage is stored for a longer period of time, the more delicious it is, it is a traditional winter storage cabbage, and it can be cooled and ventilated after
drying.