Summer is the season of fruit and vegetables. With high water content and a sweet taste, fruit and vegetables in season during the period can be used for making delicious and healthy dishes, which are perfect for cooling us off. In this issue, we invite Li Pei-xin (Cassie), a registered dietitian, to introduce some fruit and vegetables suitable for consumption during summer, and share with us how to retain the nutrients in these ingredients by using different cooking techniques.

Eat with the Seasons

Fruit and vegetables in season during summer, such as wax gourds and angled luffas, not only are fresh and tasty, but also help replenish our bodies with water and nutrients. Cassie suggests us to make dishes with seasonal fruit and vegetables. Water-rich wax gourds, for instance, help cool us off and quench our thirst. They also contain minerals like potassium and magnesium, which help maintain our cardiovascular health and our blood pressure in a normal range. As for angled luffas, they are rich in dietary fibre. They can promote gut health while offering various vitamins and minerals.

Enhancing the Flavours

While we may lose our appetites in the hot weather, Cassie recommends that we whet our appetites by choosing the right ingredients, using natural seasonings and cooking with the appropriate methods. First, we may tickle our taste buds by choosing fruit in season during summer including pineapples and mangoes, or other ingredients carrying flavours that stand out such as cherry tomatoes and purple onions. Adding natural ingredients such as shiitake mushrooms, kelp and kombu can also help enhance the overall umami of the dishes.

Regarding seasoning, we may replace ready-made sauces with natural seasonings such as coriander, ginger, garlic and green onions, layering flavours in a healthy way. In addition, seasonings with sour taste, such as lemon juice, vinegar and tomatoes, can make dishes more refreshing, while a small amount of honey can help balance out the bitterness in some vegetables. As for cooking methods, grilling can be used to cook vegetables such as pumpkins and bell peppers to intensify their natural sweetness.

Tips from Cassie: How do we retain the nutrients in fruit and vegetables?

1. Do not wash fruit and vegetables by soaking them in water for too long, or the water soluble vitamins will be lost.

2. Prevent overcooking and use cooking methods other than deep-frying as far as possible.

3. Keep the skins of fruit and vegetables as far as possible as they contain nutrients.

4. Quick-boiled soups can retain the nutrients in fruit and vegetables better than double-boiled soups as they require a shorter cooking time.

5. Most nutrients in the soup are actually retained in the dregs. Therefore, it is recommended to enjoy the soup together with the fruit and vegetable dregs to consume all nutrients in the ingredients.