The following article comes from China, the author of Science Popularization, Xue Qingxin.
Cop China.
Public science popularization and scientific communication
Why does barbecue smell good?
The origin of barbecue is very early, and it has been started since our primate ancestors. The love for barbecue can be said to go deep into the soul. Few people can control their desire for the smell of barbecue food. The smell of barbecue coming from the streets is really tempting, not to mention the lively atmosphere of barbecue all over the city!
Then why does the barbecue smell so good?
The most common barbecue is charcoal barbecue, which can give food a unique aroma mainly for two reasons.
1. Maillard reaction
During the barbecue of food, the amino acids decomposed by protein will have Maillard reaction with the reducing sugar in food or marinade, which can give food a unique aroma and attractive color.
2. Flavor droplets
Flavor droplets are the key to the flavor formation of barbecue food. After burning, food droplets will emit many aromatic compounds to cover the food.
For example, the drippings of fruit juice contain sugar, protein and oil, and the drippings of meat contain a lot of fat, which will be burnt at the high temperature of charcoal and excited into aromatic molecules to return to the smoke, giving food an aromatic taste.
The combination of these two flavors makes people drool over barbecue.
Why advise you to eat less barbecue?
Barbecue is delicious, but you should not eat it often. In order to persuade you to eat less barbecue, I have properly sorted out many reasons.
Step 1 get fat
Fat and thin kebabs especially capture people’s hearts, such as pork belly, soy sauce tendons, fat and thin, and even cooked tendons, skin and fat intestines … You may brush oil over and over again during the barbecue. The reason why these kebabs are delicious is that they are high in fat, so they taste good, and the calories are naturally not low. Eating them often will inevitably increase the risk of obesity, which is not conducive to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health.
2. It is not conducive to controlling blood pressure
The salt content of pickled kebabs and the dipping sauce is not low, so eating them often is not conducive to controlling blood pressure.
3. It is not conducive to controlling blood uric acid.
Barbecues, especially those in coastal areas, have more meat and seafood, and often drink beer at the same time, which will make us consume more purine, which may lead to an increase in blood uric acid. Patients with hyperuricemia and gout should pay special attention to eating moderately.
4. There are carcinogens
Barbecue belongs to high-temperature cooking, and the highest temperature can reach 370℃. At this high temperature, meat will produce heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, both of which are carcinogens, and the content of carcinogens will gradually increase with the increase of temperature and time.
As we all know, 3,4- benzopyrene is the highest class 1 carcinogen, which is definitely carcinogenic to human beings. It belongs to one kind of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which is the most toxic and accounts for a large proportion, so it is the most representative polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons with strong carcinogenicity. In the way of ingesting polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons through diet, fried and grilled foods account for 88%~98%. [1]
In addition, foods with high carbohydrate content, such as steamed bread, bread, potato chips, etc., will produce acrylamide during barbecue, which belongs to category 2A carcinogen. It has been confirmed that it will cause cancer in animals, but the evidence of carcinogenicity in humans is limited.
5. Air pollution
The burning and incomplete burning of charcoal for barbecue will produce carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. The former is a kind of greenhouse gas, while the latter is a toxic gas. The smoke from barbecue contains toxic and harmful substances such as dioxins, nitrosamines and heterocyclic amines, among which dioxins not only cause cancer, but also have reproductive toxicity and genetic toxicity. The smoke contains particles such as PM2.5 and PM10, and the concentration is off the charts! Relevant tests by environmental NGOs show that the concentration of PM2.5 in barbecue intensive areas is 1 meter, 10 meters and 100 meters away from the oven, which is far higher than that in non-barbecue areas, and PM10 can also cause haze weather, which seriously harms the health of respiratory system. [2]
How to reduce injuries?
Since there are health risks while eating barbecue, how can people who like to eat barbecue eat relatively healthily? In order to let everyone enjoy the food happily, the following eight points are best arranged.
Step 1 don’t burn
The higher the barbecue temperature and time, the higher the carcinogen content. It is best to remove the burnt place and not eat it, because the more burnt the place, the higher the carcinogen content. After baking, you should wipe the head of the barbecue label before eating.
For example, it is reasonable to have a small stove on each table of Zibo BBQ, and the degree to which the meat is roasted can be completely in your own hands. It is suggested that the meat can be eaten when it is completely cooked, and don’t wait for it to dry and paste.
2. Choose more lean meat
Lean meat is low in fat, which is helpful for weight control. Moreover, if the fat content is high, it will further promote the formation of carcinogens, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are most likely to be produced at high temperature. Lean meat may have lower carcinogen content than fat and thin kebabs, and it can also reduce the intake of saturated fatty acids.
3. Don’t just eat meat
Many people eat kebabs all over the table, which will lead to high meat intake, which is not conducive to cardiovascular health. If you eat so much meat often, you will increase the risk of developing diseases such as type 2 diabetes, colorectal cancer and obesity. [3] Therefore, it is best to mix some staple foods, vegetables and bean products, which will help to enhance satiety and control meat intake.
Zibo barbecue, for example, is very good. Burritos are the staple food, and shallots are vegetables, but the taste is spicy.
Step 4 match fresh fruits and vegetables
Fresh fruits and vegetables are rich in dietary fiber and antioxidant components, such as lycopene, carotene and anthocyanin. Tomatoes, Chinese cabbage, cherry tomatoes, leeks, oil-wheat vegetables, sweet peppers, colored peppers, etc., when eaten with barbecue, can reduce the harm of carcinogens in barbecue to the body.
5. Microwave before baking
Microwave pretreatment can significantly reduce the production of heterocyclic amines in meat, because microwave can reduce the water content in food, so that the "raw materials" that form carcinogens can not seep out to the surface of meat to participate in the reaction with water, thus significantly reducing the production of heterocyclic amines.
The results showed that the total amount of heterocyclic amines in half-cooked chicken and beef pretreated by microwave decreased by 24% and 21% respectively, while the total amount of heterocyclic amines in fully cooked samples decreased by 35% and 42% respectively. [1]
In addition, microwave pretreatment can significantly reduce the production of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in barbecue products, which may be due to shortening the barbecue time.
Therefore, if you barbecue food at home by yourself, you can microwave the meat until it is 67% cooked or fully cooked before roasting.
Step 6 marinate with spices
Pretreatment of food with spices can significantly inhibit the formation of harmful substances such as heterocyclic amines, acrylamide and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in food. This may be because spices generally have strong free radical scavenging ability, which can significantly inhibit the free radical reaction of meat products during high temperature processing. [1]
You can marinate the meat with garlic juice, onion, red pepper, Chili powder, ginger, black pepper, thirteen spices and so on before baking.
7. Put less or no soy sauce
Soy sauce can promote the formation of heterocyclic amines, and it is best to put less or not.
8. Barbecue style
Compared with charcoal roasting, electric roasting is more recommended, and the amount of harmful substances generated by electric roasting is lower. It was found that the content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was 24 μg/kg when sausages were roasted by electric roasting, and it increased to 51 μg/kg when sausages were roasted by charcoal, which was nearly 2 times higher than that by electric roasting. [4]
In addition, gas barbecue and stone barbecue can also effectively reduce the content of carcinogens in barbecue meat products.
summary
Let’s be realistic. No matter where the barbecue is, it’s not healthy food. Here, it’s good to remind everyone to relieve their cravings occasionally. Maybe it’s just right to have a barbecue once in a while. Remember to drink less wine and drink less sweet drinks when eating barbecue ~
Original title: "Barbecue is delicious, but healthy skewers should do these 8 points! 》
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