Proper storage and preparation

Even the freshest vegetables lose vitamins and nutrients when they are incorrectly stored. Proper storage is essential for vitamin conservation. Don't store fresh vegetables in an open container in the kitchen. Put them in the fridge or in a dark and cool place such as the cellar or a pantry. Spinach loses around one-third of its vitamin content after two days in the fridge and 80 percent at room temperature. Generally, heat, water, light and air are vitamin killers. If you can integrate these tips in your daily routine, your vegetables will stay rich in vitamins for longer.

 How to store fruit and vegetables

- It's always best to eat vegetables on the same day they are purchased because this is when they have the highest vitamin content.

- If you can't use the vegetables straight away, blanche them briefly in a little hot water. This stops them losing vitamins. Then you can freeze them.

- Fruit and vegetables should be stored in the fridge's vegetable compartment. Please remove the plastic foil first, because vegetables tend to rot if it is left on.

- Bananas and citrus fruits should be stored at room temperature. Tropical fruits don't like cool temperatures.

- Don't store vegetables and fruit together because ripe fruit causes vegetables to wither faster.

Things to remember when preparing fruit and vegetables

- Always wash fruit and vegetables thoroughly so that all pesticide residue is removed.

- Only wash fruit and vegetables under running water and don't leave them to stand in water because this causes them to lose vitamins and minerals, especially if you have sliced them before putting them in water.

- Don't cut fruit and vegetables until you have washed them because the enzymes that are activated when you cut them start to destroy the vitamins.

- Many fruit and vegetable varieties don't have to be peeled and can be eaten with skin. That's healthy because most of the vitamins are located underneath the skin. Do always wash the fruit or vegetables thoroughly, though, before you eat them.

Preparing fruit and vegetables so that they don't lose their vitamins

- Vegetables should only be cooked briefly because most of them are heat-sensitive. If they are exposed to heat for too long, they lose a lot of their vitamin content.

- Never cook vegetables in a pan that has too much water in it and no lid. This results in the loss of many of the vitamins (especially water-soluble vitamin C), because they are "washed out" of the vegetables and thrown down the drain with the cooking water.

- Steaming, poaching and braising are the best methods of cooking vegetables because they use little water and little fat.

- Always try to use the water that you cook vegetables in for something else, e.g. a delicious vegetable soup or a sauce base because it often contains many vitamins.

- Freezing fruit and vegetables is a good way of preserving vitamins. Pour boiling water over the vegetables, then dip them into extremely cold water before freezing.

- Keeping cooked vegetables hot for lengthy periods of time damages the vitamins. It's better to cover them and let them cool, and then to heat them up just before you are ready to eat.