Dumplings are the perfect staple food! But many people may have been eating them wrong...

Dumplings play an important role in Chinese people's eating habits, especially during the Spring Festival, when the whole family gathers together to make dumplings, which is probably an important memory of the Chinese New Year for many people.

In addition to cultural significance, dumplings are also a "perfect staple food" from a nutritional perspective.

dumpling

A "perfect staple"

From the perspective of dietary structure, dumplings contain noodles, meat, and vegetables, which can meet the diverse nutritional needs of food and are in line with the scientific dietary pyramid structure.

Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022)

The dumpling wrappers wrapped around the outside are also helpful in retaining water-soluble nutrients such as vitamin C in vegetables, mineral potassium, and B vitamins in meat and eggs.

Dumplings, a food that uses water or water vapor as a heat transfer medium, can fully break down the starch polysaccharides in food, making it easier for the human body to absorb.

Cooking methods such as steaming or boiling (except for fried dumplings) will neither produce acrylamide like high-temperature cooking of baked foods, nor will they easily produce harmful substances such as benzopyrene and heterocyclic amines like high-temperature frying of foods.

However, in the process of making dumplings, some common operations are causing the dumplings to lose nutrients.

Nutrient loss operation 1:

Squeeze out the water from the vegetables before making stuffing

When making dumplings with vegetables that contain more water, such as cabbage and radish, many people will squeeze out the water from the vegetables before preparing the filling to prevent the dumplings from breaking. However, this operation will cause the nutrients in the vegetables to be lost.

A good method is: after cutting the vegetables into small pieces, mix them with cooking oil first, and then add salt and other seasonings, which can "lock" the moisture of the vegetables to a great extent.

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Nutrient loss operation 2:

Cook the dumplings until they are "swollen"

Many people like to watch the dumplings become "plump" while cooking in the pot, and take them out one second before they break. The dumplings served in this way are very pleasing to the eye.

However, "fat dumplings" may be dumplings that have been cooked for a period of time. Steaming them for too long will cause the loss of nutrients, so the loss of nutrients can be avoided as much as possible by steaming them according to the type and size of the ingredients and keeping them steamed for a shorter time.

Nutrient loss operation three:

Add more oil and salt

In the north, the older generation in the family always likes to add a lot of oil to the dumpling filling, such as peanut oil, sesame oil, lard, etc., thinking that it will "taste more delicious", but the body does not think so.

The recommended daily protein intake for adult men with moderate physical exertion is 80g, and the World Health Organization recommends that healthy adults consume 6g of salt per day.

According to experiments, the salt content in northern dumplings is very high, with all samples containing more than 10g/kg of salt and 50-100g/kg of protein. Eating 100g of dumplings will only contain less than 10g of protein, while some dumplings contain close to the recommended salt intake of 6g per 100g.

According to the Chinese Dietary Guidelines, the heat supply ratio of fat in food should not exceed 30%. However, the fat heat supply ratio of 80% of Northeastern dumplings exceeds 30%. If too much oil is added on this basis, the nutrition in the human body will be unbalanced and it will also pose a threat to human health.

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Tips for eating dumplings healthily during the Spring Festival

1. Don’t pursue “thin skin and big filling” too much

If you blindly pursue the method of "thin skin and large filling" and "marginalized" dumpling skin, it will easily cause the human body to consume insufficient carbohydrates while consuming too much meat, which is not conducive to nutritional balance.

2. Add some whole grain powder to the peel

Add some coarse grain powder and bean powder when making the dumpling skin and dough. This can increase some B vitamins and dietary fiber, and enhance the taste.

3. Continue to chop the minced meat you bought

Chop the minced meat you bought before seasoning it. If the minced meat is not chopped finely, the muscle protein will not come out and it will not be able to absorb water. "Second chopping" can make the minced meat stickier and more flavorful.

4. Increase the proportion of vegetables in the filling appropriately

When the elders prepare the stuffing, they always like to put more meat, wishing they could eat a "meatball". However, for health reasons, it is recommended that you put more vegetables, which is not only more nutritious but also less greasy to eat.

The human stomach will not lie. The reason why we have such deep feelings for dumplings from childhood to adulthood is not only because they are delicious. Now dumplings have become a symbol of emotional connection between family members. Even if you return to your hometown from a faraway place, as long as you eat the dumplings at home, you will feel that your soul has returned from that moment, and your heart is warmed by these hot dumplings.

What's your favorite dumpling filling? Let's talk about it in the comments section~

References

[1] Tongqinglouzhu. The status and value of dumplings in Chinese food culture[J]

[2] Yi Diao. Eating dumplings healthily[J]. Diet and Exercise. 2014.03

[3] Liu Zhigao. Food Nutrition[M]. Beijing: China Light Industry Press, 2004

[4] Zhang Yingjie, Zeng Qingxiao. Chinese diet from the perspective of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans [J]. Modern Food Science and Technology, 2005, 21(3): 67-69.

[5] Shen Li. Tips for making delicious dumplings. [J]. Life Encyclopedia. Issue 1, 2009

[6] Don’t pursue thin skin and big filling when eating dumplings. Health and Leisure [J]. 2014.04 [7] Ma Dong et al. Study on the nutritional status of dumplings [J]. Modern Food Science and Technology. 2009.01

This article is a work of Science Popularization China-Starry Sky Project

Produced by: Science Popularization Department of China Association for Science and Technology

Producer｜China Science and Technology Press Co., Ltd., Beijing Zhongke Xinghe Culture Media Co., Ltd.

Author: Xu Lang, popular science creator

Reviewer: Ruan Guangfeng, Director of Science and Technology Department, Kexin Food and Nutrition Information Exchange Center