Why do onions, ginger and garlic have such magical powers to remove fishy smell and enhance fragrance?

Key Points

★ The flavor substances emitted from onions and ginger can remove the fishy smell of fish, and garlic will make it sweet, so they will have a unique aroma after cooking.

★ Eating scallions and tofu will not cause kidney stones! In addition to being a seasoning, scallions, ginger and garlic are also very nutritious.

★ Ginger can be eaten even if it sprouts, but never eat rotten ginger! People with stomach problems and the elderly should eat less onions, ginger and garlic.

Cut the meat and marinate it, prepare the vegetables and put them aside, cut two slices of ginger, peel a scallion, smash the garlic, and get ready to put everything in the pan - this is a common operation for ordinary people when cooking stir-fry at home. From time to time, there will be embarrassing situations where the pan is hot but you forget to cut the ginger, and you should add the scallions only to realize that the scallions have not been bought yet... After cooking the dish like this, you taste it. Hmm, the taste is really a little bit off.

So, why are the three kitchen treasures, onion, ginger and garlic, indispensable?

01

Add onion, ginger and garlic to cooking

Remove the fishy smell and taste better!

The formation of flavor of each dish is a complex process. Onion, ginger and garlic are so important because they play an irreplaceable role in it.

The aldehydes in onions have a fresh aroma, and S-propyl and cysteine-S-amide will degrade during cooking to produce aroma. When garlic is heated, its original spicy taste will gradually disappear and produce a sweet taste, making the dish more fragrant and sweeter. When the sulfide compounds in garlic are fried in oil at 150-160℃, they will also produce a unique garlic burnt aroma. [2] Now it is clear why onions, ginger and garlic can make food more fragrant.

Using onions, ginger and garlic can not only enhance the flavor, but also remove fishy smell and greasiness.

Picture | Tuchong Creative

When marinating fish, just add onions and ginger, and the ginger ketone, propylene disulfide and other substances in them will penetrate into the fish meat. When cooking, they will evaporate and mix with the fish flavor to form a special aroma, making the fish meat more delicious. Especially for the fishy smell of fish and shrimp, adding onions and ginger and heating them together can decompose the fishy components. Friends who love to eat fish must have known this a long time ago, right?

02

In addition to seasoning

It’s also very nutritious!

Look at this bowl of shallot and tofu, fresh, fragrant and smooth, and you will feel so comfortable after eating a spoonful. But some people claim that shallot and tofu cannot be eaten together based on "dietary taboos" for fear that it will increase the risk of stones. Is this true?

Picture | Tuchong Creative

In fact, there is no health risk in eating shallots and tofu. People are worried because shallots have a high oxalic acid content and tofu is rich in calcium. They can indeed form calcium oxalate stones when eaten together. However, the oxalic acid content in shallots is not very high, only about 19% of that in spinach[7]. It is not easy to form calcium oxalate stones. Even if the small amount of oxalic acid in shallots and the calcium in tofu form calcium oxalate, it is formed in the intestines and will be excreted from the body with feces. It will not cause kidney stones.

On the contrary, eating onions, ginger and garlic not only has no "dietary taboos", but also provides good nutrition (of course, people who are allergic to them should not eat them carelessly). Compared with other vegetables, the dietary fiber content in onions and ginger and the mineral selenium content in garlic are relatively high. The dietary fiber content of 100 grams of onions and ginger is 2.5 times and 3 times that of the Chinese cabbage we usually eat; and the selenium content in garlic is the highest among common vegetables. [3]

The unprepossessing green onions, ginger and garlic are very nutritious. | Tuchong Creative

In addition, studies have shown that the sulfide contained in onions and garlic is a phytochemical component that is beneficial to health and has antibacterial, antioxidant, total cholesterol-lowering, anti-thrombotic, and immune-regulating effects. [5]

When garlic is squeezed or cut, the alliin in it will quickly turn into allicin under the action of alliinase. It has a spicy taste and is not only the main ingredient for seasoning dishes, but also has strong bactericidal, tumor-inhibiting, and cardiovascular disease prevention effects [2, 4].

Ginger is rich in polyphenolic antioxidants, such as flavonoids, shogaol, and some gingerols, which have antibacterial, lipid-lowering, and cholesterol-lowering effects. [6]

However, although the research results show that onions, ginger and garlic are very beneficial to health, their effects should not be exaggerated. There are rumors that eating ginger can prevent colds, eating garlic can prevent the new coronavirus, and even treat cancer. These claims are unreliable. The extracts used in the study are all specific ingredients, which are somewhat different from the food we eat. The daily diet is not as effective as the experiment, so we can't expect to cure diseases by just eating them.

Now that we know the benefits of onions, ginger and garlic, how do we choose high-quality onions, ginger and garlic?

3

Buy Onions, Ginger and Garlic

You must know these points!

① Scallions: Many people like the unique taste of scallions. They are very stimulating when eaten raw and delicious when cooked. In fact, there are many types of scallions, and you can choose according to different needs. In my country, the more common ones are stick-shaped scallions and chicken leg scallions. If you want to eat them raw, it is recommended to choose stick-shaped scallions; if you want to add flavor to cooking, it is recommended to choose chicken leg scallions (which will be very spicy when eaten raw).

Stick-shaped onion. | Tuchong Creative

Chicken drumsticks and green onions. | Source: Internet

② Ginger: When buying ginger, choose the one with a light yellow skin and feels plump and hard. This means that the ginger is fresh and has enough water. If it is soft, it may be dehydrated and no longer fresh. The ginger you buy can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator. If the temperature is higher than 15℃, the ginger will easily sprout. The sprouted ginger will not produce toxic substances and can still be eaten. However, if the ginger is found to be rotten or moldy, do not eat it. The safrole content will increase greatly after the ginger is rotten. It is a toxic substance and excessive intake is harmful to the liver.

Although sprouted ginger is non-toxic, it has lost some nutrients. | Tuchong Creative

③ Garlic: Choose garlic with plump cloves, strong, dry heads, no dryness or cracking, and milky white cloves. If you like it spicier, choose single-headed garlic. When garlic is stored for a long time, it will sprout after the dormant period. This is the garlic sprout (green garlic) we often eat. The dietary fiber, vitamin C, and carotene content are 1.6 times, 5 times, and 9.3 times that of garlic, respectively. When garlic matures, the stem that sprouts from the middle is the garlic scape. The dietary fiber, mineral magnesium, iron, and zinc content will increase to 2.8 times, 1.3 times, 3.5 times, and 1.2 times that of garlic, respectively. [3]

Ordinary garlic has many cloves when peeled, but single-headed garlic has only one clove. | Tuchong Creative

In daily life, using onions, ginger and garlic as vegetables or natural seasonings are good choices. We often say that we should control oil and salt in our diet, and using onions, ginger, garlic, thirteen spices, star anise and other seasonings in cooking is a very effective method.

However, it should be noted that people with stomach problems (such as chronic gastritis/gastric ulcers), duodenal ulcers, and elderly people with weak digestive functions should avoid consuming too much onion, ginger, and garlic at one time to prevent the spicy ingredients in them from irritating the gastric mucosa and causing discomfort. If you must eat them, you can heat them to destroy the spicy ingredients and eat them after they are cooked thoroughly.

Author | Xue Qingxin, member of Chinese Nutrition Society, registered nutrition technician, health manager, public nutritionist

Review | Gao Chao, Associate Researcher, Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Editor | Jiang Fan

Editor | Ding Zong

References:

[1] Zhou Xiaoyan. Cooking Technology[M]. China Textile Press, 2008.

[2] Chen Yongqing. Application of allicin in cooking seasoning[J]. Journal of Culinary Science of Yangzhou University, 2006, 23(4): 26-28. DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1009-4717.2006.04.008.

[3] Yang Yuexin. Chinese Food Composition Table 6th Edition Volume 1[M]. Peking University Medical Press, 2018

[4] Yang Junfeng. Research progress of allicin[J]. Guangzhou Chemical Industry, 2011, 39(1): 32-34. DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1001-9677.2011.01.012.

[5] Sun Changhao. Nutrition and Food Hygiene 7th Edition [M]. People's Medical Publishing House. 2017: 45

[6] Fan Suqin, Chen Xinbing. Ginger flavor substances and their applications[J]. Grain and Oils, 2009, (8): 45-47. DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1008-9578.2009.08.015.

[7] Yang Yuexin, Ge Keyou. Chinese Nutrition Science Encyclopedia 2nd Edition (Volume 1)[M]. People's Medical Publishing House, 2019

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