Getting caught up in eating melon in the dead of winter can only be a disappointment (and an unnecessary expense). It's true, food has less and less flavor, but … sometimes our way of not helping either. As we are not satisfied with eating bland, we have found the formula to find the most flavourful foods on the market. They are seasonal, organic farming and kilometer zero. And, in addition to buying them right, you also have to take into account how you store them.
Seasonal foods
They are foods that have been collected at the right time of maturation. By respecting their natural growth, they retain all their flavor, texture and color, as well as their nutritional properties intact. In addition, eating in season respects the diversity of crops and the rest of the land. In general, they are usually cheaper products, since they have not had to undergo industrial processes to force their growth.
From organic farming
The Quality Low Input Food study –a project funded by the EU and developed from 2004 to 2009, which involved the participation of more than 30 research centers, experts, universities, farmers and food companies at an international level– indicates that organic food they are of higher quality and present more food safety, with less possibility of chemical or bacterial contamination. The study also shows that these foods have higher levels of nutrients. These are usually somewhat more expensive, but you can get them cheaper if you join purchasing cooperatives, for example.
Organic food is of higher quality and has more nutrients
Kilometer zero
It also doesn't make much sense that your food - even if you buy it organic - is produced miles away. Products of distant origin usually contain preservatives for good maintenance and some include pesticides not authorized by the EU. In addition, as in the case of seasonal foods, local products are usually collected at their best moment of maturity, since they will reach consumers in a short time.
Local products are usually collected at their best moment of maturity
For this reason, being fresher, we can enjoy a more intense flavor and aroma. As the period between collection and sale is short, preservation or freezing systems are not necessary and they better maintain their nutritional properties.
How to store them well
Without realizing it, we can also alter the taste of food, for example, by storing it in the fridge. Most fruits do not tolerate this preservation method. Also cheeses or certain hams, such as Iberian ham. Or the chocolate.
In winter it is easier to keep them out of the fridge, in a cool place, away from the heating. But not so much in summer, when it may even be advisable to put the potatoes in the fridge so that they do not spoil. In this case, it is advisable to take the food out of the fridge for a while before eating it, so that it regains a normal temperature and, with it, all its flavor and aroma.
But since we do not eat all food raw, we will tell you how to gain flavor also according to the cooking technique you choose. Do not miss our tricks for cooking in the oven, to make the most of steaming or the tips for boiling in a healthy and tasty way. Come on, you will not have excuses not to scrape the plate every time you eat.
