You go out of your way to buy the freshest, peak-season vegetables, not only because they taste good but also because they’re packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. But did you know that how you cook them makes a huge difference in how well they retain those nutrients? Some cooking methods preserve nutrients and even help them enter your bloodstream, while others can destroy them. So once you get those vegetables home from the market, look to the strategies here to get the most nutritional bang for your buck.

Keep them warm. The coldest temperatures your veggies will experience will be during the winter months when temps dip below freezing. Garlic and leeks are perennial plants, meaning they will thrive in almost any climate, from southern California to northern Alaska. While these spring and summer staples can’t handle the coldest temperatures, both will hold their own in the mid-forties, and especially the low 30s. Garlic and leeks are best added to soups, roasted over coals, sautéed in butter, and mixed with browned ground beef.

Cook them both until just tender. This is known as “curing,” and is crucial to the way your vegetables hold onto their vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Curing involves softening the flesh of the vegetables, and tenderizing the skins. Garlic, leeks, and shallots are very resilient, so they can hold onto their nutrients in this soft stage for up to a month.

Cooking in this soft stage will give you a more complex flavor and you can include flavors that are earthy, savory, or spicy. Cured foods are also lower in iron and zinc, making them a good choice for women on menopause. They are rich in vitamin K, the active form of vitamin K. Because vitamin K is involved in wound healing, and bone health, they are also considered a good choice for women on osteoporosis. Your veggies will be full of flavor in this soft state, and will have a more pronounced flavor.

Store in the freezer. When the temps get to freezing, the internal temp of the food decreases to around 32 degrees Fahrenheit. This is also known as the freezing stage. Thaw them in cold water, or transfer to an ice bath.

The final steps in curing are to rinse and dry. This means you will need to use heat, and because these veggies be wet, you will need to add heat to them. You can do this by using either heat guns or heat dried air. Heat guns are not a very good heating method, since the heat is applied directly to the veggies, without any transfer of heat. You will also have a hard time drying out these veggies, since they will be very wet, and the heat from the heat gun will seep into the tissue. Heat dried air is a better method, since you will dry the skin and stem, and seep heat into the base. Dry times will vary on each item, but can take between 3-7 days. It is best to keep the stem in the base, and let it hang out, while you cure the rest of the item.

Vitamin K Foods

For Vitamin K foods, these two steps are very important. First, you will need to ensure the food is heat cured. This means the nutrients in the food are locked into the food, after it is cooked. The second step is to use heat. Not hot, but dry heat. Once the food has been cooked, you will need to use cool, or firm, heat. Use a dry heat like wood, or ice to heat the food. This cool, or firm heat will not crack the cell walls, and will not soften the outer shell. By combining these steps, you can ensure that the vitamins will be locked into the food.

Curing Foods

After the products are heat cured, the curing process is what makes the product edible. It is here that you need to use heat. At this point, you can use either a steam gun, or a heat gun to heat the food, and then cool or firm the heat, depending on your product. It is also at this point where you will need to use a moisture absorber like alcohol or vinegar to help transfer the moisture out of the food. At this point, your food will be edible, but has not cured yet.

The curing process will take anywhere from three to seven days for most products, but there are some products that can take a little longer.

To wrap up, it is important to note that only wet foods are able to be cured.

Curing (Heating or Cooling) the Food

These processes take place simultaneously. The cool process is the ability to lock the moisture, and the firm heat is to help absorb the extra water and ensure your food has passed all the steps of the curing process.

The most important part of the curing process is curing the food. Not curing it correctly will result in it coming out with bad flavor, and even bacteria, from the moisture. It is important to be able to determine when the food is cured, as it will take anywhere from seven to twenty days for a food to fully cure, and it is during this time that you need to use the appropriate curing method.

When using the steam curing method, you should wait until the moisture has completely evaporated from the food. This should take between eight and twenty days. However, during this time that bacteria is allowed to grow and will cause the food to be tough and bitter. When curing food, keep an eye on it to make sure it does not get too hot or cold. If the food is too cold, the bacteria will flourish and slow down the curing process.

When using the cure air method, you should wait until the moisture has completely dries away. This should take between eight and twenty days. During this time, it is important to be sure to monitor the humidity in the air. Too much moisture will cause the bacteria growth to slow down, and will make the food tough, and taste bad. However, too much moisture can also cause the air to be so dry that no bacteria can survive, and the food will come out bad. The key is to have a balance, which will help maintain humidity levels so the food has a good balance of all the elements necessary for the food to come out tasting good. This can take anywhere from twenty four to eighty days depending on the type of food.

Curing food will give the food the texture, and make it more appealing to eat, during this time. It is very important that you have a good curing process. Curing is very important, but to know the signs of success, is to cur your cures correctly, and evenly. Make sure you cur the cures fast. If you can fasten the food during this time, this will bring the quickest results.