Unfortunately, some vitamins are quite sensitive to heat. Is vitamin C heat-resistant? The vitamin is really sensitive to high temperatures. If you’re not careful, a large proportion of the vitamins in your food can be lost.
In this blog article, you can find out at which temperatures it becomes difficult and what you can do to get as much vitamin C as possible.
Can vitamin C tolerate heat? You should pay attention to this!
Vitamin C is very sensitive to high temperatures. It slowly begins to break down at temperatures as low as 60 degrees. The higher the temperatures and the longer they affect your food, the more vitamin C is broken down. The loss can quickly amount to 50 percent or more. At high temperatures, such as those generated during frying, baking or deep-frying, almost all of the vitamin can disappear.
Important to know: It is not only heat that lowers the vitamin C content in food. Contact with light, oxygen and water can also contribute to decay.
This means that if the food is cooked with water and comes into contact with a lot of oxygen or light, the vitamin C breaks down particularly quickly. You should therefore bear these factors in mind when preparing and storing vitamin-rich foods
Tips for vitamin-preserving food storage
The fresher your food is, the higher the vitamin C content usually is.
- So be careful not to store fruit and vegetables for an unnecessarily long time!
- Store vitamin-rich foods in a cool, dry and dark place if possible! Most fruit and vegetables stay fresh best in the vegetable compartment of the fridge. Alternatively, you can store them in tins or paper bags in the larder.
- Unfortunately, decorative presentation in fruit bowls is not such a good idea. Here, the food comes into contact with particularly high levels of light and oxygen.
- Additional tip: Moisture promotes vitamin loss and makes food less durable. Therefore, only wash fruit and vegetables shortly before use!
Tips for preparing foods with a high vitamin C content
You can also do a lot to preserve vitamin C for as long as possible when preparing food.
- Cook gently: It is best if you only steam or stew your vegetables briefly. The less water you use and the shorter the cooking time, the higher the vitamin C content.
- Eat raw: Classics such as peppers, tomatoes and citrus fruits are real vitamin bombs when you eat them raw.
- Chop just before preparation: Chopping increases the surface area for oxygen and light to attack. This is why you should only chop vitamin-rich foods just before preparing them.
- Continue to use the cooking water: Vitamin C is water-soluble and passes into the cooking water. It is therefore beneficial if you use the water for a soup or sauce, for example.
Use a lid when cooking: A lid on the pot not only saves energy, but also reduces contact with oxygen.
Popular classic: hot lemon – but the right way
Hot lemon is a popular home remedy in the cold season. Hot water, lemon juice and honey make a great mixture. However, the drink is often prepared incorrectly and is nowhere near as rich in vitamin C as many people think. This is how you ensure that the hot lemon contains as much vitamin C as possible:
- Vitamin C heat resistant: Boil the water and then let it cool for a few minutes until it is only 40 degrees or 60 degrees maximum!
- Squeeze the lemon juice fresh and just before preparation!
- Add the freshly squeezed juice to the cooled water!
- Now you can sweeten your hot lemon with honey. To preserve the enzymes as much as possible, the honey should only be added to the cooled water.
By the way: a high-quality dietary supplement can be a practical addition to your diet. How about SILICIUM FERROFEM, for example? These popular capsules from our store contain vitamin C, silicon, iron, myo-inositol and Bacillus subtilis. Why not give them a try!
