Salmon is a representative of fish species rich in omega-3 fatty acids such as DHA and EPA, and recently there is news that salmon is the most NG fried, which will cause the loss of omega-3 fatty acids! Is this true? What about boiling, steaming, and roasting? This article will share how salmon is boiled and affects the nutrients the most!
Salmon nutrient content
Salmon is a good ingredient, for the human body, the main nutrients are protein, DHA and EPA, the content of these three nutrients is as follows:
Salmon protein content (per 100g)
Atlantic salmon has a protein of 20.2 grams
Atlantic salmon maw has a protein of 16.4 grams
Salmon fat, DHA, EPA fatty acid content (per 100 g)
Atlantic salmon has 14.9 grams of fat, including 1.27 grams of DHA and 0.41 grams of EPA
Atlantic salmon maw weighs 16.4 grams, of which the DHA content is 1.61 grams and EPA is 0.77 grams
Does fried salmon lose DHA and EPA?
Pan-fried salmon will lose DHA and EPA, but the effects are not severe
In 2006, Food Chemistry, an authoritative international journal in the food industry, published a paper on the effect of frying salmon with margarine or olive oil on its fatty acids.
Cooking methods and temperatures for experiments
In this experiment, the salmon weighed about 150 grams and was 13 x 5 x 2.5 cm3 in size. Before cooking, the salmon will be placed at room temperature for 20 minutes to remove the ice, the cooking oil used is 5% of the weight of the fish (6.5 grams), the temperature of the pot reaches 190 degrees, then the salmon is added and the salmon is fried, a total of 16 minutes, turning every 4 minutes, the average temperature of the center is 63.3 degrees.
The amount of DHA and EPA in salmon after frying
It is true that after frying with margarine or olive oil, there is a loss of DHA and EPA content.
人造奶油煎鲑鱼:Dhai剩69%、EPA剩61.3%
橄榄油煎鲑鱼：DHA剩80%、EPA剩75.3%
Although there is a loss, it is not a large reduction in the DHA and EPA content of salmon, and the content of 60-80% is still maintained, which is still a good source!
Reasons for the loss of DHA and EPA in fried salmon
The reason for the loss of DHA and EPA in fried salmon is definitely not only DHA and EPA "not heat-resistant" or "easy to crack due to high temperature", but the possible reasons are as follows:
Loss of gravy: When frying salmon, the juice of the salmon is also lost to the pan due to the contraction of the muscles due to heat, and the fat will also flow out.
DHA and EPA are not heat-resistant: It is true that these two fatty acids are not heat-resistant, but only the surface layer that touches the pot surface will reach a high temperature state, and in terms of research, even if the pot surface is cooked at 190 degrees, the core temperature is only 63.3 degrees, which is not the temperature that will cause a large number of DHA and EPA to crack. In addition, salmon is also rich in vitamin E and B-carotenoids, which can help DHA and EPA antioxidants, so heat resistance to cracking may not be the main cause of DHA and EPA loss!
Won't boiled, steamed, or grilled salmon lose DHA and EPA?
In 2022, there was a study in which salmon was boiled, steamed and oven-cooked to understand the effects of its nutrients and taste, and the results were as follows:
Other cooking methods can still affect DHA and EPA levels
Cooking methods and temperatures for experiments
In this study, an average of 184 grams of salmon was taken from the middle part of the salmon and three cooking methods were used:
Boil: Throw into a pot and cook at 90 degrees for 10 minutes
Steaming: The average temperature of the steamer is 120 degrees, and the steaming is 6 minutes
Bake: Bake in an electric oven at 180 degrees for 8 minutes
DHA and EPA levels of salmon after cooking (per 100 g)
As can be seen from the table below, the DHA and EPA changes in salmon after three different cooking methods:
Boiled and roasted: Reduced levels of DHA and EPA
蒸煮：保留DHA与EPA。
Note: Moisture content: 62.71% raw salmon, 55.61% boiled, 58.78% steamed, 55.43% roasted
Causes of loss of DHA and EPA from boiled salmon
There are many reasons for the loss of DHA and EPA during salmon cooking, and it can be seen that the DHA loss rate of boiled salmon is 26%. And with similar moisture content, the DHA content of boiled salmon is lower than that of grilled salmon at higher temperatures.
So temperature may be one of the reasons, but it's not the only one!
Conclusion⟫
Although the cooking method will affect the nutrient content, how to cook will affect the aroma, texture, and taste, the focus is whether it is delicious or not, whether you are willing to eat it, and don't take nutrients as the only focus!
In the 2022 study (3), there are also three ways of boiling, steaming, and roasting for tasting tests, and it can be clearly seen that the appearance, color, texture, odor, and taste of steamed salmon are all lost to boiling, so do you have to eat more nutritious steamed salmon?
The diet is diverse, and the sources of nutrients are also diverse, so there is no need to be too accountable and persistent.
Therefore, even if frying may cause the loss of omega-3 in salmon, it still cannot be said that fried salmon is NG, after all, salmon also has other nutrients, and omega-3 can also come from other foods that are more suitable for "steaming" and "boiling", so there is no need to force salmon not to be fried!