Porridge, also called rice porridge, is a traditional food with a thick paste cooked from rice, millet or corn, beans and other grains.
The alkali used in food is also called edible soda ash, edible alkali, and edible sodium carbonate. Its water solubility is alkaline; the baking soda used in food is also called edible baking soda and edible hydrogen carbonate. Sodium is weakly alkaline in water solubility and will decompose immediately when exposed to acid to produce carbon dioxide gas.
When cooking porridge, rice, millet or corn, beans and other grains are washed clean, soaked or not soaked, then added with an appropriate amount of water, heated and cooked until thick. Porridge. Porridge made from rice is called rice porridge, porridge made from millet is called millet porridge, porridge made from ground corn is called polenta, porridge made from rice or millet and beans is called multigrain porridge, etc. So, is it better to put alkaline noodles or baking soda in the porridge? The main changes that occur when cooking porridge
Rice, millet or corn chips, beans and other grains contain protein, fat, carbohydrates, multiple vitamins and minerals, dietary fiber and other nutrients that the human body needs. Ingredients, during the process of cooking porridge, the main changes that occur are the changes in carbohydrates and proteins.
1. Changes in carbohydrates
Rice, millet or corn chips, and beans (except soybeans) all contain more carbohydrates. Among them, rice, millet or corn It contains about 70% carbohydrates. Beans other than soybeans, such as red beans, adzuki beans, black beans, mung beans, etc., contain about 55% to 65% carbohydrates. These carbohydrates are mainly starch, followed by dietary fiber, and a small amount of soluble sugar (such as glucose, fructose, sucrose, etc.). During the process of cooking porridge, the main change that occurs in carbohydrates is the change in starch.
During the process of cooking porridge, water enters the rice, millet, crushed corn, and beans, and then enters the inside of the starch granules. At a temperature of 60°C to 80°C, the starch granules absorb water and expand, and the volume can increase. A hundred times larger, first bursting the protein film wrapped on the surface of the starch granules, and finally causing the rice, millet, crushed corn, and beans to explode. The starch granules rupture and become sticky gelatinized starch (also called alpha starch). , this change in starch is called starch gelatinization. This is why cooked porridge is thick.
2. Changes in protein
During the process of cooking porridge, the protein in rice, millet or corn, beans and other grains begins to absorb water and swell, and as the temperature rises , will undergo denaturation and coagulation, and tightly wrap the starch granules, causing the starch granules to absorb water slowly and the starch to gelatinize slowly. Therefore, it takes longer to cook porridge. How to quickly cook thick and delicious porridge?
The common method is to add alkali noodles or baking soda when cooking porridge. The main changes that occur when adding alkaline noodles or baking soda when cooking porridge
Putting alkaline noodles or baking soda when cooking porridge can shorten the cooking time and make the porridge thicker and more delicious. Unique alkali flavor (this is the smell that some people like, but I don't like this smell). Why?
1. Changes in protein and starch
When cooking porridge, add alkaline noodles or baking soda to make the water alkaline. Rice, millet or corn, beans and other grains Part of the protein in the rice is dissolved and then denatured and solidified by heat. The starch granules are not wrapped in the protein film and all spread out, and the water absorption speed becomes faster. When the temperature rises to 60℃~80℃, the starch granules quickly absorb water and expand, and the volume increases and makes the rice, When millet, chopped corn, beans and other grains burst, almost most of the starch granules burst into sticky gelatinized starch, making the cooked porridge thicker and more delicious.
2. Changes in vitamins
Grains such as rice, millet, corn chips, and beans contain more vitamins such as vitamin B1, vitamin B2, and niacin. Among them, vitamin B1 and vitamin B2 are easily destroyed when heated under alkaline conditions, causing the nutritional value of the cooked porridge to decrease.
If you use ground corn to cook porridge, most of the niacin in the corn (about 68%) is bound niacin and cannot be absorbed by the body. The best way is to add 0.6% alkali noodles. (You can’t taste the alkaline taste), which turns the partially bound niacin (about 40%) into niacin that can be absorbed by the body. At the same time, there is less loss of vitamin B1 and vitamin B2.
It can be seen that when cooking porridge, adding alkali noodles or baking soda can shorten the cooking time and make the porridge thicker and more delicious, with a unique alkali flavor; in doing so, at the same time It will also reduce the nutritional value of the cooked porridge; when cooking corn porridge, it is advisable to add an appropriate amount of alkaline noodles to increase the nutritional value of the cooked porridge. Since baking soda will produce carbon dioxide gas when heated, it will cause foam when cooking porridge, which may cause overflow. Therefore, if you like to eat porridge with an alkali flavor, it is better to put alkali noodles than baking soda when cooking porridge. So, can we cook thick and delicious porridge without adding alkaline noodles when cooking porridge?
How to cook thick and delicious porridge without adding alkaline noodles
When cooking porridge, if you want to make the porridge thick and delicious, you must find a way to make the rice and millet Or the starch granules in grains such as corn chips and beans absorb water as quickly as possible, increase in volume, and burst the protein film wrapping the starch granules, causing rice, millet or corn chips, beans and other grains to burst. The ruptured starch granules are called paste. The starch will run into the water, and the water-soluble protein will be denatured and solidified by heat. How to do it?
1. Soak in advance
When cooking porridge, you can soak rice, millet or corn, beans and other grains 30 minutes to 3 hours in advance to allow moisture to enter the interior. , allowing the starch granules to absorb an appropriate amount of water in advance (about 30% weight gain). Since starch absorbs less water, the volume does not increase much. Therefore, the appearance of soaked rice, millet, corn chips, beans and other grains is only slightly There is swelling. Doing this can shorten the water absorption time of starch granules during the porridge cooking process, allowing the starch granules to quickly absorb water and expand and burst the wrapped protein film, and then burst rice, millet or corn, beans and other grains.
Therefore, you can cook delicious porridge faster by soaking rice, millet or corn, beans and other grains in advance and then cooking them.
2. Put the soaked rice, millet or corn, beans and other grains in the refrigerator to freeze
If you want the porridge to be thicker and more delicious, you can put the soaked Rice, millet or corn chips, beans and other grains that have gained 30% weight are packed in bags and placed in the refrigerator to freeze, allowing the water absorbed by the starch granules to completely freeze. Then take them out, pour them into an electric pressure cooker, and add 8~ 10 times the water, cover the lid, plug in the power, and press the porridge/soup button to cook thicker and more delicious porridge. Summary
The sticky and delicious porridge is mainly the result of starch granules turning into gelatinized starch, and water-soluble protein or alkali-soluble protein being denatured and solidified by heat.
When cooking porridge, adding alkali noodles or baking soda can shorten the cooking time and make the porridge thicker and more delicious, with a unique alkali flavor; doing so will also make the porridge more delicious. The nutritional value of the porridge will decrease; when cooking corn porridge, it is advisable to add an appropriate amount of alkaline noodles to increase the nutritional value of the cooked porridge.
If you like to eat porridge with an alkaline aroma, it is better to add alkaline noodles than baking soda when cooking porridge; soak rice, millet or corn chips, beans and other grains in advance, and then cook them. This method can cook thicker and more delicious porridge faster; put the soaked rice, millet, chopped corn, beans and other grains in the refrigerator to cook more viscous and more delicious porridge.