Lotus roots placed in the vegetable basket will also slowly turn black. It turns out that lotus root not only contains polyphenols, but also contains polyphenol oxidase, which can slowly oxidize polyphenols into quinones, and quinones polymerize together to form melanin.
For example, cut apples will turn ugly brown, and bananas will turn dark black after a long time, all because of the discoloration reaction on them.
In the process of boiling lotus root, if it is not used immediately after cutting, it must be soaked in clear water immediately to isolate the air. If a proper amount of white vinegar or rice vinegar is added to clear water at the same time, the effect of preventing lotus root from discoloring will be better, and the taste of lotus root will be more crisp, which is more suitable for cold dishes such as cold lotus root slices that need crispness.
Extended data
Lotus root can be eaten raw or cooked, and it is one of the commonly used dishes. It is planted in Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei, Shandong, Henan, Hebei and other places in China. Lotus root, also known as lotus root, is also known as white stem because its underground stem is white.
Chen Zhisui's poem "Ode to the Lotus" in Shi Jing, south of the Yangtze River: "Nobody knows that the white stems are buried in the ground. Life is red, green and clear, don't wait for the wind to fill the pool. " Lotus root is also an important agricultural cash crop in the planting area. Lotus root is a plant of Nymphaeaceae.
The underground stem of lotus is called lotus root, which belongs to the family Nymphaeaceae and is an aquatic vegetable. Its shape is fat and knotty, and there are tubular holes inside, which are divided into red lotus root, white lotus root and twisted lotus root. Red lotus root is slender, brown and rough, with little moisture, not crisp and tender; The appearance of white lotus root is plump, tender and silvery white, and the meat is crisp, tender, juicy and sweet. The twisted lotus root starch is red, rough in appearance and rich in starch.