leach out vitamins with marinade?

I just bought the book “Raw Food for Busy People”. The author recommends marinading vegetables for several hours as a way to soften them (if the marinade is acidic) and give them flavor. But I remember the old Adele Davis books that warn against soaking vegetables. Davis said that all the vitamins end up in the water (or whatever you’re soaking them in).

Also, it seems to me that marinading in an acid would kill enzymes as effectively as heat – or could.

Is there any research on this? Is marinading really such a good raw food technique?

Comments

  • germin8germin8 Raw Master

    Interesting! I never thought of marinating as a way to leach out vitamins. First of all, vitamins are not enzymes. Enzymes would not denature with marinating. As for vitamins… I don’t know. But, if that’s true… then, maybe the marinade would make for a good ingredient to add to a dressing.

    Marinading could be a form of cooking… to soften up tough foods and probably make them easier to digest. Not to sure on this, though.

  • germin8germin8 Raw Master

    You mentioned acid for marinading. What is the marinade made of?

  • I meant marinades with lemon or vinegar in them. I know soaking vegetables in any liquid will leach out vitamins. I know less about enzymes, but I know that acid from lemon or vinegar will soften carrots and other hard foods like cooking does, so I thought maybe enzymes were affected as they are in cooking. But I don’t know that much about enzymes so I’m not sure. Maybe acid doesn’t affect enzymes like heat.

    I’m sure you’re right that the marinade should be used – otherwise you’re throwing away the vitamins.

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