Transcript Fruit and Vegetables

Fruit and Vegetables
Should be eaten:
Why?
Fruit and vegetables are very good sources
of fibre (NSP) and vitamins and minerals
Most people do not eat enough of these
foods to get a balanced diet
Vitamin C - lots of fruit and vegetables are very good
providers of this vitamin - we need it every day as our
body doesn’t store it
Vitamin A - most vegetables and some
fruit are very good providers of this
vitamin
Iron and calcium - are found in all fruit and
vegetables especially green vegetables and
dried fruits
The fibre or NSP content of fruit and vegetables is very
important for people’s health. We should be eating 18 grams of
fibre a day. You can get that from:
36 slices of white bread
- OR 10 apples
- OR just 5 servings of peas!
Fruit and vegetables also provide small quantities of:
Protein - beans, peas and lentils provide the most
and are an important source for vegetarians
Carbohydrate - starch and sugar - the amount
varies but bananas contain the most - 3 times more
than strawberries, nearly twice as much as an apple
and more than beans and peas
But - did you know? - fruit and vegetables have a
water content of between 70% to 95%!
Vegetables: Vegetables are eaten
• As servings accompanying meat or fish
(and with a starchy food such as
potatoes or rice)
•
As the main part of a meal such as stir fry, vegetable
curry, or a vegetable bake
• Pureed - in a sauce or a soup
• As a snack!
They can be eaten raw
or
cooked
They can be cooked in different ways:
And they can be prepared in
Boiled
different ways:
chiffonade
Steamed
Stir fried
brunoise
jardiniere
Deep fried
Roasted
julienne
macedoine
Or just sliced!
Purchasing and storing vegetables
When buying vegetables:
• Root vegetables should
be firm, not soft or spongy
• Green vegetables should
be bright in colour, crisp
and not wilting
Most people would expect
them to be:
• Clean and free from soil
• Of an even size and
shape
Vegetables should be
stored in a cool, dry,
well ventilated room at
an even temperature of
4 -8°C (This could be
in a chiller)
REMEMBER:
The fresher the
better. Vitamin C is
quickly lost during
storage as well as
cooking
Choosing fruit and vegetables to use
Fruit and vegetables are nutritious but are also used to add
colour - spring onions in mashed potato
texture - crunchy apple in a fruit salad
and taste - apple sauce
with pork - to a dish
You should also consider the cost of these
foods which is often closely linked to the
seasonality of these foods and how many
food miles have been used to bring them to
the table
Seasonal fruit and vegetables
You can get strawberries in the shops all year
round
Where do they come from? Spain? Italy? South
America? All these at different times of the
year
How many food miles are used to transport
them halfway around the world?
They are in season in the UK for just 3 months:
June, July and August
Forced rhubarb is a good fruit to use in January
and February - its season - when there is very
little choice of other seasonal fruits
Fruit
Most fruit is eaten raw – on its
own or cut up and mixed with
other fruit
We eat the ‘seeds’ of some fruits
but not of others!
Fruit can also be pureed (or
squeezed) and drunk or used
as a sauce
Some fruits do need to be cooked such
as cooking apples and rhubarb
Purchasing and storing Fruit
When buying fruit:
• They should be firm
according to the type and
variety
• Whole and of fresh
appearance
Hard fruit such as apples
should be stored in a cool
place
Soft fruit such as raspberries
• Clean and free from traces should be stored in a cold
room or chiller
of pesticide and fungicide
• Of an even size, colour andBananas should not
shape
be stored in too cold
a place because the
• Free from bruising and
skins turn black
blemishes
Seasonal fruit and vegetables
You can get strawberries in the shops all year
round
Where do they come from? Spain? Italy?
South America? All these at different times
of the year
How many food miles are used to transport
them halfway around the world?
They are in season in the UK for just 3
months: June, July and August
Forced rhubarb is a good fruit to use in
January and February - its season - when
there is very little choice of other seasonal
fruits