Like everyone else, I'm always learning new information. A couple of weeks ago,
I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to go to Dr. Mercola's Optimal Wellness
Center in the Chicago area. There, I met his top nutritionist, Jim Marlowe, and
he gave me a tip for cooking that was actually quite a revelation to me.
As you know, the standard cooking temperature for most foods seems to have become
around 350° F. But by cooking something at that temperature, you actually
damage the molecular structure of the food.
Jim explained to me that a far better temperature for cooking, the maximum
temperature to set the oven on, is 225° F. The boiling point for water is
actually 212° F. So it doesn't take a scientist to figure out that by capping
off your cooking temperature at 225° F, you're going to do far less damage
to your food, and as a result, you'll cause yourself far less damage by eating
foods cooked at a lower temperature.
Ideally, you'd want to be cooking your food in a slow cooker on the low setting,
because that, again, will be using a low heat. But if you have to use the oven,
then Jim recommends that the cap point, the top temperature you should use,
is 225° F.
Bear in mind, this does affect the cooking time somewhat. At 225°F, you'll
need to add approximately 50% over and above the original cooking time, in essence,
150% of the original cooking time in total.
EXAMPLE: If a food would normally cook at 350° F for 1 hour, it will need
1½ hours to cook at 225° F.
I'm definitely going to implement this principle from now on. As a result,
I'm sure my family and I will see the benefits, and I hope you and yours will
as well.