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Eating peas raw is usually not a problem. We will explain which dishes are suitable and what you should consider when buying the vegetables.

Eating peas raw: That’s why it works

You can eat peas raw or boiled. According to the NDR, the vegetable does not contain any toxic ingredients such as phasin, as is the case with many other legumes. Phasin belongs to the lectins and can be harmful to red blood cells and intestinal cells.

In principle, there are three types: sugar peas, wrinkled peas and pate peas. You can not only eat sugar snap peas raw, but also with their shell. For the other pea varieties, we recommend removing the pod before consumption. Although this is not poisonous, it is inedible due to the existing pigment layer. Young peas taste particularly good because they have a sweet taste.

With their crunchy consistency, you can use raw peas in quick salads or as a topping for soups or sauces. However, you should eat raw peas in moderation. Because of the high proportion of indigestible fiber, raw peas are less well tolerated than cooked peas, especially for people with a sensitive stomach.

You should keep this in mind when buying peas

If you want to eat peas raw, it is worth buying them fresh. Vegetables are in season from June to September. You can find other seasonal times of different types of fruit and vegetables in our Utopia seasonal calendar. When planning your meal, keep in mind that fresh peas can only be kept in the fridge for up to two days and you should therefore eat them promptly. If you want to keep them for a longer period of time, peas can also be frozen well.

The pea has its origins in the oriental region. Nowadays it is mainly grown in Canada, the USA, Russia and Chile. But there are also important growing areas in Europe, for example in Spain, France and Germany. We recommend purchasing peas from German cultivation as seasonally as possible in order to avoid long transport routes and thus high CO2 emissions.

When buying, also pay attention to organic quality if possible. Organic peas come from ecological agriculture that works in a resource-saving manner and avoids chemical-synthetic pesticides.

You can also eat the Chinese type of cabbage Pak Choi raw: its digestibility and mild spiciness make it a delicious addition to salads and the like. Here you can find out what you should look out for when eating raw Pak Choi.

Pak Choi, also Pak Choy or Pok Choi, is a vegetable closely related to Chinese cabbage. In German it is known as Chinese mustard cabbage or Chinese leaf cabbage. Originally from China, pak choi has long been one of the most popular ingredients in Asian cuisine. But we can also find it more and more often on domestic markets.

The bok choy forms green leaves with crisp white stems surrounding a white head. As the name “mustard cabbage” already suggests, its stems have a mild spiciness. The green leaves bring a tart aroma. Pak Choi can be prepared in many different ways. You can roast, steam and grill it. It is particularly popular in wok dishes or as an ingredient in ramen, a Japanese noodle soup. But it is also possible to eat Pak Choi raw without any problems.

Eating Pak Choi raw: why it is healthy and what you should pay attention to

Pak choi not only tastes good in hot stir-fries: the crunchy cabbage is also good as a raw vegetable.

When you eat pak choi raw, its healthy ingredient content remains highest. These include

a number of vitamins such as vitamin A, vitamin C, and folic acid.
Cabbage also contains potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, flavonoids and carotene.
The relatively high amounts of folic acid in particular make pak choi a vegetable that should not be missing in nutrient-rich cuisine. 100 grams contain about 66 micrograms of folic acid. A good portion of pak choi can make a significant contribution to covering the daily folic acid requirement of 300 micrograms.

Some people do not tolerate raw collards well due to the high fiber content and suffer from stomach and intestinal problems after eating them. However, pak choi has slightly less fiber (1.7 grams per 100 grams) than other varieties such as broccoli (3 grams per 100 grams). Eating pak choi raw is therefore more digestible than other types of cabbage.

Attention: For people with a thyroid disease and iodine deficiency, the following generally applies to the consumption of daisy family: only in small quantities and preferably in cooked form. Cruciferous vegetables contain an enzyme that affects the production and secretion of thyroid hormones. If you suffer from any of these conditions, you should rarely eat pak choi raw.

Eat pak choi raw: This is how you can prepare cabbage as raw food

Preparing raw Pak Choi is very easy. First you should clean and prepare the cabbage well:

Remove the woody part of the stalk so that the individual leaves separate. If necessary, remove wilted leaves.
Then wash the leaves thoroughly with water.
You can chop the green leaves into fine strips like lettuce.
You can cut the stalks into bite-sized pieces.
Then you have different ways to eat the raw Pak Choi. For example, process it

with a Mediterranean salad with olives, pickled tomatoes and artichokes or
to an Asian-inspired salad with rice noodles, cucumber, tofu and roasted peanuts.
Use the stalks to dip into tasty dips.
Give your smoothie an extra helping of veggies with pak choi.
Top your ramen soup with fresh pak choi.
Add raw pak choi to your Buddha bowl.

Pak Choi: tips for purchasing and storage

Raw bok choy tastes best when it’s young and fresh. Young pak choi is no larger than 15 centimeters and tastes the most tender. You can recognize pak choi that is no longer quite as fresh by the fact that the green leaves are somewhat leathery and tough. However, you can still eat them. Simply chop them very finely and mix them with other vegetables.

It is advisable to buy Pak Choi from regional and organic farms if possible. In the meantime, cabbage is no longer only grown in Asia, but also in the Netherlands (though in greenhouses) and outdoors in Spain in summer. Thanks to the relatively short transport routes from the European growing areas, the Pak Choi arrives fresher here than from far away regions. Organic bok choy is advisable because conventionally grown bok choy is often heavily contaminated with pesticides.

Store bok choy in the crisper of the refrigerator. There it stays fresh for between seven and ten days and you can eat your Pak Choi raw.

Can ice cream go bad? This question is important both the next time you visit the ice cream parlor and for ice cream in your own freezer. We explain how you can extend the shelf life of ice cream and what you should pay attention to before consuming it.

Whether as a ball of ice cream in a cone, as a bar or on a stick: ice cream is particularly popular in summer. But can ice cream go bad? Here you can find out when you should stop eating the popular candy and what role the cold chain and best-before date play in this.

What role does the cold chain play?

Maybe you know it: You just bought an ice cream in the supermarket and were stopped on the way home. Suddenly you realize you’ve been carrying the fresh ice cream around with you for an hour in the heat. Can ice go bad if the cold chain has been broken for so long?

If you transported the ice in a cooler or in a special cooler bag, you may be lucky. But: Just to be on the safe side, check whether your ice cream is still good. If ice crystals have formed on the surface, this is a clear indication of an interrupted cold chain. In this case, you should not refreeze the ice cream. This is because germs can easily develop that can cause food poisoning.

Even if you have stored the ice cream in the freezer at home, you should still pay attention to the cold chain. It is best to fill smaller portions of ice cream into a bowl instead of leaving the whole pack out for a long time. Make sure to use a clean spoon or ice cream scoop for this.

Can ice go bad in the freezer?

If the cold chain is maintained throughout, you don’t have to worry. In this case, ice will last for many months. Of course, there is also a best-before date for ice cream. But you don’t necessarily have to stick to it. As a rule, you can still eat ice cream after a week has passed.

It’s best to do a little “taste test”: If your ice cream tastes fresh, it’s still edible. On the other hand, if it tastes slightly sour or has a different consistency, you should better dispose of it.

Tips for the ice cream parlor on the shelf life of ice cream

You can also easily recognize good ice cream in the ice cream parlor with a few tips. If you like to get vanilla ice cream at the ice cream parlor around the corner, next time you should take a closer look at the ice cream parlor. Is the water in the scoop clear or stale? Are the ice tubs clean? Does the ice cream itself look smooth and creamy? These indicators already tell you whether the ice cream is good or whether it could be contaminated.

A clear red flag that indicates “bad” ice is a friable surface. Then you can be sure that the ice has definitely been thawed before. The risk is great if you ingest germs and pathogens with the ice cream.

Make ice cream yourself

If you want to be on the safe side, you can of course prepare the frozen candy yourself. Then you can also be sure that there are no additives (such as flavor enhancers or preservatives and colorings) in the ice cream. However, even with the homemade varieties, make sure to use up the dessert quickly after the cold chain has been broken. Put ice cream that you don’t need back in the freezer as quickly as possible and use clean utensils to serve.

Eat kohlrabi raw – it tastes good and is healthy. Some even prefer raw kohlrabi to cooked. We have summarized the most important information for you.

You can safely eat kohlrabi raw. Kohlrabi is actually particularly healthy raw. Although the green-whitish tuber is available all year round, it is actually only in season from May to October. Only then will you get them from regional cultivation. The remaining months the vegetables come from Italy or Spain.

Due to the high amounts of CO2 emissions that arise during long transport routes, it makes sense from an ecological perspective to buy kohlrabi as seasonally and regionally as possible. The rest of the year you can use other vegetables. You can find out when which fruit and vegetables are in season in our seasonal calendar.

Eating kohlrabi raw: these are the advantages

Kohlrabi tastes mild and slightly sweet and sometimes has a nutty aroma. The tuber contains a lot of water and is rich in vitamins and minerals. Kohlrabi is particularly rich in vitamin C, potassium, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium.

You can benefit from all these nutrients especially if you eat kohlrabi raw. Some micronutrients are destroyed during cooking because they are heat-sensitive or water-soluble. That’s why other vegetables are even healthier if you eat them raw. You can find out more about this here: You should rather eat these 6 types of vegetables raw

Kohlrabi has very few calories: the tuber contains about 27 kilocalories per 100 grams. It also consists of about six percent carbohydrates. Protein and fat are only present in negligibly small amounts.

By the way: did you know that you can use the kohlrabi leaves? Read more about this in our article Kohlrabi leaves: The leaves are so tasty to use The leaves contain a lot of vitamin C – even more than the tuber itself.

Eating kohlrabi raw: tips for preparation

You can always eat kohlrabi raw. If the leaves are intensely green and not wilted, the tuber is still particularly fresh and aromatic. But even cabbage with slightly wilted leaves is usually still edible. However, you should consume it promptly.

Basically, it is advisable to remove the stalks and leaves immediately after buying, as they remove moisture from the kohlrabi. You can then prepare the leaves immediately or store them separately in the fridge. Tip: If you wrap kohlrabi in a damp cloth and store it in the fridge, it will last a little longer.

You can eat the kohlrabi bowl with it. It is not poisonous, but often tastes quite bitter and is sometimes woody. This should tend to be less the case with smaller tubers. Depending on the variety, the shell can also be quite hard, making it difficult to chew.

When buying, you should use organically grown kohlrabi if possible. In this way you support sustainable agriculture that complies with ecological standards in cultivation and production and, in particular, avoids the use of chemical-synthetic pesticides.

Eating kale raw provides you with more nutrients than the cooked version. In this way, kale lives up to its reputation as a power vegetable.

Properties of Kale

Kale is healthy and one of the winter vegetables with the highest nutrient content. Eating kale raw is worthwhile because it preserves more of its valuable ingredients. Per 100 grams, kale contains 210 milligrams of calcium, 450 milligrams of potassium, 30 milligrams of magnesium, 1.9 milligrams of iron, 35 milligrams of sodium and many vitamins, such as 105 milligrams of vitamin C.

The dietary fibers it contains ensure that you feel full for a long time. In addition, kale is low in calories because it is mostly water. Furthermore, the cabbage variety is said to have a blood-forming, water-flushing and cancer-preventing effect.

However, kale can cause flatulence and abdominal pain due to the fibers it contains. However, you can counteract this with a few home remedies:

Spices such as fennel, coriander, cumin, cardamom or ginger relieve flatulence and go well with cabbage.
A fennel-anise-cumin tea after a meal also reduces abdominal pain and flatulence.
Exercise ensures that your bowel activity increases. A walk after eating also ensures less unpleasant flatulence.
A hot water bottle can also help.

Simply enjoy kale raw

In northern Germany, kale is traditionally prepared in winter with pinkel, boiled sausage and smoked pork loin. But it can also be served vegetarian in a variety of ways, more about this here: Kale: vegetarian recipe ideas for cooking at home. However, some nutrients are lost during cooking.

Like other types of cabbage, you can also eat kale raw. In this way, more of the healthy ingredients are retained. To make it a little easier to digest, you can blanch it for five minutes before eating it.

Here are a few ways you can eat kale raw:

in winter salads
as a smoothie
as raw kale soup
as kale chips for in between
raw leaves marinated in oil as a side dish

Packed in a protective atmosphere – you can read that on many products in the self-service counter in the supermarket. In this article, you will find out whether this is good or bad.

What does “packaged in a protective atmosphere” mean?

Most groceries in the supermarket come in packaging. But packaged is not always packaged. For example, you can differentiate between “packaged under air” and “packaged in a protective atmosphere”.

Fish and meat from the self-service counter are most often packaged in a modified atmosphere. Bread, pre-baked rolls, pasta from the refrigerated section, packaged cheese, sausage, nuts or ready-cut fruit are now also packaged in this way.

If food is packed under air, this can lead to unfavorable changes. Some examples of this are:

faster corruption processes
proliferation of bacteria
oxidative changes, i.e. changes in color or taste.
In order to avoid such changes, many foods are packaged in a protective atmosphere. This works in such a way that the ambient air is first extracted and then replaced with a specifically modified gas mixture. The gas mixture is adapted to the individual product. It can consist of oxygen (O2), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen (N2) or other noble gases. The process is officially called “Modified Atmosphere Packaging”. The protective atmosphere then extends the shelf life of the food and you can recognize this from the note on the package (“Packaged in a protective atmosphere”).

Pork and beef are also often packaged using an advanced process. It’s called “High O2–MAP”. The special thing about this is that the oxygen content is higher than in normal air and higher than in normal packaging in a protective atmosphere.

Advantages and disadvantages of products packed in modified atmosphere

Disadvantages of food packed under modified atmosphere:

Food packed in a modified atmosphere is always packed in plastic.
You do not have the option to adjust the amount of the product to your consumption. This is relevant, for example, when you buy meat. If you buy groceries fresh at the counter, you can buy exactly as much as you need and thus avoid food waste.
In addition, products that have already been packaged are less fresh – even if they are packaged in a modified atmosphere.

Advantages of food packed in a modified atmosphere:

The packaged products are of higher quality. This is because changes in the products are reduced by the packaging.
The light red color of beef and pork is preserved.
The food has a longer shelf life.
Additional preservatives are not necessary.
Products that are packaged in a protective atmosphere must be stored with particular care. If the packaging is damaged, it is no longer effective.
Foodstuffs packaged in a modified atmosphere are also marked with a use-by date. In contrast to fresh products, it is clear to the consumer how long it can be enjoyed. The use-by date indicates the period in which bacteria and fungi do not noticeably multiply. Since the protective atmosphere slows down bacterial growth, the use-by date can also be found on the packaging.

Are there any health concerns?

According to the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, food packaged in a protective atmosphere is not harmful to health.

The products in a protective atmosphere are regularly checked for their gas composition. This means that the composition of the air in the packaging is checked. In an investigation by the State Office for Consumer Protection in Saxony-Anhalt, for example, the ambient air was completely replaced in 90 percent of the products.

One final tip: if you’re buying groceries that are packaged in a modified atmosphere, check the packaging for damage. She just looks undamaged.

Eating rose petals is a great way to use the decorative flowers for culinary purposes. In this article you will find out what you should consider when eating.

Above all, roses are an expression of love. But the flowers are not only a popular decoration: You can also use their petals in the kitchen.

However, you have to pay attention to a few pointers. There are now up to 250 different varieties and new varieties are constantly being added through breeding. Only a few of them are actually suitable for consumption.

Eating rose petals: You should pay attention to that

To eat rose petals, you should always use wild and cultivated roses. In addition, they must belong to the genus Rosa. Other types of roses, such as peonies, Christmas roses or hollyhocks are not suitable for consumption. They are mostly poisonous because, despite their name rose, they belong to other plant genera.

You should also avoid eating bouquets of roses or potted roses that you have bought, as they can be heavily contaminated with pesticides. Also read: “Blooming business”: the global trade in flowers.

You can, for example, eat the rose petals of the following varieties without hesitation:

Gallica
Centifolia
damescena
All three species are fragrant roses. That’s why they taste particularly intense.

How to use rose petals

If you want to eat rose petals, you can use them either fresh or dried:

The leaves themselves are particularly suitable as a topping for salads, vegetable pans, but also for sweet dishes such as desserts or cakes.
If you pour hot water over them and let them steep, you can make rose tea.
The petals are also suitable as an ingredient for cold drinks such as lemonades, cocktails or punch.
Chopped rose petals add an interesting flavor to butter, spreads, cream cheese, hummus or other dips.
You can also add the edible flowers to oils or vinegar and let this mixture steep for a few days. So you can easily make rose vinegar and rose cooking oil yourself.
You can also use the rose aroma in the kitchen in the form of rose water. Originally, this comes from the Arab world and is often used in the kitchen as a condiment. Other products that contain rose petals are, for example, rose coffee, rose petal salt, rose pepper or rose syrup.

Rose Petals: Buying and Harvesting Tips

You can buy many products with rose petals ready-made. However, you also have the option of buying dried rose petals and using them yourself. If you want to use fresh petals, you can grow your own wild roses and harvest the leaves. You can find more information about growing roses here: Wild roses: important varieties, care and cultivation.

When harvesting, you should then observe the following tips:

Harvest the buds just before use. So they don’t wither.
Always choose buds that have just opened.
The morning is the best time. Then the essential oils have not yet evaporated due to the sunlight.
Carefully twist the petals off the calyx to avoid breaking them.
Wash your buds carefully.
Keep the buds fresh in a bowl of water if you decide not to use them immediately.
If you want to dry them, gently pat them dry and spread them flat on a smooth surface.

A vegan diet does not necessarily mean just eating salad or relying on substitute products. Because you probably have these ten vegan foods at home anyway – and you’ll get really full of them.

If you want to eat vegan, you now have a large selection of vegan substitute products that are produced as an alternative to animal food. It’s a nice option, but it doesn’t have to be. Because many foods are already vegan anyway and you probably already have them at home. This is handy if you want to cook something without having to shop for it first.

Make sure that all food is regional and of organic quality. In this way you avoid long transport routes and chemical-synthetic pesticides and do something good for yourself and the environment. We can particularly recommend the Demeter, Bioland and Naturland seals, because they follow stricter criteria than the EU organic seals.

Red lenses

Small but fine: Red lentils can be the basis for many delicious dishes. Rich in proteins and minerals, they provide you with a lot of energy. In addition, they are already cooked after 15 minutes of cooking time – perfect when you need something quick.

Tomato passata

Tomato passata is easy to make yourself. All you need is onions, garlic, a carrot, celery, tomatoes, olive oil, and basil—just veggies you probably already have at home. You can find a detailed recipe here: Make Passata yourself.

Store-bought passata is also often vegan, which you can easily recognize by the vegan logo printed on the bottle or pack.

You can use the passata to make a refreshing tomato soup with oat milk right now in summer. You can also use it directly as a sauce for pasta or on pizza.

Spelled flour

Not only is it healthier than wheat, its hard shell also makes it easier to do without pesticides: spelled. Fortunately, wheat and spelled can be used in a similar way as flour. You can easily replace wheat flour with spelled flour.

A quick recipe with spelled flour is pan bread. You can prepare it in just 20 minutes with just a few vegan ingredients. Vegan spelled waffles are ideal for the coffee table: They are also ready in a short time. They are a healthier alternative to cakes, biscuits and the like and taste particularly delicious with seasonal fruit.

Potatoes

It is one of the staple foods in Germany: the potato. With a similar carbohydrate content as pasta or rice, it has only half as many calories.

The tuber can be used in many ways: you can make your own fries, for example. You don’t need much for these and they are healthier than frozen fries. Another delicious recipe is smashed potatoes. They taste delicious and can be garnished with various vegetables.

Quinoa

Filler and energy supplier: quinoa. The so-called pseudo-grain is gluten-free and can be eaten with vegetables or sauce instead of pasta and the like.

A summery recipe with the pseudocereal is a quinoa salad that tastes delicious and fills you up, but is not heavy on the stomach. But you can also make a sweet snack from quinoa, namely in the form of quinoa bites.

Chickpeas

It goes particularly well with meatless diets: the chickpea. Because the legumes contain many proteins that the body can otherwise get from the meat. Your body can also benefit from the high fiber content of chickpeas.

In oriental cuisine, chickpeas are often made into hummus or falafel. But the legume also tastes very good in curry.

Bananas

Many swear by bananas. And not without reason: because although they contain a lot of carbohydrates and fructose – also in comparison to other fruit – the banana is not unhealthy. Because it is rich in vitamins and provides energy.

If you get bored with bananas as a simple snack, you can also use them to make banana chips. The chips are also perfect as a topping for muesli. Or you make a simple dessert: a vegan chocolate cream. A slightly more unusual variant is the banana soup.

Note: Only buy bananas in moderation, because they have been transported long distances. Through food sharing, however, you can often save bananas that would otherwise have ended up in the trash.

Oatmeal

Gluten-free, healthy, low-calorie: oatmeal is a typical breakfast and gives you the energy you need for the day. This is also due to the high vitamin and mineral content of the grain. By the way: Oat flakes are also gluten-free (pay attention to the label on the pack). Therefore, you can eat them even if you have celiac disease.

One of the most popular oat dishes is porridge. Since you can vary the toppings – for example fruit or pieces of chocolate – very flexibly, you have variety every day. Those who prefer a hearty breakfast can prepare the porridge with vegetables. But oats also taste delicious when baked: It is not without reason that the so-called baked oatmeal – i.e. porridge from the casserole dish – is currently the trend breakfast on Tik Tok.

Coconut milk

It is true that coconut milk is high in calories and fatty acids and it does not necessarily score well with its CO2 balance, which is why you should not buy it too often either. However, it offers a good vegan substitute for cream or crème fraîche and it should not be missing in many Asian dishes. If you want to do without store-bought coconut milk, you can easily make it yourself.

A simple dessert is the coconut milk rice. You can prepare it with just four ingredients and garnish with seasonal, fresh fruit or fruit puree. In Indian korma, a mild curry with ginger and cauliflower, coconut milk is important for taste and texture. And if you want a fruity cool down in summer, you can make your own watermelon ice cream with coconut milk.

Cornmeal

Whether for thickening sauces, for making desserts or for tortillas and nachos: corn flour can be used in many ways. It is also gluten free. But be careful: In contrast to spelled flour, you cannot simply replace wheat flour with corn flour. That’s why other types of flour always have to be mixed into cornbread.

But even if you don’t want to bake bread, you can use cornmeal in your kitchen – for example to make tortillas yourself. Or you can make your own nachos. You can also replace potato flour with corn flour in the dumpling dough.

You want to reheat potatoes that are left over from the day before? Then you should pay attention to a few tips. Here you can find out what is important when heating up the potatoes.

Whether jacket potatoes, boiled potatoes, fried potatoes or mashed potatoes: the earthy tubers are a popular side dish for various dishes. If there are a few potatoes left over from a meal, you can enjoy them warmed up later. Since bacteria and fungi can easily multiply in potatoes that have already been boiled, you should follow a few guidelines.

Important: When buying potatoes, make sure that they are organic if possible. You are supporting ecologically integrative agriculture that, for example, does not use chemical-synthetic pesticides.

Warming up potatoes: the right way to store them

If you want to reheat leftover potatoes, there are a few rules you should follow when storing them:

Pack the potatoes in a clean, airtight container as soon as possible after they have been prepared.
Don’t put the potatoes in the fridge right away, let them cool until they’re lukewarm. If you immediately cool hot and warm food, the entire refrigerator temperature rises. This not only wastes energy, but also ensures that other products that require refrigeration may spoil faster.
Stored in the refrigerator, you can eat the potatoes up to two days after they are prepared.

Warm up potatoes: Here’s how

Basically, you shouldn’t use the microwave to warm up potatoes. This is because they cannot be heated sufficiently in it to ensure that any possible bacteria are killed.

The following methods are more suitable:

In the saucepan: Put some oil in a saucepan and let the potatoes simmer for at least ten minutes at at least 70 degrees.
In the pan: Fry the potatoes in a little oil in a pan at at least 70 degrees for at least ten minutes.
In the oven: Place the potatoes in an ovenproof dish and mix them with a little oil. Then bake them at around 180 degrees for at least 15 minutes.
Tip: You can tell that you have heated the potatoes sufficiently by the fact that they are consistently hot after heating them up.

Possibilities for further processing

Once the potatoes have been warmed up, you can process them in different ways:

Potatoes that have already been boiled, for example, are good for preparing fried potatoes from them the following day.
You can also bake the potatoes in the oven until they are crispy.
Another option is to use them to make a potato casserole.
The advantage: Since the potatoes are already cooked, these recipes don’t take that long to prepare.

Should it go a little faster? Then simply serve the reheated potatoes with a herb dip and a simple green salad.

Coconut blossom sugar is also called palm sugar and is an alternative to white table sugar. Many manufacturers advertise that coconut blossom sugar is also healthier – but is that really true?

There are numerous sugar alternatives that you can use to sweeten coffee or yoghurt. One of them is coconut blossom sugar. It is said to be healthier than white sugar because it causes blood sugar levels to rise very slowly. The theory goes that the body metabolizes less insulin and you have fewer food cravings. However, there are still no meaningful scientific studies on this.

Coconut Blossom Sugar: Healthy Sweetness or Calorie Bomb?

In terms of calories, coconut blossom sugar is anything but healthy: the sugar substitute contains 384 calories per 100 g. For comparison: In white sugar it is not much more with 400 calories per 100 g.

The carbohydrates contained (approx. 90 g) correspond to the amount found in white sugar (approx. 100 g). In addition, the nutritional information varies from manufacturer to manufacturer: Some advertise that coconut blossom sugar contains a particularly large number of vitamins and minerals. However, these promises should be treated with caution. Because to get a health benefit, you would have to consume several kilos a day.

Cooking and baking with coconut blossom sugar?

You can replace coconut blossom sugar 1:1 with white sugar. Because coconut blossom sugar is almost as sweet, despite its name, it doesn’t taste like coconut. Its caramel note is well suited for desserts.

However, you should not use coconut blossom sugar for baking: it easily forms lumps in the dough and does not rise as well as white sugar. If you cook with coconut blossom sugar, you have to keep in mind that the sugar dissolves very slowly. You should therefore plan a lot of stirring and a few minutes more time.

How sustainable is coconut blossom sugar?

The coconut blossom sugar originates from the blossoms of the coconut palm: they are cut open and the nectar that flows out is caught in a bowl. A palm tree can release up to two liters of nectar a day – that’s enough for a 500 gram pack of coconut blossom sugar. The nectar is then boiled down until a crumbly mass is formed. This only has to dry and can then be packed.

Almost all of the coconut blossom sugar in Germany comes from Southeast Asia. In Thailand and Indonesia in particular, the nectar is collected from the coconut palms and processed into sugar – the long transport route pollutes the environment. Since the sugar from coconut blossoms is not much healthier, we recommend a sugar substitute from the region – for example regional organic honey or organic sugar beet.