NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
November 24, 1999
Most cooks who are conscientious about presenting their culinary wares in an eye-appealing manner are of the belief that colors count. I agree, especially when the entire plate is the object of one's focus.
A well-balanced meal, from an aesthetic standpoint, should feature a pleasing array of earth tones--greens, reds, yellows, oranges and browns of varying intensities. And yes, the white and pinkish hues of the sky have a place on a plate as well, but it's my belief that food which is blue or blueish should come in a bag and be only of the hand-held type, such as candy or frozen treats.
But I digress. If I were to paint a picture of the perfect meal, I would start with a swish of yellow, which I would refine to produce the image of buttery crookneck squash, seasoned simply with salt, white pepper and thyme. Nestled next to the squash would be a swatch of deep glistening green--sauteed spinach, accented by white-ish shreds of Parmesan cheese and slivers of toasted almonds. The red in this portrait would be a garlicky tomato sauce, adorning a chicken breast, deep golden in hue due to its flavorful coating of bread crumbs. Parsley-buttered pasta (penne or rigatoni) and shredded carrots would balance the presentation.
Can a single color ever captivate? I think it can, but only with respect to one item of food. The thought of a plateful of yellow doesn't exactly make me salivate. The recipe that follows is for an unusual coleslaw, a combination of sweet and sour flavors and varying textures--but only one color. Baked pork chops, au gratin potatoes and steamed green beans would go nicely with this slaw.
Ruby-Red Coleslaw
Yield: 8 servingsIngredients:
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1 small head red cabbage, shredded
2 Red Delicious apples, cored, sliced and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup seedless red grapes, halved lengthwise
1 small red onion, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper to tasteProcedure:
Mix together vinegar, oil and sugar and set aside. Prepare vegetables and fruit and add dressing to the produce as soon as apples have been cut to prevent discoloring. Mix ingredients well. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Allow salad to stand for several hours refrigerated before serving. Toss occasionally during refrigeration.
What's Your Take on This, Julie?
Even though taste is the No. 1 reason people choose the food they eat, we eat with our eyes before we taste. That's why menu planners aim for a plate with a variety of colors, flavors and textures. A cold salad or dessert also adds temperature variety to a steaming entree.
Eating a rainbow of foods also is a good idea from a health standpoint. Naturally colorful foods such as fruits and vegetables get the vibrant hues from the pigments, or colorants, each contains. Plant foods can be categorized into four main groups based on color: green, red-blue, orange-yellow and white.
Have your "kelly green" vegetables ever turned "olive green" during cooking? This is due to changes in the green pigment chlorophyll. The appearance of the duller-green form of chlorophyll, pheophytin, results from vegetables contacting acid, such as vinegar or lemon juice, or being subjected to prolonged cooking.
But don't add a pinch of baking soda to the cooking water to neutralize the acidity. While baking soda will keep chlorophyll in the bright green chlorophyllin form, it also will inactivate vitamin C and thiamin. Instead, cook your green vegetables uncovered the first few minutes to let volatile acids escape and cook in a minimum amount of liquid to preserve nutrients. Also, always serve green vegetables promptly.
Leafy green vegetables such as spinach and kale also contain the pigments lutein and zeaxanthin, which recent research has shown may be responsible for reducing the risk of macular degeneration and cataracts--two of the leading causes of blindness.
Anthocyanins are the red-blue plant pigments that color apples, grapes and eggplant. They appear red in an acidic medium and blue in an alkaline medium. As a mini-science experiment, try cooking red cabbage in some water with baking soda added and watch the color change (but don't serve it for dinner, unless the Smurfs are your dinner guests). Anthocyanins may also have some antioxidant properties, which may protect our cells from damage.
Have you ever cooked beets or made beet pickles? The liquid becomes as purple-red as the vegetables. Beets become paler in color during cooking if they are peeled and sliced thinly because the betalain pigments are very water soluble and leach into the cooking water. These pigments are similar to anthocyanins.
Carotenoids are a family of pigments that paint fruits and vegetables yellow, orange or even red. Beta carotene colors carrots, sweet potatoes, squash and pumpkins. The human body converts beta carotenes to vitamin A, which is important for skin and eye health. Lycopene, a red member of the carotenoid family, is responsible for the rosy appearance of tomatoes, watermelon, red peppers and red grapefruit. Lycopenes have been shown to help prevent prostate cancer and heart disease.
Contrary to what you might think, white vegetables aren't void of pigment. Cauliflower and onions are colored by anthoxanthins. When cooked in an aluminum pot, they may appear yellow due to changes in the pigment's chemical structure. In the presence of iron, they may darken.
Ruby Red Coleslaw is a flavorful, crunchy salad that features anthocyanins in an acidic form. A serving (one-eighth of the recipe) contains 150 calories and 9 grams of fat, which is mostly in the monunsaturated form from the canola oil. This type of fat is more heart-healthy than saturated fats. A serving also provides about 60 percent of the daily recommended vitamin C and 2 grams of fiber.
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Sources: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136
Julie Garden-Robinson (701) 231-7187
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