Why is mung bean soup sometimes green and sometimes red after cooking? What influences the color of the soup?

That's because mung bean soup contains polyphenols that turn dark red when exposed to oxygen. If you want to make a pot of yellow-green, brightly colored mung bean soup, the following steps will be useful.

· Do not use tap water

Tap water in most areas of China is weakly alkaline, and it is easy to turn dark red when boiling mung bean soup. Consider using filtered tap water, or pure water. You can also add a few drops of white vinegar or lemon juice to the water, all with the goal of making the soup as neutral as possible.

· Do not open the lid when cooking

Boiling the mung bean soup with the lid open will increase its contact with the air and soon oxidize and turn dark red.

· Do not cook in an iron container

When the iron container is cooked, it releases iron ions, which react with polyphenols in the soup, affecting not only color but also taste.

· Reduce cooking time

Soak the mung beans, put them in boiling water, bring to the boil again and simmer over low heat. This reduces the cooking time and helps preserve the color.

· Cover in time after cooking

Cooked mung bean soup, if left open, will also come into contact with oxygen in the air, and will soon turn dark red as well. So cooked mung bean soup should be promptly filled in an airtight container.

For example, I highly recommend using a pressure cooker to cook mung bean soup. Not only can the cooking time be greatly reduced, but also can completely avoid contact with oxygen in the process of cooking.

How to preserve cooked mung bean soup?

Drink it down... hhh

If the cooked mung bean soup is not drunk immediately, it is recommended to put into an airtight container and cool to room temperature before storing in the refrigerator.

This operation can effectively avoid excessive contact with oxygen, avoid dark red soup. And, because we drink cold mung bean soup, most of the time is straight from the refrigerator after drinking. If the mung bean soup itself is left open to the environment during cooling, it increases the risk of bacterial contamination, and drinking it chilled may cause diarrhea. Therefore, immediately after cooking into an airtight container, but also to ensure food safety to the greatest extent.

When to sugar mung bean soup?

✅ add sugar before cooking.

Adding sugar too early will prolong the cooking time. This is because the sweetened water has a higher concentration, making it harder for the beans to penetrate, and actually prolonging the time it takes for the beans to bloom.

Do you have to add rock sugar to mung bean soup?

It depends on what you like.

Some people have very sensitive taste buds and can tell the difference between granulated sugar and rock sugar. Just pick whatever you like. Of course, if you can't make a difference, you can use whatever you have at home. As for the claim that rock candy can reduce fire, don't take it seriously.

Finally, mom wants to say a few more words to you with a baby. Here are some tips for making mung bean soup for your kids.

Add glutinous rice or pearl barley and less sugar. Mung bean soup is refreshing, not greasy. Of course, mung bean soup, which is not sweet at all, is not loved by children. In the process of repeated boiling of glutinous rice or barley, the starch will gelatinize, which can provide some sweetness. Add less sugar before the pot.

The iced mung bean soup will taste sweeter than warm.

The mung bean soup can be used as a main course of a meal. Of course, do not only drink soup, but also eat mung beans, barley, glutinous rice, lily and other solid food in the soup. If you cook it thin, add other staples.

The soup can be chilled and refrigerated, but it is not recommended to keep for more than three days. Long-term storage will affect the color and taste of mung bean soup, and increase the risk of food safety. So if you want to drink it, then cook it. Fresh mung bean soup is the best!