Nutrient retention in popular dishes based on Google Trends data in Hatay cuisine

INTRODUCTION

Hatay cuisine has an important place in Turkey and world cuisine. It consists of meat dishes, stuffed vegetables, vegetable dishes, jams, pickles, pilafs, soups, appetizers and salads, herbs collected from nature, desserts, pastries, dairy products and dry foods. The culinary processes differing in cultures alter nutrient value of foods. Food preparation and processing operations affect contents and bioavailability of micronutrients in traditional dishes. Several studies have been carried out to investigate the influence of traditional food preparation and processing methods in vitamins and minerals. In this study, nutrient retention in popular dishes of Hatay cuisine was analyzed.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Google Trends is an open access tool that allows to determine the popularity of search terms. In the current study, the most common dishes searched in the last 12 months by individiuals living in Hatay province were selected. Şıhılmahşi, tepsi kebabı, tuzlu yoğurt çorbası, humus and künefe were the most searched on the web. We used the Nutrient Retention Factor Table of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the nutrient content of the Turkish traditional dishes described above was calculated after cooking of Hatay cuisine.

RESULTS

the highest loss of micronutrients has been found in vitamin B6, folate, vitamin B12 and thiamine. In şıhılmahşi, the highest loss was in folate, with 40 %. In tepsi kebabı, the highest loss appeared in vitamin B6, with 50 %. In tuzlu yoğurt soup, 70 % loss of B12 was reported. In humus, the highest loss was in folate at the level of 40 %. In künefe, the most loss occurred in folate with 30 %. Clonclusion: specific cooking, preparation and preservation practices of traditional dishes that are compatible with local experience can be encouraged as an alternative or adjunct to other methods of increasing the availability of micronutrients in foods.