Do you like to add a handful of sugar casually when cooking? Braised pork belly in brown sauce, sweet and sour pork loin, pot stuffed pork, Kung Pao chicken... These home-made dishes are frequent customers of sugar. However, this seemingly insignificant habit may cause major health problems. Do you think the value of sugar in cooking is only to provide sweetness when stir frying? That would underestimate it too much. In fact, sugar is a major seasoning in cooking and has many unexpected effects. Adding sugar during seasoning and stir frying can make the dish taste sweet and crispy without burning, and can also harmonize various flavors. The core is these functions: reducing saltiness, relieving sourness, spiciness, and bitterness, and also improving freshness. Sugar can neutralize the salty taste. If you accidentally add too much salt when stir frying or seasoning, adding a little sugar can reduce the salty taste. When making sour dishes and soups, adding a small amount of white sugar can alleviate the sourness and make the taste harmonious; Even if there are too many chili peppers, adding some white sugar can effectively alleviate the spiciness taste; Adding some white sugar when stir frying bitter gourds can also mask some bitterness. In addition, adding a small amount of sugar before adding salt can also enhance the freshness when stir frying vegetables. 2. Coloring: Some meats look red, bright, sweet, and delicious, which makes people have a strong appetite. This is also thanks to sugar. Sugar and amino acids or proteins undergo a Maillard reaction when heated at high temperatures, producing brown black caramel and odorous substances such as reducing ketones and aldehydes, which provide delicious flavors and attractive colors to food. 3. Adding some white sugar when promoting fermentation can not only shorten the fermentation time, but also make the noodles soft and delicious. Adding sugar to the dough can decompose it into glucose under the action of various enzymes, providing yeast with nutrients and promoting its growth. This will also accelerate the fermentation of the dough and shorten the dough making time. A large amount of added sugar in dishes can cause harm. Different types of dishes require different amounts of added sugar for different purposes. According to "Cooking Technology", in order to achieve the best taste effect, dishes with a sweet taste, such as honey yam, usually have a sugar addition of about 20%; Sweet and sour dishes with a sugar addition of 5% to 10%; The type of sugar such as braised in soy sauce and stewed Pickled vegetables is mainly used to improve freshness and flavor, which is generally controlled at 1%~2%. Adding sugar to dishes, although it can enhance the flavor and taste of dishes, long-term excessive intake of sugar may pose various hazards to the human body. The following are some main hazards: 1. Weight gain and obesity. When stir frying vegetables, add sugar and properly mix sugar and oil. In a study on sugar oil mixtures published in Cell Metabolism in January this year, it was found that compared to pure sugar or pure oil foods, sugar oil mixtures cause the brain to secrete more dopamine, unconsciously increasing the intake of such foods and increasing the risk of obesity. 2. Although there is no direct correlation between sugar consumption and diabetes risk, sugar consumption increases the risk of obesity, and obesity is positively correlated with the onset of type 2 diabetes. For people who already have diabetes, sugar intake needs to be more strictly controlled. Adding sugar to food can cause significant fluctuations in blood sugar levels and worsen the condition. Especially when it comes to dishes like this