If you buy gazpacho in a carton, check that these ingredients are on the label

Gazpacho, the preparation that is already Catalan according to the Corpus de la Cuina Catalana, is prepared with tomato, pepper, cucumber, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, a little bread (optional), vinegar, and salt. Everything is put together and blended with an electric mixer. It's easy, and the greatest difficulty is gathering the ingredients, chopping them with a knife, and blending them. However, so that we don't do anything, so that we always have everything done for us, the food industry gives it to us ready-made in tetrabriks. The cook Ada Parellada stated at the meeting with ARA readers that she would have said that such an invention would never have worked. Perhaps today industrial gazpachos have already entered a large part of Catalan homes. Which ones are the best?As always, we must read the labels. The fewer ingredients they have, the better; the more they will resemble homemade ones. To continue, “the first ingredients should always be vegetables, especially tomatoes, which are the main component and responsible for a large part of their lycopene content (antioxidant), vitamin C, potassium, and other antioxidant compounds,” states dietitian-nutritionist Anna Grífols. If you read bread in the ingredients, “it is normal within the traditional recipe and should not be a cause for concern.” However, there are other ingredients that can also be found in some industrial gazpachos, which are the ones to avoid. “Some partially substitute extra virgin olive oil with cheaper refined oils, such as sunflower oil, which is also healthy, but nutritionally extra virgin olive oil remains the most interesting option thanks to its oleic acid and polyphenol content.” You also need to pay attention to the amount of salt. “There are gazpachos that easily exceed 1% salt, a high amount if we consume a large glass. Whenever possible, it is preferable to choose options with less than 0.8 g of salt per 100 ml,” says the dietitian-nutritionist.Vegetables, the first on the list

So, first there must be vegetables; then extra virgin olive oil and be careful with the amount of salt. But there are still other ingredients that industrial gazpachos can contain, which are the ones that must be rejected: "Some incorporate added sugar, unnecessary thickeners, flavorings or a long list of additives that have little to do with a traditional gazpacho". And this is because "supermarket gazpacho is a processed food, which does not automatically make it an unhealthy food either". It can be healthy "if the vegetables have been pureed, mixed with the usual ingredients and subjected to treatments such as pasteurization to guarantee food safety and extend its shelf life". As a consequence of this process "the amount of vitamin C, which is particularly sensitive to heat, can be slightly reduced, but it retains a good part of the rest of the nutrients and can even increase the bioavailability of lycopene from the tomato, a carotenoid with a high antioxidant capacity", says Grífols.Finally, making gazpacho at home is simple, and there are two tricks that the Disfrutar chefs reveal so that the garlic and cucumber do not return. The garlic will not return if you blanch it three times. That is, once you have the peeled garlic, submerge them in a pot with boiling water, and do so for a few seconds. You can repeat this operation up to three times, because in this way you will manage to lower the intensity of the garlic. And regarding the cucumber, they say that you should peel it, chop it, remove the inner seeds and put it in salt on a plate for a while. Then the cucumber will sweat and extract water. When it has done so, rinse it well with a stream of water to remove the salt. And the two ingredients will be ready to add them together to the blender jug and blend them. A quick dish to prepare that, moreover, hydrates.

Gazpacho (with tips to prevent garlic and cucumber from repeating), the Disfrutar recipe