Why Frozen Is Almost Always Best

Fresh meaning at peak ripeness is a spectacular treat. Vegetables come into season and go out of season and we city dwellers in the US are not even aware that it happened.

Grocery stores do not tell us: buy thses now. They are at peak flavor. It would mar the notion that fressh veggies are always

Huge Benefits

Most frozen vegetables are almost always available in your grocer’s freezer section.

They are easy to prepare.

They are almost always more nutritious.

Amazingly convenient

Many you can just boil in salted water, drain and add butter.

They often come already chopped.

There are great recipes as far as the eye can see.

At their easiest: heat and add salt and butter.

Peak picking from the field

Frozen vegetables are picked from the field, cleaned, parboiled and frozen all in the same day. The freezer locks in the nutrients, specifically C and B vitamins.

In a process known as IQF (Individually Quick Frozen) veggies are immediately exposed to temperatures ranging from -30 to -40 degrees C. This preserves flavor, texture and nutrition.

The vegetables in the produce department have an unknown origin. When were they picked? A week ago? How long were they on a truck in transit? How long in the grocer’s warehouse?The IQF process locks in the the nutritional profile in by freezer.

Frozen veggies emerging from IQF.

Mushy

Because there is always a bit of moisture left in the veggies during freezing, it can reappear during thawing and produce a mushy texture.

There is a solution for mushy

Yesterday, I portioned out a few broccoli florets to have with dinner.

Broccoli has a bad reputation for turning watery and mushy when thawed from frozen. It’s probably deserved.

But hold on. Here is what I did.

I placed the florets on the grid of my toaster oven and set it to 350 convection bake. This blows hot air around the broccoli. In ten minutes all the surface moisture was gone.

I then added the florets to my stir fry and they tasted better than fresh.

There are other ways to remove excess moisture from frozen veggies.

Use an air fryer. These things were made for drying (and cooking) frozen veggies.

Toss the veggies in a no stick pan over medium heat.

Roast veggies in the overn like broccoli.

Four Veggies You Should Always Buy Frozen

According to Jill Waldbieser at Eating Well.com you should always buy broccoli, cauliflower, spinach and peas frozen, not fresh.

She also has some good suggestions on how to prepare them.

Fresh veggie praise

If you ever have the opportunity to eat freshly picked vegetables in season from a garden, then you know there is nothing like it.

It is by far the best vegetable experience on the planet for taste and nutrition.

But how often does that opportunity come along? Never for most of us. We don’t even know when our vegetable crops are at peak ripeness, much less where to buy them.

What is there not to love?

Getting veggies into your life is a basic pursuit for good health.

Make it easy by getting familiar with your frozen food section.

Make frozen veggies a big part of your nutrition pursuit.

Feature	Fresh Produce	Frozen Produce
Nutrients	Degrades over time/travel	Locked in at peak ripeness
Preparation	Requires washing/chopping	Usually “pour and cook”
Price	Fluctuates by season	Stable year-round & generally cheaper
Shelf Life	3–7 days	8–12 months
Convenience	Can be really time-consuming	Boil or roast in minutes