Frozen vs. Fresh Veggies
And the winner is… fresh veggies! Direct-from-the-farm fresh, if possible. But that doesn’t mean you should count out the frozen ones. There’s a time and place for them too. Find out the advantages of each and how the nutritional benefits vary.
When Fresh Isn’t Always Best
Some conventional veggies get shipped for miles across the country — a trip that can take days and cause their nutrients to diminish over time. After riding in trucks, vegetables then sit on supermarket shelves, where they’re exposed to air and water misters — another way that vitamins get destroyed.
The freshest produce choice is locally grown options from your farmers’ market. The fruits and veggies are picked and sold when their quality is best (they are usually a better price, too!).
When to Choose Frozen
Manufacturers freeze vegetables at the peak of their freshness to preserve the nutritional value. Frozen produce is great to keep around in case you run low on fresh or if there are limited offerings at supermarket due to seasonality. They’re especially convenient when you don’t have time to clean and chop (it happens to the best of us). I toss frozen peas into my stew and last week I ran out of fresh broccoli and turned to my emergency frozen bag.
Frozen veggies also work well in pasta dishes, such as in this Creamy Scallop and Pea Fettuccini or a veggie soup.
Preserving the Vitamins
Vitamins in food are easily destroyed by heat, exposure to air, oxygen and water and changes in pH balances. Here are some ways to maintain the vitamins in the fresh or frozen veggies you cook:
- Use as little water as possible when cooking: Steaming and stir-frying are two great methods.
- Cook quickly over low heat: Cook veggies until just tender and avoid overcooking.
- Never add baking soda: It brightens the green color in veggies, but destroys thiamine and vitamin C.
- Cut and cook veggies in large chunks: The smaller the pieces, the more exposure to air. This tends to destroy vitamins A, D, E, K and the Bs.
- Cook veggies as soon as possible after cutting: This will minimize the time exposed to air.
Great article! Something I wanted to know.
so does this mean that people that eat mushier veggies are getting less nutrients? is there a certain crunch the veggies should have so that you know they haven’t overcooked or lost their nutrients? just curious
Hi Sara,
Yes, mushy veggies have more vitamins destroyed. You want to cook with as little water as possible using a quick cooking method like steaming or stir-frying. Veggies should come out on the crunchier side.
Right, the fact that it is from the farm does not guarantee wholesomeness. If the product has been on the shelf for long, if it has been kept in the open weather for long and if it has undergone preservation, it is no longer wholesome. For veggies to retain their optimum nutritional value, they must be fresh from the farm.
Good article. However, I was watching a cooking show on the FoodNetwork and the cook stated that frozen vegetable are usually blanched prior to quick freezing is that correct?
You did not mention microwaving veggies as a way to cook them. Is microwaving destroying nutrients?
Thanks for the information. I never see anything about roasting vegetables, but that’s my favorite way to prepare them. How does roasting affect the nutrients compared to steaming?
I am on chemo and for me to eat fresh I have to wash ALL fresh for 60 seconds, including lemons, bananas, etc. Does the washing for this amount of time destroy any of the nutritional value? Would frozen be better in my case? To have a salad it is a total production! And nothing fresh at a resturant.
I also would like to know how microwaving (8 minutes aveerage) affects the nutritive value of vegetables. I use no water when microwaving.
I also like to roast cut up potatoes at high heat (450 degrees) in the oven and wonder how that method of cooking affects nutritive value.
Thank you,
Meg
I almost feel like I can’t win. What’s the point of eating vegetables if you can’t cook them, and if they’re no good if you buy them from the grocery store (especially if you live on the east coast during the winter.) I find these articles informative, but also discouraging at the same time.
Nancy, How about organic do you need to soak also. I would think you could just run under water and get on with it.
Ali, don’t be discouraged! Any vegetables — fresh or frozen — in a light recipe you make yourself are always a good choice, especially over packaged or processed foods. If you can’t get the absolute freshest, doing what you can with what you have is always good. Just try to make up for missing out on the freshest produce in the winter by hitting up the farmers’ market or tending your own garden in the summer.
I’m also interested about microwaving veggies. I always pick up the steam fresh packs at the store because its easy and quick. Cooking time is about 5-6minutes usually. I usually shop at Henry’s for fresh produce, but its always a hit or miss trip on freshness and quality.
Hi Kathy,
Yes that is correct- frozen veggies are quickly cooked, then cooled in a process called blanching. This is a great technique to use to help maintain the nutrients in fruits and veggies!
Hi Tonya,
Microwaving veggies with a few tablespoons water is comparable to steaming and is a good, quick method to use to cook up those veggies!
Hi Monica,
Roasting certain veggies can destroy vitamins more than a quick cooking method like stir-frying, blanching or steaming.
First it says to do a quick stir fry which is done on high heat, then it says to cook on low heat buuut cook it quickly, wouldn’t that be an oxymoron??? Let’s use common sense, I know that stir fry is good for you as is raw veges. So in the battle of low heat vs. high heat… the high heat wins out. After reading this article, I’m deducing that stewy soups would be better than brothy soups??? Any suggestions/thoughts??? And I guess cutting aLL the veges in small tidbits to hide them in sauces/soups hasn’t been beneficial to AnY of us… what a waste of time & effort… grin… lol
The doc’s say organic is harder to clean because you have to look for the bugs in them and they grow the veggies in manure plus they are not washed as carefully. Alot of the time it is the stores that put the junk on the fresh veggies to keep the color to sell them it is not so much the way they are grown. Bananas are the worst to keep them green. Everything has to be under running water for 60 seconds and at about 50 seconds you can feel the difference, try it on a bell pepper or an apple, it amazing! But I’m wondering if I’m loosing any nutritional value or would frozen be better in my case?
HI EVERYONE, LET ME TELL YOU WHAT I DO TO VEGETABLES AND I THINK YOU WILL BE QUITE SURPRISED. I PUT ALL DIFFERENT KINDS OF VEGGIES IN DIFFERENT COMBO’S AT DIFFERENT TIMES IN THE FOOD PROCESSOR. THEY ARE GROUND UP LIKE A HUMMUS. FROM THERE YOU CAN DO ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING FROM DIP TO SOUP TO DRESSING ON SALAD’S OR PASTA’S. REALLY ANYTHING FOLK’S AND IT TASTES GOOD ONCE YOU GET THE COMBO RIGHT. IT KEEPS GREAT IN AN AIRTIGHT CONTAINER FOR SEVERAL DAYS IF YOU MAKE TOO MUCH. HOP EYOU TRY AND ENJOY !
Really good too know, but the water thing – is this because it’s supposed to wash away the nutrients? What if you eat that water In my culture soup is key, and my family and friends have always been very healthy. It would shock me to find out that Soup was less healthy than stir fry!
How do I store fresh veggies and fruits?
Do I put them in the refrigerator when I get them home from the store or do I let them stay out for a couple of days?
Thank you so much, grat info.
How di i store or keep fresh veggies & fruit and for how long. Can you please let me know? thank you again.
Norah