Frozen Veg - Good or bad?

YoungBaker

What do you think? It is something I have heard a lot of debate and myths about!

Me & my OH always bought fresh veg - onions, peppers, sweetcorn etc. and it ended up some of it was quite expensive (example £1.50 for 3 peppers a shot in local supermarket) and would struggle to use them up sometimes. Have now discovered £1 bag of frozen and already sliced/diced veg in same supermarket... seems to be cheaper, saves time as already prepped, dont need to worry about using them up / going off - and they taste just as good?!

Have looked into it a bit and apparently for a lot of veg you actually retain more nutrition buying them frozen as they haven't lost any in the process of packing and delivery etc.

So what do you think? Am I missing something?

lobbyludd

you're right on the nutrition - peas for example, unless you grow them yourself and can get them to table very quickly are much better frozen.

but some veg just doesn't freeze well (to my mind) - frozen carrots have a horrible texture, brocolli florets disintigrate and end up being stalks with no greenery and frozen peppers/mushrooms/mixed veg etc are just bleugh (unless I'm going to puree them: it's definitely a texture thing for me).

I tend to have cauliflower, peas, sweetcorn, parsnips etc bought ready raw frozen and I freeze peelings and ends for stock/soups.

Chell

I think it depends what you plan to use the veg for. Frozen peppers would be fine in pasta/chilli but not in a stirfry. I'd rather buy fresh and freeze the leftovers.

I like frozen peas, sweetcorn and baby corns.

Aria`s_Tail

We always have frozen sweetcorn, mushrooms, peas and peppers in which are great for curries, saucy stuff.
Frozen mushrooms aren't great as a side dish though, a bit watery but great if in a sauce.
It is supposed to have as good as if not better nutritional content than fresh, less waste and does work out cheaper.

Fruball

I think it varies on the veg.

for example - peas and sweetcorn are perfect frozen but I hate frozen carrots - they seem spongy...

I don't much like broccoli frozen but don't mind frozen cauliflower as much - however, both are good for recipes like chicken divan or in a pie or broccoli and cauliflower cheese...

Green beans are nice stirfried with butter and garlic rather than boiling.

spinach is fine frozen altho very different to fresh.

brussels are a bit mushy but save a lot of effort peeling fresh!

cabbage is a bit soggy but perfectly edible.

frozen veg is certainly cheaper than fresh and I intend to use it more this year by finding ways that I can enjoy it!

I've not voted as there isn't a definitive answer, imho

CompBunny

For us, frozen is great. It is a 30minute drive to the nearest supermarket, and local shops are expensive. So we shop once a week. Any fresh veg I buy is used earlier in the week eg fresh peppers, rocket and the rest (apart from tomatoes, potatoes, red onion and fruit) is frozen stuff.

The frozen sliced peppers are fine when they aren't required to be crunchy. Diced onions are an awesome energy saver and not too expensive. The baby carrots are cute and fine to our tastes. Peas, green beans and sweetcorn are other frequent buys for us, and sometimes edamame. The brocolli can be hit and miss. Buying frozen helps us eat more veg as its so easy to always have some on hand to chuck into any dish.

Interesting to hear the sprouts turn out mushy, just how I like them! Will have to give them a try, thanks! Never had frozen mushrooms, will also try them!

Islandmaid

I agree with the majority.

I was a bit of a frozen snob, never thought frozen veg was 'good'.

After reading (alot) of tips on here, I now regularly buy frozen, peas, chopped onions, sprouts, sweetcorn, sliced peppers, parsnips. Its all fab cheap to buy and saves loads on wasted veg, and saves time which is a bonus.

merlot123

I only use frozen corn on the cob as my DD likes it.

Frozen vegetables are just not the same as fresh, I hate wet/mushy veg therefore I'd rather not have veg if I can't have fresh.

YoungBaker

Very interesting replies!

It was never really something we had considered but we noticed our shopping bill was creeping up each week or so and when we looked at the biggest cost it was always fruit and veg... tried shopping around in Lidls etc. as well but was still fairly high (although cheaper). At the moment we only really buy peppers, onions and sweetcorn frozen - not potatoes, brocolli, greenbeans, peas or mushrooms as others have suggested but now I know its a bit more commonly done I think I may just give it a go!

One of the biggest things for us was also ease as well, the time it takes to slice up a pepper and remove seeds etc. I could have had the frozen ones in and cooking by then!

meritaten

peas are more nutritious frozen - unless you have just picked your own!
sweetcorn very soon loses its flavour when it is picked - and the 'fresh' corn sold in supermarkets could be at least a week old! far better to buy frozen which is picked and frozen within hours.
I learned the difference in flavour when son grew his own sweetcorn on his allotment. My gawd - to eat corn on the cob which had been picked an hour or so ago...........it just exploded with taste in my mouth!
supermarket 'fresh' corn is tasteless by comparison - I have tho found that frozen corn is much better if cooked very lightly.

Goldiegirl

I buy a mixture.

Peas and sweet corn are fine frozen, and I like mixed veg for a variety of flavours.

Some things like cabbage and cauliflower I like fresh, and carrots too.

For some reason I've never tried frozen chopped onions, but it sounds like a good idea - I'll investigate that!