Frozen vegetables.......a false economy?

janb5

I use frozen onion a lot because I find it great that it is chopped really small and there is no waste. Probably considered very extravagant but there u go!

Bargain_Rzl

Stephen_Leak wrote: »

If you work full time and live alone, frozen veg' is sometimes a necessary evil.

I beg to differ on that one...

I live alone and work full time, and I NEVER use frozen veg, except obviously for peas and sometimes sweetcorn. However I am fortunate in that I'm in a position to be able to pick up "odds and ends" on my way home. Where possible I buy in bulk to make soup which I freeze in portions.

Sunnyday

I always have some in the freezer but mainly for when i can`t get to the shops and run out of something or if i want to cook a recipe that needs something i won`t use up.
I usually keep peppers and broccolli in the freezer but this week i`ve frozen a load of onions i bought by mistake and i`m finding them very convenient to use direct from there without thawing. ( i sliced them all first)
Mostly i use fresh veg and we eat a lot of it and i`m not liking the price rises so here`s to trying to grow a bit this year.
SD

AnnieLee

Bargain_Rzl wrote: »

I beg to differ on that one...

I live alone and work full time, and I NEVER use frozen veg, except obviously for peas and sometimes sweetcorn. However I am fortunate in that I'm in a position to be able to pick up "odds and ends" on my way home. Where possible I buy in bulk to make soup which I freeze in portions.

Frozen vegetables are actually more nutritious than fresh........which inevitably start to lose their vitamins from the moment they are picked, not to mention transportation to the supermarket, hanging around the shelves in the supermarket before being bought, whereas vegetables intended for freezing are picked and frozen usually within 2-3 hours. Of course the ideal scenario would be if we could grow our own organic veg and be able to pick them and cook immediately but that is just not practical. People tend to overcook frozen veg and that is the reason they can be rubbery. Peas and green beans for instance only need 2-3 minutes.

moanymoany

Frozen 'fine' beans, like French beans, are very good and £1 a kilo. Mixed veg is a good colour mix and makes a usefeul extra veg portion. I think frozen veg is excellent to give variety in the winter. It is also good value for money.

ubamother

i'm not keen on the texture of some frozen veg - it seems a bit spongy to me - i tend to buy a lot fresh when cheap, cook and freeze - esp root veggies as part-roasted - in individual portions.

MrsTinks

I buy fresh, then I go to town with the big knife and chop it all up! Then depending on that it is it usually just goes into the freezer... Some things I cook first but only if it's not "pretty" and thus is better as soup or an addative to another dish... Tomato's I pre-cook.

furndire

Check out Iceland's prices for frozen veg. Last week, most were £1 for a kilo bag.

patchwork_cat

I agree with annielee and what purpleivy says about water content makes sense. I was going to say defrost some and weigh it with the water removed and work out your price that way , i.e weighing it frozen and then defrosted, but if purpleivy is correct that won't help.

No I don't like the taste of some veg frozen as well as fresh. Broccoli and cauli are fine in something, or a sauce, but i don't like them on their own. As for frozen sprouts! However they are much more nutritious than fresh - as by the time we usually buy fresh it is a few days old at least.

However, in some cases, processed foods actually retain more nutrients than the unprocessed form. The best examples are frozen vegetables, which are picked and frozen within hours of harvest, whereas ‘fresh’ vegetables may have been stored for several days before purchase or use.

from the British Nutrition Foundation.

There is a lot of stigma to frozen veg, but it is in fact a very nutritious option.

AnnieLee

I love frozen leaf spinach (comes in little individual frozen blocks).........I just defrost it and then add to a recipe ie spinach rissotto and just stir in before serving................ it doesn`t require any cooking (I would always use fresh spinach though for salads).