The New Ice Age

A novel campaign across the pond in the UK is promoting frozen fruit and vegetables. The British Frozen Food Federation has put up a giant ice wall in London with frozen produce suspended midair (actually mid-ice). The message to consumers – frozen is a great and healthy alternative for fresh produce.

What you need to know:

Flash freezing is a technique by which a food is exposed to extremely cold temperatures and freezes almost instantly. Produce retain almost all their original nutritional values. Flash freezing has no effect on the calorie count, protein and carb levels, mineral levels, or amount of fiber. There is a very slight loss of vitamins, usually vitamin C, but it is negligible.

Not all frozen vegetables retain their texture though. This should not be a problem if they are thrown into a stew or soup. Same for fruit used in pies or shakes.

In some cases, a frozen product may be even more nutritious and tasty than a fresh one. Wintertime is a perfect example. Fresh produce is shipped from halfway around the world, picked way too early and slowly ripening in a plane / truck. Alternatively, apples may be picked ripe, but months in advance and stored at near freezing warehouses until distributed to supermarkets in January and February. These “fresh” products are not as tasty, and not as nutritious as they could be (if eaten in season and as soon as possible after harvest).

Canned produce is another option to consider, but for many vegetables, salt is used both as preservative and flavor retainer, leading to high amounts of unnecessary sodium. You can always wash canned produce in water to reduce the sodium levels. Many fruits are preserved in sweetened water, raising the calorie count needlessly.

What to do at the supermarket:

Our pick: buy fresh when a product is in season. You can’t match the flavor and the nutrients are at their peak. Otherwise, opt for frozen, a near perfect alternative. If you don’t have a large freezer, a few cans of carrots peas and corn in the pantry can’t hurt.

When buying frozen look for one ingredient only – the veggie.

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