Frozen Veggies And Fruit Likely To Be Better Alternative To Fresh

Research carried out by culinary scientists Ali Bouzari has revealed that eating frozen fruits and vegetables could be just as healthy if not more when eaten fresh. As per details of the study frozen veggies and fruits are likely to have the same amount of vitamins as fresh ones and maybe more. Director at Plants for Human Health Institute Mary Ann explains that freezing preserves vitamins and also beneficial plant compounds that provide protection against disease. According to plant physiologist Gene Lester, frozen products are a worthwhile choice if you are not likely to eat freshly purchased fruits and vegetables within a couple of days.

Fresh fruits that have been picked up by commercial food processing firms at the peak of their condition and then frozen using individual quick freeze technology and packed in nitrogen filled atmosphere will retain all their nutrients. Exposure of these fresh products to nitrogen preserves their nutrients that get degraded by oxygen. Though even vegetables are commercially frozen at the peak of their ripeness they are blanched before being frozen. Vegetables are first dipped in water heated to temperatures between 90 and 95 Fahrenheit that destroy discoloration causing enzymes.

Due to blanching the bright colors of vegetables stay fresh as ever even after they are defrosted else usually they quickly turn dull and colorless. Blanching also makes vegetables soft and chewable by changing the structure of their fiber. But unfortunately blanching vegetables make them lose around 50 percent of their vitamins which is sensitive to heat. When vegetables are picked up at the peak of their ripeness they are abundant in vitamins, nutrients and minerals and when they are frozen at that level their ranking is higher when compared to commercially available fruits and vegetables which are plucked before their actual ripening time in anticipation of sale a few days later so that they don’t get spoilt during transit.