Origins & Information - (A-Z) Frozen Foods

You always hear about how fresh is best but is there really no merit in frozen foods? I'm not talking about instant meals or ice cream; no, I mean frozen foods like vegetables and meat. Freezing foods is a way to slow down decomposition and because the process of getting the food ready for freezing destroys bacteria, preservatives are not completely necessary. While the cold temperatures will inactivate microbes, it is easy for them to be reinstated after thawing so one must be careful with frozen foods and not assume it is completely free of potential food illnesses. If you are interested in a complete list of items that can be frozen, check out http://whatscookingamerica.net/Information/FreezerChart.htm.

Concerning the health benefits of eating fresh over frozen or vice versa, it seems logical that the fresh would be better. However, that is not always the case. There are plenty of issues where frozen foods are able to provide nutrients that are not as plentiful as in something natural. In general, frozen foods will lose considerable amounts of Vitamin C, some Bs, and A. However, what they don't lose out on are the vitamins that they had when they were first produced. Generally the products that are frozen have been picked at the height of their health and frozen quickly after; produce that is found in stores will have lost a lot of their nutrients already after the harvesting and transportation. This is not to say that you should now always pick frozen over fresh but you should bear in mind what does actually happen to fresh food they longer it is out. A good rule of thumb to follow to buy fresh when in season and to buy frozen when not!

This post is part of an A-Z series I am running for my blog category "Origins and Information" while I am in Vietnam with my family for July. Many of the posts in the series answer questions that were posed by friends/readers. If y'all enjoy the series, I will gladly run another in the future!