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Which Vegetables Are OK to Buy Frozen?
Good Questions

Q: I read in some articles that frozen or canned veggies or beans are better than the ones that are "fresh," because the frozen ones are flash frozen straight from being picked.

However, they never mentioned which ones are good or best frozen or canned, and which foods should always be gotten fresh.

Sent by Candice

 
 

Editor: Candice, our rule of thumb is that, when in season, almost all vegetables are better fresh. But in the winter, when almost all fresh vegetables are being shipped from far away, out of season and probably stored for long periods of time, then frozen vegetables are almost always a better bet. Also, we almost universally prefer frozen over canned. (The exception there is tomatoes.)

With frozen vegetables, here are the ones we like to keep around:

• Peas
• Edamame
• Chopped spinach
• Green beans
• Artichoke hearts

We don't like frozen corn enough to keep it around; it just makes us miss fresh summer corn.

But what about the rest of you? Which frozen vegetables do you enjoy?

Related: What Are Essential Pantry Items for the Freezer?

(Image: Faith Durand)

Comments (20)

Trader Joes has a fire roasted corn that is delicious and I keep around.

I also keep broccoli and cauliflower sections in my freezer. I find myself using a handful here and a handful there in stirfry, sauces, soups, etc and I like not having to buy a whole head.

I suppose the question is about veggies, but I also keep lots of frozen berries/fruit (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, cherries) in my freezer because, again, I like using a handful of them and not having to worry about the rest of them going bad.

posted by laetitiae on October 12th 2009 at 9:39am
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I am not a fan of most frozen veg except for peas.

Having said that I can deal with frozen spinach. I laughed over the weekend when I saw a rerun of a Julia & Jacques cooking show where he made something with frozen spinach and she was quite scornful saying that frozen spinach has no flavor at all. It's fun to see the very friendly but competitive interaction between them.

posted by Charlotte on October 12th 2009 at 9:43am
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My grocery has some great frozen asparagus that I like to keep on hand. It's great for a quick roasted vegetable pasta when asparagus is out of season, but not really usable for something in which it is the main feature (ie, served fresh with hollandaise sauce).

I do tend to keep peas and corn around, but I have to admit, I almost never cook with them!

posted by fib on October 12th 2009 at 9:49am
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I love to get the steamer bags that seem to cook up perfectly in 4 minutes in the microwave. And, of course, I only get these in the winter. But I keep brussell sprouts, broccoli, and green beans on hand in the steamer bags.

I ALWAYS make sure that there is no added sodium added to the bags (often a problem with frozen foods), but the BirdsEye steamer bags do not have added sodium! :0)

posted by lifesacomedy on October 12th 2009 at 10:27am
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I think this only applies to the frozen veggies. I haven't heard of any vegetables that were better canned.

posted by slobound on October 12th 2009 at 10:32am
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When cooked properly, it is hard to tell a difference between fresh and frozen when using the following... or at least in my experience:

spinach
peas
corn
asparagus

posted by alllebasii on October 12th 2009 at 10:37am
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The main problem with frozen veg is the texture, which is why I don't like frozen broccoli, carrots, etc. Frozen peas work extremely well-I'd even go so far as to say that I prefer them to fresh in all cases unless I've grown them myself. I would use frozen broad beans/edamame except I don't really like them, but they do freeze well. I don't tend to use any other frozen veg regularly except for frozen spinach-now this only works in certain recipes, the ones which require the spinach to be cooked down any way (such as soups, dhal, risotto). However I do freeze fresh berries every now and then when I have a glut-they don't really work eaten defrosted and raw (that texture problem again) but they do go down a treat in cooked deserts. Freeze them on a flat surface so that they freeze as individual berries, and put them in a bag/tub once frozen.

posted by Sian on October 12th 2009 at 10:42am
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I really like to freeze winter squash and sweet potatoes that I've cubed and roasted myself -- just put it into small ziplocs and you have an easy way to eat well on weeknights -- make some couscous, maybe some beans, you're good to go.

posted by erinskitchen on October 12th 2009 at 11:01am
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i like corn almost any way that i can get it, including frozen. it's the only vegetable we buy canned. we buy frozen peas, corn, berries, and spinach in the freezer along with stock. i freeze veggie pulp from our juicer to make stock with, too.

posted by nico_forgot on October 12th 2009 at 11:24am
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Trader Joe's frozen veggies are always fantastic quality and for a good price. I always keep a bunch in the freezer.

I find tasted and texture are fine as long as they don't get freezer burned, and as long as they aren't overcooked so that they become mushy. Barely steam frozen veggies so they are thawed and hot, but not wilted/mush, or I'll throw them into pasta or a stir fry frozen.

I love their mixed veggies (carrots, peas, lima beans), asparagus, broccoli and green beans. And like someone else mentioned, their fire roasted corn is fantastic.

posted by geekgirl on October 12th 2009 at 11:29am
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Spinach. Great bang for your buck and so easy to add just a little bit to meals to add some extra nutrition. I frequently add a bit to my tomato sauce, dal, soups, etc. Anything where fresh would have cooked down anyway.

Peas are also a very good option for frozen veg. Often the flavor is better than fresh!

The only other veg I typically buy frozen are pearl onions.

As for other frozen veggies, I find that the texture turns me off. For example, I can't stand frozen carrots. I love carrots, just not frozen ones.

posted by Shana Lee on October 12th 2009 at 11:48am
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I think the answer to this question also depends on where you buy your veggies and where you live. If you're shopping at farmer's markets, you're getting food that was generally harvested quite recently, and hasn't traveled much. This stuff is almost always going to be better than canned. If you're shopping at a big grocery store, even in the summer you may be getting veggies that have been grown miles and miles away -- and may not be as "fresh" as food frozen right after harvest.

posted by amyeliz on October 12th 2009 at 12:02pm
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Spinach, broccoli florets and peas are my go to frozen veggies. But I also buy frozen squash puree on occasion when I'm making soup and don't want to deal w/ roasting and preparing the squash on my own.

posted by jkpenny on October 12th 2009 at 12:48pm
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I am certain we buy half of the frozen chopped spinach in north america... my husband and I go through 6 boxes a week! Between saag paneer, spinach soup and omlettes, it goes very quickly at home. My son started eating spinach at 10 months of age!
With our son taking up a lot of our time, I find we're also cooking frozen peas or carrots/peas, and frozen corn much more often. When I make his food, I often toss in frozen carrots, corn, peas, or beans. I wouldn't eat forzen green beans myself, however (bad texture).

I also keep frozen wild blueberries... great for pancake days, or for oatmeal.

posted by modern on long island on October 12th 2009 at 1:21pm
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I agree - Peas and Spinach are quite good frozen, tho you can only use fresh spinach for saute-ing in olive oil & garlic as a side dish.

(A whole bag of salad-size spinach is perfect for two people)

Frozen broccoli and cauliflower are far too mushy, and I prefer canned/marinated artichoke hearts.

posted by bepsf on October 12th 2009 at 1:45pm
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I grew up eating frozen vegetables throughout the cooler months and thought nothing of it. I now buy a lot of my vegetables frozen -- corn, peas, green beans, carrots, spinach. They're handy to have around to toss into meals like chicken or shepherd's pie, or to incorporate with quinoa or brown rice. I especially like to throw a few peas into a white sauce I serve over pasta, or to risotto.

posted by SarahBerneche on October 12th 2009 at 4:39pm
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Frozen peas, Trader Joes melange a trois (mixed bell pepper strips), broccoli, TJ's haricot verts, corn, spinach and an Asian stir fry mix. In addition to various frozen berries.

posted by rosebud on October 12th 2009 at 5:35pm
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I think most of the flash frozen, no sodium added vegetables are good for cooked recipes; obviously frozen veggies can't substitute for the fresh ones in salads, with dip, as sandwich toppings etc.

I like frozen for the ease of use since I am usually just cooking for myself (and I am lazy) so I keep the bagged, chopped frozen onions, peppers and stir-fry mixes to be tossed into a pan with scrambled eggs (peppers/onions), pasta sauce (onions), or topping pasta or rice. Edamame makes a great microwaveable snack. Also very good is fried okra, crispy and tasty in olive oil without the prep time.

I have not heard of any vegetable or fruit losing nutritional value being flash frozen, texture and suitable recipes seem to be the main deciding points.

posted by Faithbck on October 12th 2009 at 6:51pm
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Frozen:
* peas
* beans, green, french cut (think green bean casserole as it is that time of year)
* potatoes, tater tots (and their cousins)

Canned:
* corn, Green Giant (way better than frozen, in my opinion)
* beans, Pinto, black, Boston Baked, etc. (easier than than fresh/dried and much quicker to reach working state)
* onions, french-fried rings (see gb casserole above)

Fresh:
* chiles, Anaheim, Poblano, serrano, jalapeƱo (canned have a metallic taste)
* onions as they keep for a long time

posted by davebarnes on October 12th 2009 at 10:33pm
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I like frozen corn, mostly because I don't have the kitchen space to properly prepare fresh corn and maybe I'm a tad lazy...so there's always frozen corn, frozen peas, and frozen lima beans! Frozen lima beans are the best! Frozen green beans are also popular in my freezer.

posted by elizabeth marley on October 15th 2009 at 3:25pm
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