Frozen vs. Fresh Vegetables! Which ones are the best quality?

In an ideal world, we would all be better off if we always ate fresh vegetables at the peak of ripeness, when their nutrient levels are highest. That may be possible during harvest season if you grow your own vegetables or live near a farm stand that sells fresh produce. Once a fruit or veggie is picked, it begins to release heat and lose water impacting its nutritional quality.

The longer you keep produce, the more nutrition you lose, transportation, handling, and plain old time cause fresh produce to lose some of its original nutrients by the time it reaches the store. Frozen vegetables are a good

alternative and may be superior to the off-season fresh vegetables sold in supermarkets.

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How To Store Your Produce

It’s best to keep this group in a cool, dry place:

• Bananas

• Garlic

• Lemons

• Onions

• Potatoes

• Tomatoes

Feel free to keep these on the counter:

• Hot Peppers

• Oranges

• Melons

• Pumpkins

• Winter Squash

• Sweet Potatoes

Keep these veggies in the crisper drawer of your fridge:

• Apples

• Berries

• Broccoli

• Carrots

• Eggplant

• Peppers

• Salad Greens

The advantage of frozen fruits and vegetables is that they usually are picked when they’re ripe, and then blanched in hot water to kill bacteria and stop enzyme activity that can spoil food. Then they’re flash frozen, which tends to preserve nutrients. If you can afford it, buy frozen fruits and vegetables labeled USDA “U.S. Fancy,” the highest standard and the one most likely to deliver the most nutrients.