Frozen Fruit

[Samuel Carr]

Does anyone here ever use bags of frozen fruit rather than buying it fresh? Is there a significant difference in nutritional quality between fresh and frozen? I'm asking because I've been making a lot of fruit/vegetable shakes lately to get me through work and class but it sucks spending $8 on one pound of blueberries (at Costco; or $3 for 4oz at the grocery store) when I just found out that they sell 5lb bags of berries for only like $10.

[Samuel Carr]

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[Cole Dano]

Fresh is always going to be better.

However freezing is the best method to preserve the nutritional quality of any food.

We have lots of wild berries here, and fortunately have family members who enjoy picking them. We get able to have an almost year round supply thanks to freezing. Honestly for the smaller berries, once thawed i can hardly tell the difference.

Now if i buy frozen berries from the store, the flavor is totally different, i don't know why, but the commercial ones loose much more flavor.

That said, i think nutritionally they are still decent, and most likely it's a reasonable trade off to save some money.

Every once in a while treat yourself though, the flavor of fresh berries is worth it.

[Razz]

Frozen fruit is often a better choice, as the fruits in the store can be days old and is not really fresh anymore.

[Blairbob]

I've often done the same thing as I would keep bags of frozen berries in the fridge at work to snack on, especially during the hot months. I also like the fact I don't waste as much fruit this way.

Offhand, I remember frozen vegetables have like 80-90% of the nutrition as their fresh versions.

[Samuel Carr]

Okay cool thanks for the help. Someone told me also that since theyre often frozen right after being picked, the nutrients aren't as broken down as the fresh ones at the store

[yuri marmerstein]

All of the above.

I tend to get more frozen fruit unless it is fruit that lasts a while or is something I found a good deal on at the mexican market.

One upside to frozen berries is that I can portion them a lot better. Otherwise it can be really easy for me to pound $10 worth of blueberries, blackberries, or raspberries in one sitting.

[Cole Dano]

Okay cool thanks for the help. Someone told me also that since theyre often frozen right after being picked, the nutrients aren't as broken down as the fresh ones at the store

That is a good point.

In season, we always buy at Farmers markets. In winter, fresh is only a dream.

[Razz]

For vegetables the frozen ones are often flask cooked before freezing which kinda bums me out.. that's why I buy my berries frozen most of the year, but vegetables I try to get fresh and seasonal year round.

[Cole Dano]

I didn't know that, but it sure makes sense. Are there any vegetables that they don't normally do this with?

[Razz]

I didn't know that, but it sure makes sense. Are there any vegetables that they don't normally do this with?

No idea, but if you read the package carefully it will often say that they've been cooked.