Freeze my Veg or buy Frozen Veg ?

Supercell

I'm a big fan of stir fries, however the prep work is something I'm not so big on.

If I've been at the weights, chopping veg just isnt an option - my arms are usually weak as a kittens afterwards.

I was thinking of a way around this - why not just do a "big chop", once a while, of veg and freeze a selection of what i like and then just bung the result into the pan whenever i want.

However, i think most veg in the supermarket is probably on display on a average for a couple of days so its "goodness" is rapidly waning.

However the frozen veg..i think???? should be as good as fresh?

So here's the question, am I better sticking to super market frozen veg and not having my favourite mixture of veg all the time?

or

Am I better off buying veg as fresh a i can and chopping up and freezing in portions for later use myself?

What's best nutritionally?

EileenG

I'd say it's much of a muchness.

The advantage of chopping and freezing your own is that you get the mixture of veg you like best. Lots of frozen stirfry mixtures seem to have lots of sweetcorn and beansprouts in them which I don't like. And they usually don't have nearly enough broccoli.

Buy what's in season and cheap, and it should be fine. Are you in Dublin? Go to the Farmer's market in Temple bar on Saturday and buy lots of fresh local veg with no air miles.

rubadub

Those birds eyes ads about locking in nutrients by freezing soon after picking is true.

I get frozen stir fry mixes and then other frozen veg and mix it in. e.g. I love peppers so buy a separate frozen bag and mix in the ratio I want.

Some veg is quite cheap to get frozen and more convenient, esp. peppers. I much prefer fresh onions, some things just do not freeze well, and I think some may use a quick freeze technique, while your own freezing may not end up as good. e.g. fresh mushrooms will turn to a gooey mess if you freeze them and then defrost.

dudara

If you were to use frozen veg straight into the wok, you'd probably get a lot of water in the wok, resulting in braising/steaming rather than stir-frying.

However, frozen veg (from the supermarket) is generally recognised as being superior to the fresh shelf version.

I've never seen frozen peppers.
That said I hate the taste of alot of frozen veg and only buy them for my family.

lindak

Go to the Farmer's market in Temple bar on Saturday and buy lots of fresh

Eileen whereabouts is this market held ! And is it cheaper than supermarkets ?

I have recently started to by frozen veg, alot of the fresh veg I was buying was going off way too quickly and was quite expensive ! So far i have bought green bean , brocoli , sprouts and petit pois and they have been fine .

cozmik

Freezing is a very efficient method of preserving the nutritional value, texture and flavour of many vegetables. Most vitamins will keep well in frozen vegetables. Carotene (a compound that is converted to vitamin A in the body) may actually be better preserved in frozen produce because packaging keeps the vegetables away from light (which destroys carotene).

For example, frozen peas typically have about 60% more carotene than 'fresh' peas (that have been exposed to light during their trip to the market and while awaiting sale).

Some losses of vitamin C and folate (also known as folic acid) occur during commercial freezing. About 25% of the vitamin C, and perhaps a greater percentage of the folate, will be lost during the blanching process that precedes commercial freezing. A smaller quantity (perhaps 10%) of the thiamin (formerly called vitamin B1) will be lost during blanching. Little further loss occurs during the time the food is kept frozen, provided that it has been stored properly (-18 degrees C for no more than six months).

However, the vitamin losses associated with blanching and the thawing/cooking process are similar to those that occur during normal cooking of fresh vegetables. This means that, provided they have been stored and then cooked properly, frozen vegetables provide similar levels of nutrition to fresh vegetables. It is also worth noting that for cooking both frozen and fresh vegetables, microwave cooking and steaming are both superior (in terms of retaining nutritional value) than boiling in a large volume of water.

Source: www.nutritionaustralia.org

EileenG

lindak wrote: »

Eileen whereabouts is this market held ! And is it cheaper than supermarkets ?

Meeting House Square. Cross the river on the Millennium bridge and it's just behind Bruno's restaurant.

http://www.thephysiocompany.com/images/map-temple-bar.jpg

I find it works out well, since most of the stuff is loose, so you only pay for what you actually want. Jenny (in the corner) has lots of locally grown veg, and some of it can be way cheaper than even the non-organic stuff in Tesco. Last week, I bought two massive cauliflowers for 1.50 each. Each one was enough to make two family meals.

nice1franko

we used to always chop n freeze peppers just cos theyd go off if we didnt. then we found bags of chopped frozen peppers in dunnes. happy days, tastes justthe same. still buy the odd fresh yellow one for salads. mmm sweet juicy crunchy yellow peppers....