Frozen foods spell convenience, almost instantly at their very mention. The moment you hear the term, an image of an everyday-use item like vegetables, fruits, meat, or ice cream comes to mind – neatly wrapped up in attractive packaging to keep it safe and long-lasting. While on the one hand, buying frozen foods has become a regular norm for most households, primarily because they can be preserved for days and are convenient to use, there are several myths surrounding them as well.
Here we try and bust those myths, bringing to you some interesting facts about frozen foods, which you may have not known earlier.
7 Interesting Facts to Know About Frozen Foods
Fact #1: Frozen food is in no way less nutritious
A very common belief among a lot of people, particularly the propagators of buying and consuming fresh produce, that food when frozen tends to get depleted of its nutrition content. On the contrary, it is often the reverse that’s more believable. Produce which is out of season yet is readily available at your local grocery supermarket for sale is often harvested before allowing it to fully ripen. It is then stored and shipped long distances before you end up buying it for your consumption.
It is during this whole process that the item tends to lose a large amount of its nutritional value. In comparison, foods that are meant to be frozen are usually picked at a time when they’re at the peak of their ripeness. They’re then locked and sealed in frozen compartments to lock in all their vital nutrients.
Besides, an important point to note here is that more than the kind of food you choose to prepare, it’s the cooking or preparation method that you follow which impacts its nutritional value more. For instance, even with frozen meat or wholesale canned vegetables that you buy for longer use from food suppliers, you can cook them in a steamer or microwave rather than boil them in a pot. Steamed vegetables are much more nutritious than boiled ones.
Fact #2: All frozen food is not always processed
This is not entirely untrue because you’d see your grocery store freezers packed with frozen ready-to-eats and processed meal packs, all of which aren’t that healthy, despite being extremely high on the convenience score. However, even with frozen stuff, you can always choose to go for certain healthy options such as whole and natural frozen items such as wholesale canned vegetables, fruits, meat, and dairy. They are generally devoid of preservatives and additives which form a part of highly-processed frozen foods.
You can always check the ingredient label of the wholesale canned foods you buy from the freezer to check for the preservative part. Remember that freezing the food itself is a natural preserving method. So ideally your frozen items shouldn’t carry the long list of preservatives behind them.
Fact #3: Frozen food isn’t more expensive than fresh produce
If you’ve been avoiding taking the route to the freezer section in your supermarket because you think frozen goods tend to be costlier, it’s time to redo the math. It’s not the frozen food items that are high on cost, it’s the prepackaged convenience meals which are. Otherwise the whole frozen foods such as vegetables and fruits aren’t any more costly than their fresh counterparts.
What’s more, the fresh foods that might seem cheaper now as they’re in season can get costlier as they go out of it. Stocking up on frozen foods for such a time can actually cut down your grocery bill.
Fact #4: Not all foods are suitable to be frozen
You can’t just keep any food in the freezer to preserve it for longer; some items indeed tend to lose their original taste if frozen. Some examples include cream-based sauces that tend to separate when stored in the freezer. Even coffee isn’t a great candidate for freezer use – it instantly loses its flavor. Some fruits and vegetables too aren’t made for freezer use – watermelon and lettuce which are high in water content don’t freeze well; when thawed, they end up much soggier than before.
Fact #5: Freezing food doesn’t necessarily kill the bacteria
A popular belief is that food should be frozen as it helps make the bacteria on it inactive. While it’s true that it does, freezing doesn’t completely put the risk of bacteria to rest. Additionally, after the food is thawed for subsequent use, any harmful bacteria on it lingers. You can only ensure that your food is safe by cooking it to the recommended temperature.
Fact #6: Frozen food doesn’t last forever
Don’t get fooled by this notion; freezing certain food items may help increase their lifespan than fresh food but they wouldn’t last forever. In fact, food that’s frozen for too long a period may even begin to lose its quality and original taste eventually. Ideally, raw meat can be preserved in the freezer for about 4-12 months, cooked meat for 2-4 months, vegetables and fruits for 8-12 months, and casseroles, soups, and stews for 2-3 months.You can also know about best espresso machine
Fact #7: You can easily refreeze thawed foods
Most of us believe that frozen food, once thawed, can’t be refrozen. It isn’t true at all. You can transfer something from your freezer to the refrigerator to thaw it but in case you change your plan to cook it that day, you can easily put the thawed food back in the freezer again. However, a standard rule to follow here is not to refreeze stuff that has been left at room temperature for over 2 hours. This can impact the quality of the food item because of loss of moisture.
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Summing Up
Frozen foods aren’t a luxury anymore, their convenience and ease of use have brought them right into our households, especially as we struggle to manage cooking fresh amid busy schedules. So the next time you approach the freezer section at the store, remember these facts, pick your favorite wholesale canned foods, and place them in the basket.