What is the difference between fresh, refrigerated, frozen, and canned vegetables, besides their storage?

Question

-----The same vegetables are offered in all of them; I can not taste any difference. ---Jim

Answer 1

Each can change the nutrient value of the vegetable. Fresh is best because it keeps almost all the vitamins (depending on how you prep). Frozen I would think would be second best as long as you do not need to boil in order to eat. Canned veggies would be the lest nutritious since salt is added to help the vegetables keep while being stored.

Answer 2

it all really depends on your source of fresh fruit and vegetables, if you know that they are freshly picked and not been stored for more than 2 days then fresh is always best. However most vegetables that are store bought are not that fresh and the nutritional value will be lower. Vitamin c in particular is destroyed rather quickly upon storage. Remember, storing them in the fridge also deminishes the nutritional quality too. You would need to grow your own or at least buy them every day or 2 from a reputable source for the greatest benefits from fresh. Quite surprisingly frozen vegetables actually have a better nutritional content than fresh for this reason, they are picked at their peak and processed very quickly so the vitamins are locked in. Canned vegetables often have quite a bit of salt in them and it is best to only use salt reduced products.

Answer 3

The difference from the fresh picked is the number of minutes or hours between the picking(harvest) and either ingestion or preservation.
the minute the vegetable is picked it starts to DIE. So you must capture those attributes as soon as possible.
That is why frozen is most of the time fresher than fresh. Considering the number of hours or days it takes for fresh to get to market and then your home. Whereas frozen the vegetable is harvested and usually preserved within hours (1-6) preserving those precious attributes like nutrients and minerals.

Answer 4

I don't want to offense anyone, but you must be taste-deaf if you can't taste the difference, Mr. Jim. Canned veggies are normally soft and icky, while the same could be said of frozen. Some brands are better, keep in mind. I personally like fresh home-grown, but that's just me. It all depends on you're tastes. The main difference are the vitamins, or lack of, and just how they taste.
Hope I was helpful!

Answer 5

The main difference to me, in addition to the loss of nutrients and added sodium in canned veggies, is just their texture. For one thing, freezing creates tiny little ice crystals in a food that act like knives which cut the fiber, so when you eat them the consistency is mooshier and/or chewier (not in a good way).

A few veggies are okay when frozen though primarily because of their original composition... they may even taste different, but they're still reasonably good to eat.
In my opinion, those are:
spinach, corn, some beans and peas, some potatoes, and things you don't mind to be softer or mooshier...and of course fruits can be pretty good if you don't expect them to have the same texture as eating out of hand

As for canned veggies, some aren't too bad in the taste department, and some can also be rinsed to remove a lot of the excess sodium:
tomatoes, corn, beans, peas, and some others


Diane B.

Answer 6

Fresh is definitely best! Refrigerated is second. If you must buy one of the other two, get frozen (they are better preserved with more color and flavor). Canned vegetables don't even pass as vegetables in my book. The only canned vegetables you should ever get are potatoes (the canned whole potatoes are awesome on the grill), mushrooms, and corn if you are really desparate.

Answer 7

there is fantastically a lot no large difference. Frozen vegetables are par cooked and frozen very quickly after harvest, locking in fantastically a lot all their nutritional guidance. My merely suggestion with frozen vegetables is to do no longer overlook that they were already flash-cooked. there is no opt for to practice dinner them back, merely warmth them up. Overcooking them will spoil plenty of their nutritional fee.

Answer 8

FRESH - you pick it or dig it up yourself

REFRIGERATED - next to fresh, but waxed to retain moisture and sometimes has chemicals added to preserve freshness

FROZEN - washed and flash frozen. Sometimes these are harvested too early and have food coloring added to them to make them appear more appetizing.

CANNED - usually a lot of salt\sodium added as flavor enhancers and preservatives

Answer 9

Fresh is the best.....then I'd go with frozen

Answer 10

fresh are good for you, canned has too many additives, and frozen is ok but fresh is your better choice.