Veggie Corner – frozen veg

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I am a firm believer that in vegetables, as in society, diversity is key. We could spend dozens of fruitless (but veggie-full) hours discussing whether the strengths of carrots – night vision – outweigh those of spinach – super strength – but the truth is that one type of vegetable is simply not enough. Sure, that browning broccoli from the local greengrocers might be the obvious route to the frankly unrealistic five a day, but after miserably munching through yet another miniature orchard of the stuff, it might be time to reconsider. And it’s here that freezing technology provides a solution to all our veggie related problems. Let’s bust the myth that frozen is inferior to fresh: nowadays, there are no nasty chemicals involved, and a study by the University of California showed that fresh and frozen vegetables contain similar levels of nutrients. In fact, vitamin C was higher in frozen corn, so we can finally stop subjecting ourselves to the ungainly gnawing of cobs and instead freely enjoy sweet nuggets of golden goodness without the fear of losing half our teeth in the process.

The range of frozen vegetable products is great; there are frozen alternatives to almost all fresh veg, even avocados (because you can’t put a use by date on Exetah). The most obvious benefit of frozen veg is that it ultimately saves food wastage: no more surprise discoveries of mouldy sprouts at the back of the fridge. For those who enjoy cooking but lack the time and energy to hack through mounds of raw produce, frozen chopped onion or butternut squash might be useful. My favourite product has to be the mixed vegetable packs, which contain a medley such as broccoli florets, petit pois, carrots, sweetcorn, and in the more highbrow bags, sometimes a cheeky bit of red pepper. Still not convinced?

Here’s the clincher: frozen is cheaper. If it’s a choice between fresh beans or a blue VK, the latter wins for me everytime.