With what prices have risen in the shopping basket, frozen vegetables they have become a great economic and healthy ally. In this way we can find a varied offer such as broccoli, peas, beans, cauliflower or peppers.
The good thing about frozen vegetables is that they have the same nutritional composition as fresh. Also, Mar Silva, dietitian-nutritionist from
Dieted, points out that some, such as spinach and chard, once they are harvested, are more likely to spoil the longer they go. “Thus, if they are caught quickly and deep-frozen, they keep all their vitamins and minerals, and this prevents the proliferation of bacteria or fungi that can spoil the food.”
Among its benefits, as with fresh ones, we find a great contribution of water, fiber, vitamins (highlighting those of group B) and different minerals such as calcium, iron and potassium. “They are also very practical, since sometimes we do not have time to buy fresh vegetables to cook them at home or they go bad, so it is easier to have them frozen and boil them with water and salt.”
deep freezing
Álvaro Aguilar, general secretary of the Spanish Association of Frozen Vegetable Manufacturers (ASEVEC), indicates that the main difference between frozen and fresh vegetables is the deep-freezing to which they are subjected. “It is a process in which the product is frozen at high speed and in continuous movement to preserve quality, flavor and nutritional value. This is done with air at -40ºC, which allows the product to quickly reach the temperature of -20ºC, thus maintaining the nutrients and texture of when it was fresh”.
In the case of freezing them at home, Luis Riera, food technologist and director of Saia (Food Safety consultancy), explains that the faster we freeze them, the better. “However, we have to be careful, because if it is a vegetable that contains a lot of water, if it freezes slowly, ice crystals will form that will end up breaking their structure and losing texture.”
We also make other mistakes like freezing a vegetable after cooking it. without waiting for it to cool down. “If we do it right, the freezing will be as fast as possible.”
On the other hand, Riera recommends freeze them with plastic wrap so they don’t get freezer burn. “There are even vegetables that it is advisable to blanch beforehand. This way they will be stiffer and will freeze faster.
The best way to defrost
The expert assures that The best way to defrost food is to put it in the fridge. so as not to break the cold chain. “In this way, the external part does not take much heat while the internal part remains frozen. In addition, it would be necessary to put a double-bottom grid so that the defrosting liquid, which is where the bacteria are, does not come into direct contact with the food.
If they are ground vegetables, which can have many microorganisms, Riera emphasizes not defrosting at room temperature or with hot water, “because sometimes when we are in a hurry we resort to it.”
Another mistake we often make is cook the frozen product directly. It is not recommended either to cook it very slowly from frozen or to put it in a pan at a very high temperature, depending on the type of vegetables. “The softer the cooking, the better its vitamins will be preserved, especially hyposoluble ones such as C,” says Riera.
In any case, the nutritionist Mar Silva reminds that there are many other ways of cooking besides cooking, such as steaming, as an accompaniment to spoon stews, sautéed or together with second courses with a little oil, salt and pepper. .