What’s for dinner? The debate over fresh, frozen or canned veg

While some people may turn their noses up at the thought of eating frozen or canned vegetables, the cost-of-living crisis has made converts of us all. As food budgets tighten and the discussion about food waste grows louder, the longer shelf life of frozen and canned alternatives is making them a more appealing option. Does it make a difference to your nutrition how you eat your vegetables?

Is fresh really the best?

Leafy greens such as lettuce, spinach, kale and rocket are generally better eaten fresh as they don’t hold up well if frozen or canned. It’s a similar rule of thumb for root vegetables such as sweet potato. Many will enjoy pre-cooked potatoes that have been frozen, whether as chips, wedges or roasted, but they come with additional sodium and fat.

Significantly, while fresh vegetables are high in nutrients, they are usually harvested before they are ripe to allow for them to mature during transportation, which means there is less time they can develop a full range of nutrients.

Canned foods may lack the appeal of fresh vegetables, but they have the advantage of a long shelf life and convenience.Credit: Getty Images

Most fresh vegetables have already spent days in transit and on supermarket shelves before making it home to your fridge or pantry. Once refrigerated, some can lose as much as 50 per cent of their nutrients in a week.

“Depending on the vegetable’s shelf life, how long it has been sitting there, as well as the transport time from the supermarket to your basket to your plate, you may lose some vitamins and minerals along the way,” says nutrition specialist Dr Shannon Lin from the University of Technology Sydney.

While frozen vegetables have had a reputation for lacking the visual appeal and taste of fresh veggies, they are harvested at their peak and snap-frozen to lock in nutrients and retain freshness. This means in some cases, frozen veggies are just as good for you, if not more so than the fresh variety.

For those living in parts of Australia where the nearest grocery store might be a few hours’ drive away, opting for options with a longer use-by date could be a no-brainer.

“Most frozen vegetables are semi-prepared, they’re already washed and chopped. For those with lower nutritional literacy, those that are busy, or those who lack cooking skills, frozen vegetables are a really good way of incorporating vegetables in your diet,” Lin says.

For canned foods, she says consumers need to read food packaging labels carefully and consider salt content and other additives typically used to preserve vegetables.

“Choose canned foods without any added salt or sugar – you want it to be as close to the fresh product as possible.”

Do you have to sacrifice taste, texture and colour?

Sometimes, it’s more about what’s available. Frozen peas are more common than fresh peas, while you might be hard-pressed to find frozen tomatoes at the supermarket as opposed to the fresh or canned counterparts.

This is because manufacturers place great emphasis on the taste and texture of the specific vegetables being frozen or canned – they need to withstand freezing and canning processes and still be attractive to consumers afterwards to be considered sellable.

“Manufacturers really consider how attractive vegetables are for you to cook. Will they be able to maintain those vibrant colours and textures? Because when we eat, we not only eat with our mouth, but our eyes and nose are all ‘eating’ at the same time,” Lin says.

Many Australians prefer to buy their vegetables fresh, but does it mean they are better for you?Credit: Simon Schluter

Professor Luigi Fontana, scientific director of the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre, says this is why homegrown veggies are best.

“If you pick a ripe tomato straight from the plant, the taste, the quality, the consistency – it’s completely different.”

Other options include buying vegetables in season. They will be cheaper, harvested at their peak and easier to find. Looking for locally grown produce that has been transported shorter distances is another option for fresh produce as vegetables are closer to their nutritional peak at the time of consumption.

Eat your veggies any way you can

On the whole, Australians don’t eat enough vegetables – only 6.5 per cent of the population eat the five recommended serves of veggies a day, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Fontana says there is “no doubt that eating your vegetables, even if they’re canned or frozen, is better than not consuming them. You get your fibre, even if the vitamins and minerals are destroyed.”

Fontana compared the nutritional benefits of eating vegetables to flying different classes on commercial flights – while first or business class would be the most ideal, economy seats, or in this case eating canned or frozen vegetables, would still get you to the same destination.

“It’s important to consume vegetables – in any form,” he says.

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