Frozen or Fresh Fruits

Discussion in Food & Drink started by chiofthenorns • Sep 1, 2014.

  1. chiofthenorns

    chiofthenornsActive Member

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    In grocery stores, some of the fruits that they are selling are frozen while others are fresh. For instance, I found a store selling frozen strawberries. When I asked them about it, they said that freezing makes the strawberries last longer therefore increasing their lifespan and decreasing the chance of loss of profit. However, I am not used to buying frozen fruits. I think that they no longer the same amount of nutrients compared to those that are fresh. When it comes to buying fruits, which do you prefer fresh or frozen?
     
  2. DrRipley

    DrRipleyExpert

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    I'm not entirely sure, but I think I once heard some expert say that frozen fruits and vegetables sometimes turn out to be even fresher and more nutritious since they are frozen immediately after picking whereas non frozen goods usually tend to linger and lose their freshness during travel and display. I have no problems with either and I usually just pick whatever is convenient.
     
  3. deansaliba

    deansalibaActive Member

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    Apparently frozen fruits and veggies are more nutritious, good thing too as every supermarket and large grocery store in this country freezes their fruit and veggies.

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  4. Dora M

    Dora MWell-Known Member

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    I have never bought any frozen fruit. I like it fresh and organic wherever possible. There have been times when we had a big harvest of mulberries in our garden, where the fruit would have spoilt if we had not put it in the freezer. But that's the only time when I ate frozen fruit. It was nice to have the mulberries several months later when they were long out of season.
     
  5. GemmaRowlands

    GemmaRowlandsActive Member

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    In the past, I would always have bought things fresh, however the way that I feel about it now has changed. I began to make note of all of the food that I was wasting, and it turned out that it was an awful lot. So now, I try to buy things frozen whenever I can, because it means that I can just take the amount that I need out of the bag, and leave the rest of it in the freezer without worrying about it going bad. Also, for some reason, frozen fruit tends to be a lot cheaper than fresh. I don't understand why, but I am trying to save money at the moment so that is great. I can buy a pack of fresh fruit for £1 that lasts me for a few weeks, whereas I would have had to pay more for fresh, and it wouldn't have lasted me for anywhere near as long.
     
  6. Strykstar

    StrykstarActive Member

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    I always buy fresh fruit, it just seems much healthier than getting it frozen.
    I do like using some frozen fruit when making smoothies and milkshakes but I usually just freeze them myself.
    Interesting if frozen fruit does end up being better for you than frozen, but I still don't think I'll prefer it.
     
  7. prettycolors

    prettycolorsActive Member

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    I never bought frozen fruit. I have this idea that fresh fruit is healthier so I tend to avoid anything that's frozen - thing is, I'm not even certain that they don't add some 'extras' to keep the fruit properly iced. And why bother with frozen fruit? If I want to eat strawberries I don't want to wait for the ice to melt, I just buy them fresh and ready for eating :D
     
  8. Jessi

    Jessi<a href="http://www.quirkycookery.com">QuirkyCooke

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    For me, it depends on their purpose.

    For example, if I'm going to be eating them without any preparation, I much prefer to fresh fruits. Frozen fruits and berries are great for baked goods, though, like blueberry muffins or strawberry scones.
     
  9. LuckyGirl08

    LuckyGirl08Active Member

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    I prefer fresh fruit over frozen. I feel like when the fruit is frozen, it takes away the taste. I have bought frozen fruit a few times but that was because the store I went to did not have any fresh fruit that I was looking for. Now I really don't buy my fruit at stores, I usually grow them.
     
  10. ReDGuNNeR

    ReDGuNNeRMember

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    I'm not a fan of frozen fruit and I don't think I ever saw any frozen fruits in my household growing up. I guess if you want to preserve the fruit for a long time there's a purpose but most common fruit servings in a basic diet are comparable to one fresh fruit? Buying in bulk doesn't make sense if you are diminishing the taste and quality of the product.

    I wish I could grow my own fruits and veggies to avoid the store altogether and be truly organic but I don't have much room over here unfortunately!
     
  11. ACSAPA

    ACSAPAWell-Known Member

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    Usually the point of buying frozen fruit is to make smoothies, sorbets, fruit muffins or milkshakes. If you're not making any of those things, there's really no reason to buy frozen fruit.
    Stores don't sell frozen fruit as a substitute for fresh fruit. They sell it to be used in cooking.

    If you're just looking for a mango to eat, there is absolutely no reason to buy a bag of frozen mango pulp. That frozen mango pulp is meant to be used in recipes.
    If you are not specifically planning to bake or make blended drinks, walk away from the frozen fruit and buy some regular fruit at the produce stand.
    And if you're looking for fruit that will keep a long time, then buy some canned fruit.
     
  12. Spectre456

    Spectre456Active Member

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    It's almost comparable, fresh fruit is healthier if you eat it very soon after they pick it, which is not the case for supermarket fruit. Frozen fruits lose an almost negligible amount of nutrients, if any at all. So, if you have a farmers market nearby and plan to eat the fruit or vegetables soon after you get home, get it fresh there. Most people buy in supermarkets though, where the fruit has spent more time in shipping. In that case it is better to go with frozen, as far as nutritional value is concerned anyway.
     
  13. Mayvin

    MayvinActive Member

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    I agree, I eat frozen fruit when I want to make my own sherbet but when I just want some fruit, I like to eat it fresh. I've never tried using frozen fruit with baking but I intent to start baking more so will plan to do that.
     
  14. ACSAPA

    ACSAPAWell-Known Member

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    You "bother" with frozen fruit because it is created to be used in ice cream, smoothies and milkshakes. It's easier than freezing your own fruit to make a smoothie.
    It's really not supposed to be eaten straight and I think that the store OP shopped at should have explained that to her. Frozen fruit is a cooking additive not an alternative to buying fresh produce.
    The frozen fruit is right next to the frozen pie shells because you can use it to make pie fillings.

    If there's a bag of frozen fruit pulp in my freezer, my daughter knows that I am going to make milkshakes or bake a pie. She would never think that I was going to serve that frozen fruit to her.

    This whole thread is like going into the baking section and asking "Would you rather buy flour or bread?"
    Frozen fruit isn't meant to be food, it's the stuff that you use to make food.
     
  15. Theo

    TheoWell-Known Member

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    Fresh is best, but often it can go off very fast especially in hot climates. My friend always had frozen fruit to snack on and as she was single, she couldn't eat a whole punnet of strawberries, so frozen ones were ideal for her.
    I think it is an option rather then a replacement. For people that don't have time to shop, they can have them ready to use with ice cream or to make smoothies or milk shakes. It is catering to a market that may not have time to read forums like this.
     
  16. Sweetkymom

    SweetkymomActive Member

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    I prefer fresh fruits if we are eating them as finger foods. Frozen fruits I prefer to use with our homemade smoothies or other dishes. I also use canned fruits for pies, donuts and other sweets.
     
  17. JosieP

    JosiePWell-Known Member

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    Fruit is fruit.. they aren't just ingredients. I eat as little foods with ingredients as possible, so that would mean I couldn't buy frozen fruit? lol. Depending on who bags them, they're usually frozen right after picking and I'd bet a lot of money they're actually more nutritious than what most of you are buying fresh from the same grocery store. I buy my fruit from the farmers near by, but when certain things are out of season, I go for frozen if I can't wait it out. I don't prefer it, but it's better than buying canned or other processed foods. If you're not buying local, it's growing on a truck.. it looses all nutritional value on it's way to you. frozen doesn't.
     
  18. Colebra

    ColebraActive Member

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    There really is nothing wrong with frozen fruit.
    Some fruits you can't find nearby, and there's no choice but getting them frozen.

    I follow the work of some high-end sport nutritionists, and they're all good with frozen food...
    It seems that the nutrient density is not affected by the freezing.
     
  19. jneanz

    jneanzActive Member

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    If no sugar or corn syrup is used, there is nothing wrong with most frozen fruit. However, if a person wants to buy organic, then they may want to buy fresh orgnic and freeze. Frozen organic fruit is expensive, and truthfully I don't see a difference in price. Frozen fruit can make healthier popsicles and smoothies or thawed out for baking and possibly a replacement (or partial) for sugar.

    If a person is looking to save money on produce, consider buying frozen for some things!
     
  20. DancingLady

    DancingLadyActive Member

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    Frozen fruit should have the same nutritional value as fresh fruit, if not even more. Fruit is frozen and packaged very quickly after picking so the nutrients are locked it. It's nice for things like smoothies because you don't have to worry about finishing the package before it goes bad. The biggest downside to froze fruit is the texture. Berries, like strawberries especially are partially broken down by the ice crystals when they freeze, so when they thaw they have a slightly mushy texture and are probably not well suited to things like fruit salad.