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When you think about eating your vegetables, it doesn’t matter whether they are fresh or frozen as long as you get your dose of nutrients in. Most times, even though cooking everyday meals with fresh vegetables is ideal, frozen vegetables definitely are time-savers – whether it is saving up on the cleaning and chopping or cooking time. There shouldn’t be any guilt or shame associated with having a stash of frozen vegetables to use on weeknights when dinner is just another task to check-off your list.
That being said, most times, there are negligible mistakes that can be made while cooking with frozen vegetables that may or may not affect the overall flavours in a dish. However, chances of these veggies losing their nutritional value is surely high. Hence, avoiding these traps and cooking with frozen veggies the right way can be done, if you manage to avoid these fundamental mistakes.
No-Cook Vegetables
Like fresh vegetables, there are certain frozen vegetables that don’t need to be cooked in order to be eaten. Veggies like carrots, bell peppers, corn or broccoli – once properly thawed and brought to room temperature – can be tossed directly into a salad or eaten with a protein dip for a quick snack. Eating raw vegetables increases their nutritional value and nourishes the body with essential vitamins and nutrients. A quicker way to thaw these vegetables would also be to run them under a tap to help the layer of ice melt faster.
Defrosting
Solely based on what kind of dish you plan on cooking with a particular type of vegetable, should you decide on which ones need to be defrosted. Most frozen vegetables can be cooked directly in their frozen state and don’t necessarily need to be thawed. In fact, with most frozen vegetables or herbs that are defrosted, they tend to lose their shape and texture and turn into a soggy, limp version of its previous self.
Microwaving
Cooking frozen vegetables in the microwave is not only disadvantageous in terms of losing out on nutritional value but also risking the vegetables losing their texture and colour due to overcooking. Instead, methods like steaming, blanching or pan-frying your veggies is more effective because you tend you have more control over how much you want your vegetables to cook and not lose their textural integrity.
Varying Cooking Times
Despite being frozen, vegetables may vary in cooking time depending on the cut and size of the variety. Smaller cuts or thinner pieces of vegetables like carrots, bell peppers or zucchini tend to cook almost instantaneously whereas large chunky or hard vegetables like squash, pumpkin or sweet potatoes might take longer than usual. Adding a splash of water while cooking larger pieces of vegetables enable for them to soften quickly.
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Wrong Dishes
Using frozen veggies for fried rice, stews, curries, soups or other multi-ingredient dishes help in mellowing down the texture of frozen vegetables. Based on the context of a dish, pick between using fresh or frozen; for example, if you want to make a recipe that calls for grated sweet potatoes, pick the fresh variation over its frozen counterpart to get better results in terms of taste, texture and form.
Freezer Burns
Not sealing your bags of frozen vegetables properly or leaving them unattended for too long in your cold storage causes the exposed bits to oxidise because of the air. This chemical change also alters the pigmentation, structure and nutrient content of your vegetables. However, using resealable bags or clips to ensure that your vegetable bags are properly shut will guarantee a longer shelf life, without having to deal with any unpleasant surprises for later.
