Frozen Food: Fresh Tasting Frozen Food
An increasing number of consumers are opting for frozen foods as a convenient and easy way to experience new flavours and cuisines they might otherwise never experience.
Fresh tasting frozen food can also help reduce waste, as many meals and sides come prepackaged in individual servings to accommodate individual household preferences and diets.
Flavours are at their best
Frozen foods boast enhanced flavours due to being carefully selected at their peak, rapidly processed, and frozen within hours with no degradation in quality. In addition, some of the finest chefs create these delicacies and maintain precise temperatures at which to store them.
Texture plays a critical role in how we experience food. Though we may not give much thought to its significance, the difference between crisp, fresh, chilled lettuce leaves and the ones we toss away can be dramatic.
Frozen aisle innovations that cater to healthier diets include meal products designed by registered dietitians to meet specific nutritional targets and packaged in meal-sized portions for less food waste at home. Furthermore, freezing reduces enzyme activity for preservation, but many of these meals include enzyme-rich vegetables that support digestion and detoxification processes.
Juicy
While sales may have declined during the coronavirus pandemic, freezer aisle items remain viable. Although we often think of frozen food as processed grub, frozen items don’t always need to contain salt and preservatives to taste good.
Frozen food is harvested and frozen at its peak freshness, locking in vital vitamins and minerals that could otherwise deteriorate quickly on grocery store shelves or refrigerator shelves. Furthermore, freezing slows chemical changes to reduce spoilage and deterioration.
Though thawed fresh tasting frozen food may experience freezer burn, it still retains much of its original flavour and texture. Plus, frozen ingredients make preparation easy at both home and restaurants; frozen peas, leafy greens and tater tots are among the top chef-frozen items kept on hand in their freezers. [1]
Crunchy
Food textures often change when frozen, sometimes for the worse. While a thin coating of ice crystals on a pint of ice cream may add visual interest and create a tasty dessert experience, thick coatings of crystals may cause dry and unpleasant textures that compromise its smooth consistency.
Defrosted foods that have been frozen too long can become crunchy. It usually applies to vegetables like peas and leafy greens but can also occur with more aged treats like lemon meringue pie or grilled cheese sandwiches.
American English often associates “crunchy” with those who take an eco-friendly or natural approach to lifestyle and diet choices, sometimes known as granola people or those seen as liberal political activists with countercultural hippie aesthetics. Foodies usually associate crunchiness with freshness and quality.
Fresh
Frozen foods offer the ability to keep ingredients at their freshest state, retaining essential nutrients and delicious flavours for meals that taste as though they were made just minutes ago.
When purchasing frozen foods, be sure to read their packaging for optimal storage times in the freezer. Foods frozen too long can develop an off odour and should be discarded immediately.
For your health and the planet’s, choose fresh tasting frozen food made with ingredients from local farms that support sustainable farming practices, with clear cooking instructions so your meal turns out just how you imagined. Additionally, these types of frozen food offer culinary control while encouraging creativity when creating meals tailored specifically to gluten-free, vegan or low-sodium diets – providing culinary freedom as you experiment with new flavour combinations and recipes!
Frozen food has a stigma that comes with it, but some frozen foods taste just as good as fresh. These meals can be a great way to save time and money, especially when you are sick or busy. Frozen meals are also healthy because they are usually low in fat and sodium but high in nutrients.