Should You Buy Canned or Frozen Veggies?: Supermarket Savvy

No Comments | Written on January 30, 2012 at 9:00 am, by Rachel Achmad

Much of the country has finally settled into typical winter weather, and that means slim pickings in the produce aisle. Fresh vegetables are wilted, pale and pricey. So I decided to look into the differences between canned vs. frozen vegetables to see what our best options are.

I focused on vegetables that are extremely hard to find fresh this time of year — namely, corn, green beans and peas. Across the board, canned vegetables proved to have a cheaper unit price than frozen. Prices were anywhere from .48 cents to $1.28 cheaper per pound for canned than for frozen. However …

I then did some research on the nutritional differences between canned and frozen, and learned that with the cheaper price for canned, you sacrifice some degree of nutritional benefit. One article I found at Eating Well explained that vegetables are frozen when they are at the peak of their ripeness, whereas canned vegetables are usually harvested before their prime. A separate article explained that canned vegetables also contain added sugar, salt and preservatives.

So, for optimal nutritional value and no added salt, sugar and preservatives, you’re better off buying frozen. As always, by combining sales and coupons you might get the cost of frozen lower than canned.

Another winter vegetable choice to bear in mind: some CSA farms offer a winter farm share. A winter pickup would typically consist of root vegetables and some greenhouse-grown sturdy greens such as kale or collards.