Is Frozen Fruit Healthy? 5 Health Benefits of Frozen Fruits

There’s nothing healthier than fresh, never frozen produce–right?

Frozen produce, like other frozen foods, comes with a bit of a stigma. After all, many frozen snack foods and meals are chock full of preservatives and additives that aren’t exactly good for you. But, the process of preparing and preserving a bag of pizza rolls is far from the process used to freeze fruits and veggies.

However, the question remains: is frozen fruit healthy?

Fortunately, the answer to that question is much more straightforward than you may think. Continue reading for everything you need to know about the produce freezing process and all of the benefits that come from adding frozen fruit to your diet.

Is Frozen Fruit Healthy?

In short: absolutely.

Frozen fruit is just as, if not healthier than, fresh food. Unlike other frozen treats, fruit doesn’t require any extra chemical additives to stay at peak freshness.

On top of that, most farms and frozen fruit distributors use flash-freezing methods that suspend the decaying process moments after harvesting the fruit.

So, the frozen fruit you pick up at your local grocery store is technically fresher than the “fresh” produce.

Of course, everything comes with a downside–even frozen produce. During the thawing process, frozen fruit can lose a bit of its integrity and become a little mushy, which some people don’t like.

That said, outside of this potential change in texture, frozen fruit is a fantastic, equally healthy alternative to buying fresh. Here are a few of the best health benefits that come with buying frozen produce.

More Nutritious

In a perfect world, we would all be able to pick our produce straight off the tree or vine and enjoy it at peak freshness. Unfortunately, we don’t all have access to the time and resources it takes to grow fruit.

Fruit is an incredibly time-sensitive crop. The moment you pick fruit, it begins to lose its nutritional value.

Most “fresh” fruit spends an awful lot of time sitting around during transportation, during which it can lose a fair amount of its nutritional value. Frozen fruit, on the other hand, is practically suspended in time immediately after harvest. So, by the time you eat it, it’s virtually as fresh and nutritious as it was moments before it was picked.

Frozen is Safer

Did you know that fresh produce accounts for almost half of all foodborne illness?

A study done by the Center for Disease Control the majority of cases of foodborne illness stemmed from fresh produce.

While freezing won’t kill every germ on the fruit, it can help instantly kill off many of the bacteria that can lead to illness. So, on top of being more nutritious, frozen fruit is also safer than fresh fruit, which makes it a healthier option overall.

Easier to Prepare

Eating your daily requirements of fruits and vegetables can pose a bit of a challenge, especially if you don’t enjoy eating fruit on its own.

Fortunately, frozen fruit is helpful in the journey to cook, prepare, and eat all of the fruit your body requires to stay healthy and strong.

Most farms and distributors prepare fruit before freezing it by blanching and cutting it for packaging. That means that when it comes to cooking with frozen fruit, outside of the time it takes to defrost it, you won’t have to deal with much extra preparation.

For example, frozen fruit, such as blueberries or peaches, are excellent additions to a healthy, nutrient-packed breakfast smoothie. Later in the day, frozen fruit like pineapple or mango can help add a lot of vitamins and flavor to a simple stirfry.

More Variety

Thanks to constant advancements in technology, humankind is rapidly progressing beyond the Earth’s natural rhythms–which means consumers often want produce that isn’t in season where they live.

Long-distance transportation of “fresh” produce can take a massive toll on its quality and nutritional value. By freezing produce, suppliers keep a wide variety of fruit available all year long, which gives consumers more healthy options to choose from in order to fulfill their dietary needs.

While frozen fruit doesn’t last forever, it can maintain freshness for more than eighteen months. This way, you’re free to enjoy your favorite fruit at your leisure all year long, no matter the season.

Cost and Waste

As said before, fresh fruit is vulnerable to the pressures of time. From the moment you pick up your fruit at the store, it is losing valuable freshness.

Unfortunately, most people do not have the time or money to go out and purchase produce daily, which can lead to large nutritional gaps in their diets. Fortunately, frozen fruit offers a healthy and cost-effective alternative.

You can store frozen fruit much longer than you can keep it fresh. This ensures you don’t have to waste time or money on multiple trips to the grocery store to replace what has gone bad before you could use it.

People can also enjoy frozen produce at whatever rate best suits them–which can also help cut back on food waste.

The Benefits of Frozen Produce

Now that you know more about all of the benefits that come from choosing frozen fruit, the question remaining isn’t just whether or not frozen fruit is healthy, but whether or not you should bother with “fresh” fruit again.

Frozen produce is an excellent way to add more fruits and veggies to your diet. That said, not all frozen fruits and vegetables are equal.

The quality and nutritional value of your frozen produce depend entirely on the distributor tasked with keeping it fresh. That’s where we come in. Contact us for more information on maintaining peak freshness today.