Frozen produce: cold hard truth

[jayt90]

I have found frozen corn from the big packers to be variable in quality, texture , taste, and sweetness. I try to freeze excess fresh corn every summer,in food saver bags, when I buy a dozen ears at the farm kiosk. When I run out of that in mid winter, I buy Niblets instead of frozen.

There is a new frozen veg I found called Spaghetti Sauce Vegetables. It consists of chopped onion, celery, carrots, green and red peppers. It is really handy for quick stews, braises, dressings, sauces etc. Just add garlic and herbs...

[purplewiz]

Frozen cauliflower is great for making pureed cauliflower (fauxtatoes) or for throwing in curries and the like. I'm not all that fond of it just plain, but as an ingredient in soups and stews I can't tell the difference between frozen and fresh, and it's a lot less expensive than fresh.

[ratgirlny]

I know that one of the posters above said that frozen collards and kale aren't as good as fresh, but I always keep a bag of frozen collards (or turnip greens) in my freezer for use as a quick addition to soups, or certain kinds of dishes (Indian style curry comes to mind immediately).

[ghostrider]

Got pea cravings, progbably from this thread, & have been on a search for frozen peas this week. Was reminded again, by reading labels, of the ridiculous amounts of salt that are thrown in with most frozen peas, unlike any other frozen vegetable I can find. Does anyone know why this is?

Finally found the 10-oz bag of Cascadian Farms organic New Zealand peas for $2.49. Pricey but no salt. Whew. (Oddly, the 16-oz bag of Cascadian Farms organic peas has the usual ridiculous amount of salt.)

In the past I've found a particular variety of C&W frozen peas (also sold east of the Passaic River & west of the Hudson, & perhaps elsewhere in our great nation), something like "Select Young Petite Peas," that also has no salt added. Can't always find these, not sure if seasonal or quirky stocking practices at local stores. All the other C&W varieties are as loaded with salt as everyone else's.

I like frozen peas, I really do. Why do the packagers insist on torturing me with salt?