How do fresh and frozen spinach differ nutritionally?
Freshly-picked spinach is at the peak of its nutritional quality. The vitamin and mineral content is highest when these greens go directly from field to plate – or field to freezer, for that matter (flash-frozen produce is usually considered nutritionally equal to fresh). However, researchers at Pennsylvania State University found that folate, a B vitamin involved in the creation and repair of DNA (and also linked to the prevention of cancer and heart disease), drops significantly when fresh spinach is subject to lengthy transportation or storage times. Beta-carotene and other carotenoids in spinach also decrease during extended storage and handling of fresh spinach – a practice increasingly common today as much of the produce at your local grocery store travels cross-country, even cross-continent. In the end, if “fresh” spinach has been subject to lengthy storage times, frozen is likely nutritionally superior. Q: Can you offer any serving suggestions for Brussels sprouts? A: It’s a sm
