| |
- Availability
Within hours of picking, fresh fruits and vegetables
are processed and quick frozen to prevent any deterioration of flavor,
quality, texture or nutrition. And frozen, which remains virtually unchanged
in storage, eliminates losses experienced from spoilage and shrinkage.
Frozen at the peak of perfection, there is presently no better method
of food preservation. Seasonal limitations are a part of the past.
- Convenience
Frozen foods are truly convenient. The cleaning, picking,
dicing, chopping and squeezing has been done. Whatever you choose, it's
all prepared, ready to take from your freezer, heat and serve.
- Economy
Frozen foods are economical. You do not pay for stalks,
pits, skins, rinds or damaged food. Edible ounce for edible ounce, frozen
food costs are usually less than their fresh counterparts.
According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture study, five of the six
vegetables tested, all available either canned, fresh or frozen, were
cheapest when purchased frozen. Through price fluctuations, fresh produce
can cost 99 cents at the beginning of the season, 39 cents at mid-season
and then with no explanation, jump up again. With frozen foods, there
are no such widely varying prices.
Frozen prepared foods also compare favorably to their homemade counterparts.
The real cost of preparing a food at home must take into account all
the ingredients used in preparation. For example, to bake a cake would
mean buying flour, sugar, eggs, shortening, spices or flavoring, and
whatever else might be needed to make a frosting or topping. These can
add up to quite an expensive cake. If you are an infrequent baker and
will not use the remaining ingredients, frozen baked goods probably
are a better buy.
- Food
Safety
Frozen foods offer explicit cooking directions, leaving
no room for error and under-cooked food. And because the preparation
(dicing, chopping, etc.) has already been done, all you have to do is
heat and serve—less chance for contamination in the preparation
process.
- Freshness
Freezing foods seals in freshness. Foods designed for
the freezer are selected at their peak of nutrition and flavor, quickly
processed and frozen within hours, before there has been any deterioration
in quality.
- Labeling
Frozen food packages tell you what you're eating. Packages
have ingredient and nutrition labeling. If you're health conscious,
counting calories or on doctor's orders, frozen foods can help.
- Longer Storage
Frozen foods have a longer storage time than fresh, offering
maximum flexibility. Frozen broccoli, for example, stays fresh in the
freezer for up to eight months, whereas fresh broccoli usually must
be consumed within a week.
- No
Waste
With frozen foods you have food that is 100 percent edible.
You don't pay for waste such as the pits of fruits, the shells, peels
and outer leaves of vegetables, bones in fish or the fat on the meat.
Studies of 13 vegetables show that as much as 40 percent of a raw vegetable
is lost in shelling and peeling before the vegetable is ready for cooking—and
that's 40 percent of the produce you've paid for.
According to the U.S. Census Department, more than half the households
in the country today consist of only one or two people. Many frozen
products have been created especially for these households. There are
single-serving side dishes, entrees and desserts. There is no waste
since there are no leftovers. Individual servings also make it possible
for each member of the family to eat his or her favorite dish, without
the time and expense of preparing large quantities of each of the foods.
In addition, frozen foods in poly bags (vegetables, fruits, pasta) offer
easy portion control. Just pour out the amount needed and return the
rest to the freezer for future use.
- Nutrition
There's no better known means of preserving food than
by freezing. Commercial rapid-freezing processes maintain nutritional
quality of products without chemical preservatives. And food quick-frozen
and properly stored keep their high nutritional value.
- Quality
Frozen foods are consistent in quality. Only the best
ingredients are used. That's because of stringent industry quality control
procedures that begin on the farm.
- Taste
Frozen foods can pass the most discriminating taste tests.
An entree which has been correctly formulated, maintained at 0°F.
and heated according to manufacturer's specifications, should taste
identical to an on-premise prepared item. The recipes formulated for
use in frozen prepared foods are created by some of the world's finest
chefs. Immediately following preparation, freezing ensures consistently
uniform product quality in each and every serving.
- Value
Because frozen foods fit the way people live and eat
today, they offer incomparable value in a number of ways: dollar savings,
nutrition and quality, time savings and energy saving
|
|
