Whether or not you know it, you might have an unconscious bias towards fresh fruits and vegetables — an assumption baked in that they are better for you than canned or frozen options. “There’s a lot of public interest in fresh,” says Steve Miller, an economist at Michigan State University. “Whether that is based on sound reasoning, the demand is real regardless.”
Study after study shows, however, that fresh isn’t always better. When it comes to frozen and canned fruits and vegetables, the extra treatments can keep the plants in good nutritional shape compared to what might happen when fresh versions sit in your fridge.
As soon as its plucked, a vegetable or fruit starts losing its nutritional content. Being connected to a larger plant allows produce to keep drawing in new resources — once cut off, the fresh pickings turn stored fuel into energy. Moisture drains away, the food ...
