The second that Ina Garten speaks, I’m paying attention. And if she’s spilling tips on how to be a better home cook, then you can bet I’m taking notes. On the latest episode of Your Mama’s Kitchen, the podcast where acclaimed journalist Michele Norris interviews influential people about how food has shaped their lives, the Barefoot Contessa did just that.
The cookbook author and Food Network star sat down to talk about her childhood, which as she details in her recent memoir — Be Ready When the Luck Happens — wasn’t always filled with happy food memories. Garten explains that “My momma’s kitchen isn’t anywhere I’d like to be. I would say my mother was austere, cold, didn’t take pleasure in things, cooked for nutrition more than pleasure or sharing food.”
Although she grew up in a kitchen that she wouldn’t describe as welcoming or delicious — Garten notes that her mother sent her to school with sardine sandwiches, and there was no butter in their household — there’s one family dish she still remembers fondly. The Barefoot Contessa recalls that one of the meals she’s made the most, and something her mother cooked for her while growing up, is a simple parmesan-coated chicken cutlet.
The cutlet itself is straight forward, and it’s hard to imagine someone who wouldn’t love a crispy, cheesy pan-fried piece of chicken. But what Ina Garten didn’t enjoy as much is what her mother typically served alongside it: canned peas. This detail launches Garten and Norris into a discussion of the merits (and detriments) of convenient vegetable options, with some insights every home cook should keep in mind.
Why Ina Garten isn’t a big fan of canned vegetables
In spite of her childhood connection to tinned peas, the Barefoot Contessa says “Canned vegetables… they have no texture, no flavor.” If you’ve ever noticed the overly soft texture of canned vegetables too, there’s a reason for that. To properly preserve canned produce and kill any harmful bacteria, the vegetables and their containers are exposed to very hot temperatures.
This heat effectively cooks the veggies, and some are even cooked before being put in the can. However, more delicate produce like asparagus, peas, or green beans can easily overcook when heated too much, which explains why they may have a mushy texture after being canned. Once sealed inside the can, vegetables are kept in a liquid mixture that typically includes water, salt, and sugar. Sitting in liquid for so long can further contribute to their off-putting texture and alter their flavor.
Frozen is completely fine
Now for the good news. If you need an affordable form of produce that will last longer than a week, Ina Garten is all in on frozen vegetables, saying that “There [are] some some frozen vegetables that are actually perfectly delicious.”
Some naysayers claim that frozen fruits and vegetables don’t have as many nutrients as their fresh counterparts, but this is a myth. Research published by the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry confirms that frozen and fresh vegetables have comparable amounts of vitamins (with the small exception of carotene, which tends to be lower in frozen vegetables). Not only that, but frozen vegetables sometimes have more vitamins than fresh ones.
Frozen vs Fresh: What You Need to Know
- Vegetables start to lose some of their nutrients as soon as they’re picked.
- Freezing vegetables immediately after harvesting will dramatically slow down the rate at which they lose their nutrients.
- Frozen vegetables have just as much, if not more, nutrient density as fresh ones.
- Look for frozen vegetables that have labels such as “quickly frozen,” “frozen fresh,” or “flash frozen.”
- Water within cell walls expands as vegetables freeze, causing a change in texture.
As soon as fruits and vegetables are harvested, they start to lose some of their nutrients. (For example, as the Chicago Tribune has previously reported, spinach can lose up to 90% of its Vitamin C within just one day of being harvested.) But if the produce is frozen as soon as it has been picked, then this fresh nutrient density is preserved for a much longer time. To ensure your vegetables were frozen when fresh, look for labels like “quickly frozen,” “frozen fresh,” or “flash frozen.”
Just because vegetables don’t have one of these labels doesn’t mean they weren’t quickly frozen, but it is a helpful indicator that they were frozen at peak freshness. Regardless, you’ll always want to ensure that you’re buying frozen vegetables with no added ingredients like salt or preservatives.
Not every vegetable is as good after freezing
Although they will retain their nutrients, not all frozen vegetables are ideal for cooking. Frozen produce will have a slight change in texture once it’s thawed, because the water inside of its cell walls expands as it freezes, causing some breakdown. As Ina points out, tender stalks of asparagus are an item that doesn’t hold up as well post freezing.
So which ones should you buy? The Barefoot Contessa calls out two vegetables that she recommends buying frozen, saying “For my beef stew, I definitely use frozen peas, and frozen pearl onions… They’re great.” Adding on to Garten’s ideas, Norris also suggests “frozen okra. I make gumbo. There’s gumbo season in my house, and okra is hard to deal with. Frozen okra is just fine.”
These suggestions all have one thing in common: they’re often used in soups and stews. If you’re going to be simmering a vegetable in liquid, then using a previously-frozen option matters a lot less. These recommendations are also vegetables that are fairly difficult to prepare — fresh peas are only available for a brief season and require shelling, while pearl onions are tiny and frustrating to peel — so leveraging a frozen option will save you a lot of time.
But you don’t have to limit yourself to just these ideas. Making a chicken pot pie? Go ahead and throw in some frozen carrots. Frozen fruit is better for smoothies anyways, because it eliminates the need for ice cubes that turn into icy bits and pieces. And if you’re sautéing spinach, frozen will do just fine. Plus, you don’t want to miss out on all that vitamin C.
