Frozen foods are a good way to maintain a balanced diet and eat vegetables regularly. Whether it is peas, green beans, carrots or spinach, frozen vegetables are excellent for your health and retain most of their nutrients.
They also prevent waste, since you can make only the amount you need, and save yourself the chore of peeling the vegetables.
On the other hand, these vegetables can sometimes be too soft, bland or overcooked if they are not properly prepared.
Here are five mistakes you are probably making while cooking frozen vegetables.
Not defrosting the vegetables
Learn to defrost vegetables when you bring them out. A cold vegetable will taste really bad. It is best desired when soft to allow heat to penetrate easily.
To defrost your vegetables, you should plan and decide if you are going to be eating vegetables at dinner or as your break snacks.
Doing this will help you remove the vegetables some minutes before the actual time of cooking.
Forgetting to adjust cook time
Frozen vegetables often cook more quickly than their fresh counterparts. Frozen broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots, for example, are not as firm as fresh, so you can cut the cooking time in half if you’re roasting or stir-frying.
If you are adding frozen vegetables to soups, stir them in during the last few minutes of cooking.
If the texture of the frozen vegetable is key to the dish, for example, you are making a stir-fry, not a puréed soup, be mindful that it may cook more quickly than the recipe states.
Cooking without seasoning
Some frozen vegetables taste bland. This is due to the lack of natural sweetness and crunchiness that the fresh veggies contain.
Adding extra flavour and seasoning may help to enhance the overall taste of the dish. Next time, sprinkle some salt, pepper, dry herbs, or even a dash of lemon juice to make them tasty.
Storing leftover vegetables
Not only can you cook frozen vegetables, but you should also know how to store leftover vegetables properly. If you cook frozen vegetables and they are left over, let them cool down to room temperature first.
After that store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They can later be reheated and used.
Using frozen veggies in the wrong dishes
The best dishes for frozen veggies are casseroles, soups, and other multi-ingredient dishes that tend to disguise the texture of the frozen vegetables.
Water-based dishes like stews are fairly forgiving of different textures but other dishes may depend on a consistent texture among a variety of ingredients. Always choose between frozen or fresh, based on the context of the dish.