Thursday, July 24, 2008

Fresh versus Frozen

Do fresh vegetables and fruits contain more minerals and vitamins compared to frozen ones? Lately, there has been reports to state that frozen is just as good if not better than fresh because it is snap frozen quite soon after harvesting. Is it true or are the reports conducted by the frozen food companies? I don't know.

I normally buy fresh. But I saw these frozen blueberries and mixed berries at the supermarket for AUD$3.90 for 450 grams. Much cheaper than the fresh ones even when berries are in season. And it's winter so I cannot even get fresh blueberries.

So, I've made some blueberry muffins following the recipe on the packet. Normally, I reduce the sugar in recipes but not this time. And it turned out to be just the right sweetness for me. I omitted white chocolate bits as I did not have any in the pantry. I think if I added white chocolate bits then I might reduce the sugar. It turned out moist and soft. I might try with wholemeal flour next time.

Ingredients :
1 cup frozen berries
2 cups self raising flour
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white chocolate bits
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:
  1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celcius.
  2. Sift all dry ingredients into a large bowl.
  3. Stir in everything else.
  4. Spoon mixture into muffin trays.
  5. Depending on the size of the muffins, bake from 20-30 minutes.


4 comments:

fatboybakes said...

$3.90 a pack?!!! sacrilegous. its costs us like RM25 per pack, which is $8!!! i guess they do have to fly over....

Argus Lou said...

Yeah, the frozen berries here are about 30 percent cheaper than the fresh ones, too. About CHF5 (RM15) for a 400g box. I love to puree some in buttermilk for a healthful smoothie. Coincidentally I made blueberry cake last week.

I like the butter taste in muffins and cakes. Can I halve the veggie oil and sub with melted butter, you think?

Anonymous said...

FBB, It's like eating mangosteen here, AUD$1 per mangosteen. Imagine paying RM$3 per mangosteen!

Argus, smoothie sounds good. I was tempted to use melted butter too. I've made muffins with melted butter so I think equal amount can be used as substitude.

Argus Lou said...

Yes, I wouldn't pay high prices for exotic fruits and veggies (other than lemongrass and kaffirlime leaves!) here. Mangoes from Africa or Latin America can be quite reasonably priced here though. I'd rather enjoy the regional produce around here (not that the fresh ones are that much cheaper, however).

Will try it with melted butter and see how it turns out. Thanks.