On the other hand, we buy frozen berries all the time, and this seems perfectly reasonable to me. Pick it when it’s ripe, and freeze it — it won’t be fresh, but at least it’ll have some flavor. It recently occurred to me, though, that I have no idea what the energy usage or environmental impact of keeping a pound of strawberries frozen for a year, as compared to shipping them fresh from Mexico in February, is. It seems perfectly possible that I’m pluming myself on eating low-impact, while actually doing more environmental damage. Anyone have any idea how the math works out on this one?
[From Unfogged]
The same question applies to seafood and fish. I suspected the frozen variety has lower costs that the out of season tran-shipped version, with the added benefit of better taste and texture. Similarly, those bagged salads look convenient, but they have kept at a constant temperature of 34° from picking, through trimming and prep and packaged, to shipping and storage. Better to buy whole heads and trim: compost the trimmings.