# Frozen vs canned
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-vs-canned/955523
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Tags:** food-cooking
**Created:** [December 4, 2021, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-vs-canned/955523 "2021-12-04T21:00:53Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2021, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-vs-canned/955523/1 "2021-12-04T21:00:54Z")
What is better canned vs frozen? And vice versa?
Peas and most veggies I’ve tried clearly seem to be better frozen, if you’re preparing them as they are. Are there dishes for which canned veggies work better?
---
### Author:  [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2021, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-vs-canned/955523/2 "2021-12-04T21:02:47Z")
Better canned:
Pineapple.
Tomatoes.
Beans.
Chickpeas.
Asparagus.
---
### Author:  [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2021, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-vs-canned/955523/3 "2021-12-04T21:07:19Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#):
>
> Are there dishes for which canned veggies work better?
Not for me.
There are no canned vegetables on my shelves except tomatoes (whole, sauce and paste). The canned whole ones are only stop gaps until tomato season rolls around again and I am able to can my own. I admit to being too lazy these days to can my own paste and sauce.
If I can’t get fresh, my preference is for frozen – or do without until the season rolls around again (corn, e.g.).
---
### Author:  [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2021, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-vs-canned/955523/4 "2021-12-04T21:15:29Z")
And pickles. They just don’t make them frozen, do they? That includes sauerkraut, kimchi, olives and capers.
---
### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2021, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-vs-canned/955523/5 "2021-12-04T21:19:45Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#):
>
> Are there dishes for which canned veggies work better?
Chickpeas. I’ve made Chana Masala many times. Using canned chickpeas it’s always turned out better.
---
### Author:  [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2021, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-vs-canned/955523/6 "2021-12-04T21:28:32Z")
Lentils are fine out of a can. I always have a can or two of baked beans around. In my cupboard at the moment I have two other varieties of Italian beans. Great to mash as a base for other things. Tinned beetroot is pretty common in Australian households. As was corn, both kernels and creamed, when I had young kids.
---
### Author:  [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2021, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-vs-canned/955523/7 "2021-12-04T22:07:31Z")
I haven’t seen **Frozen** and I think Pixar is still working on **Canned**.
(I’ll see myself out.)
---
### Author:  [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2021, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-vs-canned/955523/8 "2021-12-04T22:23:24Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#):
>
> (I’ll see myself out.)
(Kick)
---
### Author:  [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2021, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-vs-canned/955523/9 "2021-12-04T22:49:54Z")
Oh, I just realized this thread is not just about vegetables! So tuna, anchovies, sardines, corned beef and caviar must be mentioned.
Or is it? Then I’ll take that back. But it is not clear from the OP, at least not to me 🤭 (I have not found any can emoji).
---
### Author:  [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2021, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-vs-canned/955523/10 "2021-12-04T22:50:38Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#):
>
> (Kick)
It’s a fair cop.
---
### Author:  [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2021, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-vs-canned/955523/11 "2021-12-04T23:05:31Z")
Any type of food. I’ve never had frozen cooked tuna, though, so I’m not sure how that compares to canned.
---
### Author:  [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2021, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-vs-canned/955523/12 "2021-12-04T23:12:15Z")
I don’t know in the USA, but in Spain sushi, i.e. raw tuna, has to be frozen by law to -20°C (-4°F) for a week to kill the [anisakis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anisakis) bug to avoid [anaphylactic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaphylaxis) reactions. Therefore I guess you have eaten frozen tuna. Maybe that was not a good example. But caviar? Sure. Better canned.
---
### Author:  [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2021, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-vs-canned/955523/13 "2021-12-04T23:19:13Z")
Better canned (_That haven’t been mentioned so far_)
Hominy
Baked beans
Better Frozen (_As above_)
Chicken
Just as good either way (_depending on brand_)
Artichoke Hearts
Roasted Chiles
---
### Author:  [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2021, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-vs-canned/955523/14 "2021-12-04T23:30:26Z")
What I buy canned or jarred:
Chickpeas and black beans, because they take so long to cook from dried. Tomatoes in variety. Tuna. Olives. Artichoke hearts. Kippered herring. Sour pie cherries. I think that may be it. I buy sauerkraut fresh here, there’s several local micro-fermenteries.
Everything else frozen or fresh.
When I was a kid I used to eat frozen-in-the-can peaches in summer. Mmm!
---
### Author:  [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2021, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-vs-canned/955523/15 "2021-12-04T23:31:26Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#):
>
> Just as good either way ( _depending on brand_ )
>
> Artichoke Hearts
There I disagree: both are bad compared to the fresh produce. Something you have to take fresh.
Things you cannot freeze at all (and I have tried!): potatoes and eggs. Neither raw nor pre-cooked.
---
### Author:  [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2021, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-vs-canned/955523/16 "2021-12-04T23:47:33Z")
@Pardel-Lux, I agree that they are both not even in the ballpark of fresh, just that to me there isn’t a huge difference between the final quality of, say, Trader Joe’s frozen artichoke hearts and their canned variety. Both are meh at best, compared to fresh, but one isn’t really better than the other, although some options work better for different cooking methods than others.
---
### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2021, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-vs-canned/955523/17 "2021-12-04T23:48:25Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#):
>
> So tuna, anchovies, sardines, corned beef and caviar must be mentioned.
I had sardines in a Moroccan Restaurant. Two 8 inch fish served on a plate. They were scrumptious.
---
### Author:  [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2021, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-vs-canned/955523/18 "2021-12-04T23:51:42Z")
Please help a non native anglophile: does scrumptious mean they were cromulent in taste?
---
### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2021, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-vs-canned/955523/19 "2021-12-05T00:02:58Z")
Scrumptious is much better than cromulent.
And fresh is almost always best of all, but Costco has a line of frozen green beans that it’s hard to tell the difference from picked-that-morning fresh.
---
### Author:  [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2021, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-vs-canned/955523/20 "2021-12-05T00:11:40Z")
Was thinking through the list, and I also think I have to disagree with @Pardel-Lux on one of his entries.
Note, this is not saying they are wrong, but a difference of opinion based on the brands I’ve had.
Frozen Asparagus is better than Canned Asparagus, with Jarred being a possible outlier due to huge levels of quality difference.
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-vs-canned/955523.md?page=2)