How to Use the Frozen vs Fresh Produce Calculator
"Frozen food has less nutrition than fresh" is a common assumption, but the reality depends heavily on how long the fresh version has been sitting around. This calculator lets you pick a produce type, enter how many days it's been since you bought the fresh version, and enter the per-100g price for both fresh and frozen — then it calculates the remaining vitamin C in each and the cost per milligram, showing which one is the better nutritional value.
Frozen fruits and vegetables are usually flash-frozen right after harvest, when nutrients are at their peak, so losses during freezing itself are minimal. Fresh produce, on the other hand, keeps losing heat- and time-sensitive nutrients like vitamin C the longer it sits in transit, on the shelf, and in your fridge. A few days after purchase, fresh produce can actually end up with less nutrition than the frozen version — so if you're not planning to eat it right away, frozen is a perfectly reasonable choice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Frozen produce is typically flash-frozen right after harvest, when nutrient levels are at their peak, so it can retain more vitamin C than fresh produce that has spent days in transit and storage.
Yes. Heat- and time-sensitive nutrients like vitamin C break down quickly the longer produce sits after harvest. Eating it within 2-3 days of purchase keeps nutrient loss to a minimum.