You’ll be glad to know that freezing does not significantly lower the nutritional value of fruit. In fact, it might even preserve some of the water-soluble vitamins. So, the fruit you add to your Blender Boyz smoothie mixes may be just as good as fresh. When fresh fruit goes through an industrial freezing process, or when you put it into your home freezer, decay and ripening processes slow down dramatically. Here’s why . . .
Because regional crops are not confined to small areas or narrow growing seasons, fruits are more readily available. Also, shipping of flash-frozen fruits is less expensive and easier for processing companies and growers alike, putting fruit within reach of a broader economic range. Far from lowering nutrient value, flash-freezing actually preserves nutrition.
B-complex vitamins, including folic acid, niacin, thiamin and riboflavin, dissolve readily in water. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is also water-soluble. When fruits and foods rich in these vitamins are soaked or boiled, much of the nutritional content ends up in the water. Also, over time, water-soluble vitamins diminish, especially in humidity, so fruits that need to travel long distances to your grocery store may have a lower content of C and B-complex vitamins. This can affect the nutritional value in your smoothie mixes.
The process of flash-freezing involves rapidly lowering the temperature of freshly harvested produce to maintain it at its peak ripeness. Here’s a tip for you at home: when making frozen beverages or adding fruit to your Blender Boyz smoothie mixes, don’t thaw the fruit first. This way, you get to preserve as many of the water-soluble nutrients as possible.