Frozen food comes out on top in fresh taste test

Even those with sophisticated palates can't tell the difference between fresh and frozen food, as new research carried out on top chefs has confirmed.

The study, commissioned by the British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF) found that the taste and texture of frozen foods is as good as, and sometimes superior to, fresh.

The Manchester Food Research Centre (MFRC) asked 32 chefs from leading bistros, gastro pubs, restaurants and hotels in the North West, to blind taste samples of matching fresh and frozen as part of the experiment.

The samples of fresh and frozen wholemeal bloomer, puff pastry, blueberries, potato mash, spinach, duck breasts, pork and leek sausages and tuna steaks were served in random order and then scored for qualities including texture, consistency, saltiness, sweetness, acidity and appearance.

Their experiment found no difference in how the chefs rated the samples of bread, duck breast, potato mash and spinach. However the frozen sausages, puff pastry and tuna scored slightly higher than the fresh. But fresh blueberries were rated as significantly better.

Colin Rodgers, technical project manager at the MFRC said: "Oftentimes the quality of the frozen product achieved a higher overall rating than the 'fresh'. This indicates that although individual attributes may vary, there is little difference between the products."

Brian Young, director general of the (BFFF) said: "This research proves that - contrary to the belief of many chefs - the taste and texture of frozen just as good as 'fresh'.

The research forms part of the BFFF's Profiting from Frozen Food campaign which wants to show that buying frozen saves money.