How do I get the best from tinned and frozen ingredients?

Which tinned and frozen items genuinely match or beat fresh, and how to use each so it does not taste tinned.

Difficulty: beginner
Time: 20 min
Read: 2 min

Short answer

Tinned tomatoes, pulses and fish and frozen peas, spinach and berries are all excellent and often better than tired fresh equivalents. The trick is cooking them properly rather than treating them as a compromise.

Some preserved ingredients are genuinely equal or superior to fresh, because they are processed at peak condition. Others are a poor substitute. Knowing which is which makes a store cupboard genuinely useful rather than a fallback.

What you'll need

Store cupboard (optional)
Freezer (optional)

Step by step

Trust tinned tomatoes.They are picked ripe and processed immediately, which is why they beat out-of-season fresh tomatoes for cooking. Whole plum tomatoes crushed by hand are generally better than chopped.
Use tinned pulses freely.Chickpeas, beans and lentils are nutritionally similar to home-cooked and vastly more convenient. Rinse them to remove the starchy brine unless a recipe wants it.
Keep the aquafaba from chickpeas.The liquid whips like egg white and works in meringues and mousses. It is genuinely useful rather than a novelty.
Use frozen peas, spinach and sweetcorn without hesitation.Frozen within hours of picking, so they often have more flavour and nutrition than fresh equivalents that have travelled for days.
Use frozen berries for cooking and smoothies.Excellent in bakes, compotes and smoothies, and far cheaper than fresh. They collapse when thawed, so they are less suited to eating raw.
Cook tinned and frozen things properly rather than just heating them.Tinned tomatoes need cooking out until they darken and the oil separates. Frozen vegetables want high dry heat rather than boiling.
Use tinned fish deliberately.Sardines, anchovies, mackerel and good tuna are excellent ingredients rather than emergency food. Anchovies in particular dissolve into sauces and add depth nobody identifies.
Know what does not work well.Tinned potatoes, tinned mushrooms and most frozen soft herbs are noticeably poorer. Frozen chopped onions and garlic are convenient but lack the flavour of fresh.

Tips

Freeze tomato purée in a tray by the tablespoon. It stops the classic problem of a tin going mouldy after using one spoonful.
Frozen chopped herbs in oil in an ice cube tray keep far better than dried and drop straight into a pan.
Check tinned tomato brands. The difference between a cheap and a good tin is unusually large for the price difference.

Common mistakes

Treating tinned tomatoes as inferior to fresh — For cooking, they are usually better — picked ripe and processed immediately, unlike out-of-season fresh tomatoes.
Boiling frozen vegetables — They are already blanched. Boiling waterlogs them. High dry heat — roasting or a hot pan — gives a far better result.
Not cooking tinned tomatoes out — Straight from the tin they taste raw and acidic. Cooking until they darken and the oil separates transforms them.

Questions people ask

Are frozen vegetables as good as fresh?

Often better. They are frozen within hours of picking, while fresh equivalents may have travelled for days. Peas, spinach and sweetcorn in particular are excellent frozen.

Which tinned foods are actually good?

Tomatoes, pulses, and fish such as sardines, anchovies and mackerel are all genuinely good ingredients. Tinned potatoes and mushrooms are noticeably poorer.