15 things chefs always buy frozen

The best frozen foods are just as much a godsend for professional chefs as they are for home cooks. Trust me – I’ve been cooking professionally since 2002, I’ve written multiple cookbooks and my freezer is perpetually packed to the gills with more than just ice cream. (Though there is a lot of ice cream.)

And here’s a food fact you may not realise: just because a food is frozen doesn’t mean it’s not as good as one that’s fresh. The method for freezing food industrially is far different from how you freeze food at home, so you don’t have to worry about things like freezer burn. Special flash-freezing technology allows fruits and vegetables to be ‘suspended in time’ at peak freshness in mere minutes, or even seconds. This not only preserves flavour and texture but nutrients as well, making some frozen foods healthier than fresh.

There are many reasons for chefs to turn to the best frozen foods, both at home and on the job, from saving time and kitchen space to simply sourcing a better product. (No one wants to use inferior ingredients when making their best recipes!) Here are some chef picks for the best frozen foods you’ll want to stock up on.

The season for fresh berries is short, which is why frozen berries are such a good buy. Not only are they preserved at the peak of freshness, but they also can be easier to cook with in their frozen state. “I bake with frozen berries because they are so easy to add to batters without getting mushy,” says chef, Megan Moore. “You do need to fold in the berries directly from the freezer or they get wet, but the flavour and sweetness are peak season. They are also consistently sized, so they are really perfect for things like muffins, quick breads or pancakes.”

Just be aware that while freezing preserves the flavour of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries, it deteriorates their structural integrity. When water freezes into jagged ice crystals, it shreds their delicate cellular structures like tissue paper. So if you’re buying berries to use whole, like for decorating cakes or tarts, it’s best to spring for fresh.

When it comes to buying prawns, frozen almost always beats fresh. Unless you live in a coastal prawning community where you’re able to buy your crustaceans directly from the docks, nearly all the prawns you’ve ever encountered have been individually quick-frozen (IQF) directly on the boat shortly after being caught. Fresh raw prawns quickly degrade in quality as they sit, so by running them through a blast chiller almost immediately, their flavour, texture and freshness are preserved.

As for the ‘fresh’ prawns you see on ice at fish counter? They’re more than likely previously frozen prawns that have been fully thawed. In some cases, thawed prawns may be treated with chemicals like sodium tripolyphosphate, which causes them to absorb water so they look plumper and fresher – and so they will weigh more when put on the pricing scale. One word of caution: according to chef, Cynthia Valles, you should always check the ingredients list when buying frozen prawns. The only thing that should be listed there is (of course) ‘prawns’.

Just like prawns, much of the fish you’ll find at the seafood counter isn’t as ‘fresh’ as you think. “Many popular seafood picks like scallops, Chilean sea bass, tuna and swordfish are all flash-frozen on the boat, so I always buy them frozen instead of thawed out at the fish counter,” says Moore. “Also, you never want to double-freeze fish, because the texture changes and it becomes gluey. Buying frozen fish means you don’t need to cook it immediately. If you’re not planning to prepare your fish the same day you bring it home from the market, you’re better off buying it frozen.”

Another major plus: buying frozen is a good way to support sustainable-fishing practices. Many frozen fish products come from fisheries that follow strict sustainability guidelines to maintain the fish population and reduce the impact on marine ecosystems. Look for frozen fish with certification labels, such as the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), so you can be sure they were sourced from sustainable fisheries or responsible aquaculture operations.

Don’t miss these ways you’ve been cooking fish completely wrong.

We all know fast-food chains use frozen French fries, but if you peek into most restaurant kitchens, you’ll find many chefs do too! Making French fries from scratch is a lengthy process. First, potatoes need to be cut and soaked in water to remove excess starch. Next, they’re fried (or blanched) for a few minutes in 177-degree oil, which cooks the potatoes through and leaves them pillowy soft. After that, they’re fried once more in oil that’s 177 degrees, which gives them their crispy, golden-brown exterior. Frozen French fries have already been pre-cooked, so when it’s time to eat, all that needs to be done is that quick final fry.

Just like bulk buyers, chefs like purchasing large quantities of meat to save money. When it comes to steaks and chops, they call the butcher, but for cheaper, braise-able cuts of meat like pork shoulder or beef brisket, it’s fine to go frozen. In fact, it can even have some benefits beyond longer storage. As the water in meat freezes, it expands, solidifying into ice crystals with jagged edges that break down muscle and connective tissues. This can help tenderise tough cuts of meat that require low and slow cooking if they’re going to stand a chance of being chewable.

Plus, of course, you’ll have these ingredients on hand when you need them. “I prefer to buy certain meats frozen versus fresh because I don’t know if I’ll use it before it expires,” says chef, Ciro Coppola. “I’m also not sure how long food has been sitting in the food company warehouse.”

Check out these tricks to get cheap meat to taste expensive.

Believe it or not, corn is a food that’s quite often better frozen than fresh. That’s because corn loses flavour and nutrients as it sits at room temperature. So depending on whether it’s in season, by the time it’s gone from the farm to the market to your kitchen, fresh corn might pale in comparison to the frozen kind.

“I love frozen corn because it’s always sweet and already cleaned,” says Moore. “It’s frozen so quickly, it isn’t starchy. I make pantry dinners like a canned black bean and frozen corn salad with a fresh lime pimentón vinaigrette. Add some fresh elements like a little red onion and chopped red bell pepper, and it tastes like you spent all day cooking! I always make a big batch – it tastes even better the next day, so it’s great for meal prep and make-ahead lunches.”

Making dumplings from scratch is something many chefs would rather do at work than at home. Not only that, but air-frying a bag of frozen dumplings is a lot faster than takeout! “I use frozen dumplings to make a chicken soup with bok choy, frozen broccoli and ginger,” says Moore. “Dress the bowls with Sriracha, soy sauce and sesame oil. Everyone loves them! It’s faster than takeout and really delicious if you have a cold.” Having these items on hand will also help you when meal planning – and when you forget to figure out your menu for the week.

Don’t miss this recipe for pleated seafood dumplings.

You’ll rarely, if ever, find fresh peas at the supermarket, nor would you want to. These delicate pulses have a short shelf life once picked, so by flash-freezing peas shortly after harvesting, they can make it to market without losing any quality.

“Frozen peas are one of the rare things that generally taste better than fresh,” says Moore. “They are so sweet and plump. I love adding them to pastas, stir fries and pot pies. They are also amazing as a simple salad when thawed, tossed with lemon zest, parmesan and olive oil, and served cold.”

It’s rare that you’ll find a chef or baker who makes their own paper-thin filo pastry from scratch. “I love filo, and it’s super easy to use,” says Moore. “Thaw it slowly in the refrigerator or on the counter – the thin sheets will crumble if it’s not thawed correctly and will dry out if you don’t keep the pastry covered while not actively working with it. But as long as your ingredients and tools are ready to go, building a spanakopita from scratch can be done in about 30 minutes. You can use frozen filo to make all sorts of sweet and savoury dishes, and the thin layers of crispy pastry are always impressive.”

Read on for some amazing pastry-making tips.