Safal Frozen Mixed Vegetables Review – Fresh & Crunchy

In the battle of fresh vs frozen, fresh always wins. Well, almost. But before you shut down the idea of using frozen veggies, like most of us, here’s what you need to know. Some studies suggest that frozen vegetables retain their nutrients as much as fresh ones. And of course, they are extremely convenient. 

We tested a bag of frozen vegetables by Safal in our review lab using two widely-cooked Indian recipes – mixed vegetables and vegetable biryani. The results indicated freshness and crunch. What else did we find out? Read the entire Safal Frozen Mixed Vegetables review. 

All that you need to know about Safal Frozen Mixed Vegetables – 

What were we looking for? We were looking for a mixed bag of crunchy, vibrant-looking vegetables that tasted fresh.

Our review parameters to test the Safal Frozen Mixed Vegetables are as follows – 

1. Taste

Individually, how fresh do the vegetables taste? Is their flavor retained? Sweet peas and carrots or do these taste stale?

2. Texture 

A lot of people have experienced and complained that frozen vegetables become watery and limp after cooking. This is because frozen vegetables have a higher water content than fresh produce as they are frozen right after harvesting.

Moreover, the method of cooking you choose also determines the texture of the vegetables. For example – these vegetables are blanched before freezing, so boiling them for long will change the texture entirely. And freezing them after thawing would do the same. So depending on the recipe, frozen vegetables can be thawed before adding to a recipe or dipped in tepid water for a few minutes before adding to the pan.

Wilted, soft, mushy, limp or crunchy and fresh? Do the vegetables retain a certain bite after cooking? 

3. Appearance 

How colorful and vibrant do the vegetables look? Do they look fresh and pleasing? Any wilted, brown-black chunks? Are they cut evenly or is there a huge difference in the size of the vegetables?

4. Freshness & Quality

The taste, texture and appearance together are indicators of freshness and quality. 

As per the pack, Safal’s vegetables are frozen by using IQ technique (Individual Quick Freezing) where each and every piece is frozen individually. In this process, the cells do not rupture or damage, thus preserving the natural nutrition and flavor of the vegetables.

5. Others

Ingredients

We checked for the combination of vegetables used along with any added preservatives, sugar or salt.

Price

A 500 gm bag is priced at Rs 70/-. Is this value for money? 

Packaging

How well are these packed? Does that help retain freshness for longer? 

Shelf life

These have a shelf life of 12 months. Is that a duration recommended for consuming frozen vegetables? 

Price and packaging – A 500 gm bag of veggies is priced at Rs 70/-. The vegetables come in a plastic pouch which is not resealable. Once opened, make sure you seal it properly before storing it in the freezer.

Ingredients – No preservatives, salt or sugar here. Just four vegetables in mixed quantities including peas, carrots, green beans and cauliflower. 

Appearance – The vegetables have vibrant colors and look fresh. They are not wilted. Orange colored carrots, green peas and beans along with off-white cauliflower florets. The beans and carrots are cut uniformly. The size of the cauliflower florets seem larger in comparison, which may impact the overall cooking time. But more on that ahead. 

Our experience – These are pre-chopped vegetables, so definitely convenient. It saves us time and effort that goes into basic meal prep, i.e washing, peeling and chopping. We made a classic onion-tomato based mixed vegetable and a homestyle biryani using the ITC Master Chef Vegetable Biryani Paste. During both our cooking experiences, we noticed that the vegetables cook fast and need not be pre-cooked/boiled before they are added to the gravy. The vegetables cook in the gravy itself. So these are time-saving through and through. 

Keeping in mind the fresh flavor of the vegetables, these can be used to make simple continental dishes like baked vegetables or cutlets.

Taste and texture – Fresh! The carrots and peas are sweet, the beans are juicy and the cauliflower tastes mild. During our testing we did not miss the taste of fresh vegetables, as these taste just like that. The carrots and beans are not stringy, and have a crunchy bite. The cauliflower, even though larger in comparison, cooks well and has that soft, firm bite. Although peas tend to get mushy too quickly, that wasn’t the case here. The sweet-tasting peas retained their natural bite.

Here are some interesting FAQs on Safal Frozen Mixed Vegetables.

In conclusion, the frozen vegetables by Safal look vibrant and retain their texture and flavor. They cut down on effort and time required during meal prep.

Have you used frozen vegetables to make everyday meals? If yes, how was your experience?

Our reviews are unbiased and all samples used during the reviews were paid for by us. Read our entire ethics statement here.