Nutrient Loss Comparison Of Preserving Methods in Carrots, Peas, Potatoes and Apricots.

Nutrient Loss Comparison Between Preserving
Methods in Carrots, Peas, Potatoes and Apricots.

The following information comes from the US Department of Agriculture Research Services Division, Composition of Foods - Handbook No. 8, Analysis Charts Table 2 - Nutrients In The Edible Portion Of One Pound Of Food

                       Carrots                    Peas
Nutrient        Canned Frozen Dehydrated    Canned Frozen Dehydrated

Food Energy Cal   127    238    1,547         229    331     1,542
Protein gm        2.7    3.8        -        15.9   24.5     109.3
Fat gm             .9      -      5.9         1.4    1.4       5.9
Carbohydrates gm   29    115      367          56     58       367
Calcium           113      -    1,161          91     91       290
Phosphorus mgm     91      -    1,061         229    408     1,542
Iron mgm          3.2    4.9     27.2         7.7    9.1      23.1
Sodium mgm      1,070      -    1,216       1,070    505       159
Potassium mgm     544      -    8,818         435    680     4,559
Vitamin A mgm  45,360 49,000  453,600       2,040  3,080       540
Thiamine mgm      .11      -     1.39         .43   1.45      3.38
Riboflavin mgm    .11      -     1.36         .24    .45      1.31
Niacin mgm        1.6      -     13.7         3.9    9.3      13.7
Abscorbic Acid mgm  9      4       68          40     85         -


                      Potatoes                 Apricots
Nutrient        Canned Frozen Dehydrated    Canned Frozen Dehydrated

Food Energy Cal   200    331    1,651        245     445     1,506
Protein gm        5.0    5.4     32.7        4.5     3.2      25.4
Fat gm             .9      -      2.7         .9      .5       4.5
Carbohydrates gm   44     78      381         61     113       383
Calcium            18     45      159         77      45       390
Phosphorus mgm    136    136      785        104      86       631
Iron mgm          1.4    3.2      7.7        2.3     4.1      24.0
Sodium mgm          5     36      404          5      18       150
Potassium mgm   1,134    771    7,258      1,642   1,039     5,715
Vitamin A mgm       -      -        -      1,250   7,620    63,960
Thiamine mgm      .17    .32     1.05        .12     .09     Trace
Riboflavin mgm    .10    .05      .27        .15     .18       .36
Niacin mgm        2.9    2.9     24.4        2.5     3.5      16.2
Abscorbic Acid mgm 58     41      144         27      41        69

Notes:

Comparison of overall nutritional losses incurred in food preservation.
Canning - 60-80% High loss is due to high temperatures and foods immersed in water during period of preparation.
Frozen - 40-60% Moisture expands when frozen, causing food cells to rupture.
Dehydrated - 3-5% Due to low heat during the drying cycle and the gentle air flow, this translates to minimal loss.
Note from Al: One reason many of the numbers in the dehydrated column are so high is simply because the food in these columns are dehydrated. Generally, when the water is removed from fresh foods they decrease in weight 70-94% but according to the charts above, almost always the nutritional value in the food isn't destroyed by the drying process. Remove the water and the nutritional value goes up as a percentage of the reduced weight.

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