Frozen Food Is Cool Again

Keen home cooks used to give the supermarket freezer aisle a wide berth, rejecting its bounty as poor quality and less nutritious than fresh. Garishly orange fish fingers, chicken nuggets, pizza and peas were the most exciting options you could find there. But not any more – freezer food is cool again

- Sue Quinn

If you haven’t done so in a while, direct your shopping trolley to the frozen section and you’ll

see, what was once a dowdy food category has been given a much-needed makeover. From avocado halves and chopped herbs to chef-quality meals and vegan options, freezer food has never been more appealing.

The favourites are still there, but reinvented. Take the humble fish finger: it’s now available coated in trendy panko breadcrumbs and tempura batter, not just the signature bright orange crumb. And dependable frozen peas are joined by cool veg like kale, sweet potato and beetroot. Some supermarkets now dedicate whole freezers to vegan ready-meals and ‘vegetable protein’ products, one of the fastest growing lines in frozen food. Choices include fishless ‘fish’ and faux-meat burgers that mimic the taste, flavour, colour and texture – even the ‘blood’ of beef.

You’ll find Instagrammable foods, too, like ‘nourish’ bowls brimming with so-called superfoods, smoothies and grains. People cutting down on carbohydrates can pick up frozen carrot and swede chips, and pizzas have been restyled with gluten-free veg crusts.

But healthy and gourmet ready-meals that replicate high-end restaurant dishes are at the forefront of this trend – UK consumers spent a cool £511 million on them last year, an increase of eight per cent. Options for children have also dramatically increased. Ella’s Kitchen, a manufacturer of organic baby food, now produces a range for ‘big kids’ that contains no added sugar, artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.