Frozen vs Fresh Berries

(Danielle) #1

I am confused. I have been enjoying blackberries with heavy cream as part of my menu. Last month, fresh blackberries were on sale, so I bought those. CarbManager says they are 3g net carbs for 1/2 cup. This month, the fresh ones are expensive, but the frozen ones are on sale. I check the bag - no added sugar, the only ingredient is blackberries, but 1/2 cup is 10g of net carbs!

Can anyone explain this to me? Why does 1/2 cup of frozen blackberries have 7g more carbs than 1/2 cup of fresh blackberries???

#2

For me, the frozen tend to be much more densely packed, but I wouldn’t think it would make that much of a difference.

But even on the USDA database, the numbers are strange:

https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/09042
https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/09048

A cup of each weighs about the same, but the nutritional amounts vary quite a bit, especially the sugars.

(Danielle) #3

I actually counted the number of blackberries in a fresh vs frozen portion (1/2 cup). On average, it’s about ten in both cases.

I find it difficult to believe that one frozen blackberry had 1g of carbs, but a fresh blackberry has about a third of that!

(Carl Keller) #4

cronometer.com says

1 cup blackberries, frozen, unsweetened = 15.9 net carbs
1 cup blackberries, raw = 6.1 net carbs

The only thing that I can think of is that since frozen berries are frozen at peak ripeness they have more natural sugars than the ones you get at the store which are slightly underripe? I’m only guessing.

(bulkbiker) #5

This is from the tables that the UK government and UK supermarkets use

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That is per 100g

#6

Because most carb-counting apps get their data from the USDA Food Composition Database, and the accuracy of the USDA FCD is notoriously [spoiler]shit[/spoiler]?

There is negligible macronutrient difference between fresh and frozen - you just go ahead and have whatever’s most convenient to you.