The vitamin C content of quick frozen green beans

Summary The effect of maturity, variety, post-harvest delay and various stages in processing, including cleaning, blanching and end-cooking, on the vitamin C content of quick frozen green beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) has been studied. The vitamin C content of eight varieties showed considerable variation but no correlation with maturity was observed. Post-harvest delay and processing caused a noticeable reduction in vitamin C content. The overall retention of vitamin C in both whole and sliced frozen beans was approximately 75%. After cooking, fresh manually sliced beans retained 59% of the original vitamin C content compared with 44% for the commercially frozen sliced beans.