TO A sophisticated diner, they are the sign of a lazy chef, but now some of Britain’s leading restaurateurs are championing the merits of frozen vegetables.

They are choosing sprouts, peas and other vegetables from the freezer and shunning fresh ones in the belief they are tastier and nutritionally superior.

Marco Pierre White, proprietor of restaurants such as L’Escargot in London, has even recommended that families eat brussels sprouts cooked from frozen with their turkey on Christmas Day. He pan-fries them in butter from the freezer.

White said: “If I buy so-called fresh sprouts, how do I know they’re fresh? I’ve got no idea when they were picked – it could have been a week ago. But I know frozen sprouts have been picked and frozen within a few hours. They are fresher than what is described as ‘fresh’.

“Are fresh peas nicer than frozen ones? On the whole, they’re not. Fresh peas work when you go into your back garden, pick them, shell them and cook them. They’re sweet. But if you buy what are described as fresh peas, they could have been picked five days earlier and taste bitter.”

Heston Blumenthal, the chef who employs the techniques of the laboratory for his culinary creations, uses frozen peas for pea and ham soup at the Hinds Head pub next to his Fat Duck restaurant in Bray, Berkshire. Allegra McEvedy prefers to use frozen peas and broad beans at her Leon chain of healthy fast-food restaurants in London.

As soon as vegetables are picked they start to lose vitamin C and vital nutrients. Garden peas lose 60% of their sweetness in the first 24 hours. Other vegetables can lose up to half their vitamins within seven days of being harvested.

Out-of-season vegetables are grown thousands of miles away and spend days or even weeks in storage. Then they can be on supermarket shelves for several days before reaching the table.

By contrast, most frozen fruit and vegetables are processed on the day they are picked and before vitamins have had time to be destroyed. Freezing them helps to preserve nutrients. Once they are frozen, the loss of vitamin C is much slower than in fresh vegetables.

Birds Eye freezes 50,000 tons of British peas every summer. It boasts that no more than two and a half hours elapse between harvesting and freezing.

Other prominent chefs have also come out in favour of frozen vegetables. Delia Smith, who has bought sprouts still on their stalks for her own Christmas lunch, said she would also try pan-frying them from frozen.

“I can’t wait to try it,” she said. “Freezing is going to prove a lot more popular in future. What’s easier than hiking the sprouts out of the freezer and throwing them into a pan?”

Blumenthal has a similar view on sprouts. “Sprouts have to be frozen properly or extremely fresh,” he said. “Another way to cook them is in the microwave.”

McEvedy said: “There is definitely something in what Marco says. The word ‘fresh’ has become a cliche for everybody trying to jump on the healthier-eating bandwagon.”

Scientists agree. James Wong, an ethnobotanist at Botanic Gardens Conservation International, a consultancy, said: “Supermarkets fly in peas from Guatemala and mangetout and asparagus from Thailand. But if they are transported for too long the nutrients start to break down. It is often better to use frozen instead.

“Brussels sprouts are grown in the UK at this time of the year so the time from the ground to the plate should be much less. But if the cells are allowed to break down it can make them bitter and difficult to digest.”

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