Buy Frozen Vegetables Instead of Canned

Awhile back, we reported on the cost of use concept in our dishwashing detergent article. While working on that, we began to be curious as to what other products might benefit from the same sort of analysis. One product that came to mind was vegetables. Specifically, we wondered how much actual food remains once you drain the water from a can of vegetables.

We thought it would be worth comparing the price per ounce of canned corn and of frozen corn once the water was drained. So we bought three different varieties of canned corn and three varieties of frozen corn. We allowed sufficient time for the frozen corn to thoroughly thaw. We then opened each package, one at a time and dumped the contents into a strainer. We allowed each to sit for ten minutes before weighing what was left. Here's what we found.

To start with, we needed to make at least one assumption in order to help make this math make a bit simpler. We assumed that the cost of keeping your corn in the freezer (which uses electricity) would have been used anyway for whatever other purposes even if you buy canned vegetables. If you would not use a freezer aside from keeping vegetables frozen, then you may want to add another layer of math to see if the cost of electricity that results from such a practice outweighs the savings outlined below.

One early surprise in our testing as that we found all of the sampled frozen corn packages actually contained more corn after draining than the packages stated. We sampled BirdsEye, Flav-R-Pac, and Freshlike brands with labels indicating a net weight of 16 ounces (or equivalent) each. After draining, we found that the least amount of corn contained in any of those bags was 16.4 ounces. The average for our frozen samples after draining was 16.83 ounces.

On the canned corn side of the equation, we had expected a significant decrease in weight once the water was drained. And our expectations were confirmed. We sampled Del Monte, Freshlike, and Green Giant brands of whole kernel sweet corn. Each can indicated a net weight of 15.25 ounces.

Before going further, it should be noted that we were surprised to find that the Freshlike can (and only that can) displayed an asterisk mark (*) next to the 15.25 oz net weight. We turned the can around until we found the corresponding fine print which stated that the corn in the can had weighed 9.5 ounces prior to adding the other ingredients (including water). Though few people probably stop to see what that asterisk is there to communicate, it was nice to know that the Freshlike brand actually went a step further than the others and at least provided that information for those looking for it.

Repeating the dump, drain and weigh exercise used on the frozen corn, we found that the most the canned contents weighed after draining was 9.9 ounces. The average for our canned samples after draining was 9.73 ounces.

Based on those figures, our analysis suggests that if you are to compare the unit cost of canned vegetable options with those of frozen vegetables, you must first multiply the Unit Price (or cost per ounce marked on the label) of canned corn by 1.53 in order to get an accurate cost comparison between canned and frozen corn.

If you are inclined to review the math involved, we provide the data collected from our test below:

Brand	Labeled Weight	Weight after Draining	Regular Price	Sale Price
Frozen	Avg: 16 oz	Avg: 16.83 oz	Avg: $1.50	Avg: $1.38
BirdsEye	16 oz	16.9 oz	$1.75	$1.50
Flav-R-Pac	16 oz	17.2 oz	$1.10
Freshlike	16 oz	16.4 oz	$1.65	$1.25
Canned	Avg: 15.25 oz	Avg: 9.733 oz	Avg: $1.02	Avg: $.60
Del Monte	15.25 oz	9.8 oz	$1.15
Freshlike	15.25 oz	9.9 oz	$.75	$.60
Green Giant	15.25 oz	9.5 oz	$1.15

Brand	Regular Unit Cost	Sale Unit Cost	Regular Cost per 4.40925 oz Serving	Sale Cost per 4.40925 oz Serving
Frozen	Avg: $.09	Avg: $.09	Avg: $.39	Avg: $.36
BirdsEye	$.109375	$.09375	$.46	$.39
Flav-R-Pac	$.06875		$.28
Freshlike	$.10312	$.07813	$.44	$.34
Canned	Avg: $.07	Avg: $.04	Avg: $.46	Avg: $.27
Del Monte	$.07540		$.52
Freshlike	$.04918	$.03934	$.33	$.27
Green Giant	$.07541		$.53

It should be noted that the regular prices shown above give the advantage to the frozen corn. That is the basis for the general recommendation here. However, the sale price of the Freshlike canned corn would make it the best option on our shopping trip. So a sale price can still overcome the inherent cost disadvantage of canned vegetables which is why the 1.53 multiplier is really the best method for finding the very best deal. In this case, the Freshlike canned corn sale unit price of $.039 multiplied by 1.53 equals $.06 which makes it a clear but narrow winner over the lowest priced frozen corn (Flav-R-Pac) with a regular unit price of $.069. Keep that calculator handy!

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