Comparison Essay Sample: Can Food vs. Fresh-cooked Food

Eating is a process that people do at least twice a day. We live on a planet where the variety of food is tremendous, and we have a broad range of choices to make daily. Foodstuffs existing right now are widely divided into two main classes; canned and fresh foods. These kinds of foods differ from each in three main ways, cost, nutrition, and flavor.

The most important difference between canned foods and fresh foods is in their flavor. Canned food often lacks clear taste and flavor due to chemical products that have been added to them to prolong the shelf life. On the other hand, freshly cooked food are usually full of taste and flavor since they maintain all of the minerals and vitamins and they are consumed within a short time. Any processing such as freezing, drying and canning can deteriorate the quality of flavor, nutrients, fiber and even natural color. A simple experiment is comparing frozen, canned and fresh carrots. The fresh carrots maintain a bright orange color with the hardness superior to the frozen or canned variety. In general, freshly cooked foods have an excellent taste and flavor as they are eaten without any added elements and close to the time of production.

Another contrast between these two types of foods is the cost. Canned foods are much more costly than the fresh foods. People pay for the canned foods because of its benefit of convenience; they can be bought almost anywhere, it does not require any preparation and can be used at any time. In contrast, fresh foods can be hard to find, and they need time to be prepared for eating. In some instances, buying raw, fresh ingredients is cheaper than selecting processed commodities. For example, raw brown rice is considerably less expensive compared to a smaller quantity of boxed mixed rice complete with dehydrated vegetables, sodium-rich seasoning, and white rice. Either way, the fact remains that processed foods including the canned ones are less expensive than most fresh foods. They are cheap because the government subsidizes the producers of wheat, meat, and corn, the main ingredients in most of those packaged foods.

Another significant difference between these two kinds of foods is nutrition. Fresh foods represent the foods that retain their natural composition, and they contain no preservatives or artificial additives. Moreover, these foods have gone through little or no processing at all. They contain water, amino acids, fatty acids, minerals, carbohydrates and much more. While the canned foods have their natural composition altered in some way. Canned foods can be extracted from whole foods such as sugars, oils, and extracted proteins. But usually, most of this food processing contains artificial or natural agents e.g. sugar, sodium, potassium benzoate, etc. to prevent spoiling and preserve freshness. Canned foods can be higher in salt, but of much of this can be rinsed in some way. According to a recent study, canned legumes are much more likely to be eaten than those brought dried. In fact, it is given that right canned product mix with some frozen veggies can produce several healthy meals without any fresh components. In general, while eating fresh foods gives us extracted lipids and unspoiled fatty acids which are dangerous free radicals in our bodies. Processed foods contain solid fats and added sugars which are known to excite our buds but are empty on calories.In conclusion, canned foods and fresh ones are different in their cost, flavor, and nutrition. But when it comes down to personal preferences, it depends on the amount of money a person wants to spend on their nutrition and the time each person has to prepare and cook the food. It is imperative for everyone to analyze their lifestyle and choose healthy foods appropriately.