Did you ever wonder why some plants survive a hard frost without a problem? A frost kicks up the sugar production. Sugar acts like an anti-freeze, interfering with ice crystal formation which pierces cells and destroys plant. From our perspective,  the extra sugar makes the fruits and vegetables taste better.

Kale

Kale is one the few greens that can survive a hard frost and taste better after this “catastrophic” weather event. In areas where kale overwinters (Zone 7 and warmer), you can pick frozen kale leaves all winter long.

Beets

Every beet farmer knows this: beets harvested after a hard frost are worth more than beets harvested pre-frost. It’s all about the sugar!

Carrots

Who doesn’t like a sweet carrot? Wait until after a hard frost and those carrots will taste extra sweet! Harvest all the carrots before the ground freezes solid otherwise you won’t be able to get to them until spring.

Grapes

Can anyone say ice wine?

In this case, it’s more than a light frost. The temperatures need to reach minus 8 degree Celsius (17 degree Fahrenheit) before the grapes are harvested for ice wine. Freezing concentrates the sugars in the grape, which when pressed produces a smaller amount of more concentrated, very sweet wine.

And these are only a small sample of fruits and vegetables whose flavours are frost enhanced. If you a gardener and a foodie, as I am, I bet you won’t view frost quite the same way again.