ABSTRACTEffects of freezing, thawing, cooking and drying on carotene retention of carrots, broccoli and spinach were evaluated. Relative differences in carotene retention among these vegetables were compared. Dehydration, regardless of drying method, significantly reduced carotene in these vegetables. Carotene contents of fresh, vacuum and microwave dried samples for carrots, broccoli and spinach were 989, 459, 368; 106, 43, 40; and 455, 325, 314 μg/g, respectively. Lag time after thawing decreased mean carotene of vegetables significantly in a quadratic manner. Degradation of carotene was severe 6 hr after thawing, Cooking did not affect carotene and cooked samples contained 2.0, 2.9, and 1.2 times more carotene than the respective dehydrated vegetables. Destruction of carotene was relatively lower when initial concentrations were low
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