Reaping a Rich Crop of Fruits and Vegetables
by Donald E. Pszczola
posted on June 7, 2009
Since this year’s IFT Annual Meeting & Food Expo® is in Anaheim, the land of sun, we can expect to see a rich crop of fruit and vegetable developments, just ripe for picking. These developments are especially appropriate for the fertile conditions created by AMFE’s scientific climate.
Let’s look at some of these emerging fruit and vegetable varieties and the functionality and health benefits they offer the food formulator:
● Exotic fruit varietals. New fruit varietals have been developed by New Zealand-based Plant & Food Research (formerly HortResearch). These include Karaka Black (photo, right), a varietal similar to a blackberry, and a new blueberry varietal. These new berries are being used to develop true-to-fruit flavors through a partnership with Blue Pacific Flavors, Booth 765. The flavors are marketed under the name hortRealFruit and are showcased in a variety of prototypes.
● Blueberry whoopie? Sounds like ecstasy. A whoopee pie—for those not familiar with the term—is a cake-like sandwich or, depending on your perspective, a sandwich-like cake. There are dozens of variations on its shape, flavors, and fillings, although the cake is generally dry with marshmallow as a popular filling. The U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council, Booth 1764, suggests that frozen blueberries would make for an ideal filling for this application, and representatives are eager to provide more information on the subject.
● New pomegranate-based inclusion. Pomegranate arils, the red kernels containing the juice and seed, are infused with fruit juice concentrate to achieve a moisture content of 12%, which is similar to that of raisins. The ingredient, developed by Stiebs Pomegranate Products, Booth 244, allows manufacturers of baked goods, snack foods, and cereals to add the antioxidant power of pomegranates to products and maintain real fruit identity. The shelf-stable product performs like raisins in doughs and batters, so manufacturers can use them with the same equipment and recipes that they currently employ.
● A berry newbie. The Maqui Berry, also known as the Chilean Wineberry, is a new superfruit noted for its antioxidant properties. The tiny purple berry is reported to have the highest ORAC Value of any of the superfruits, including açai, blueberry, cranberry, grape, guarana, mangosteen, noni, pomegranate, sea-buckthorn, and wolfberry. Ecuadorian Rainforest LLC, Booth 3506, has procured a reliable source of maqui berry from Chile.
● Vegetables leach less water. Vegetables that have had excess moisture removed are part of the Controlled Moisture™ Vegetables line from Gilroy Foods & Flavors, a ConAgra company, Booth 2337. These vegetables leach less water in finished food products.
● Base combines fruits and veggies. A new base from Grupo Altex, Booth 819, consists of finely chopped broccoli, citrus flavor, and DHA or L-carnitine. The broccoli-citrus base can provide nutritional benefits for use in yogurt and ice cream applications.
● Meats get a plum value. Dried plums—because of their composition of fiber, sorbitol, malic acid, and antioxidants—provide meat products with a number of functionality benefits. For example, they have been shown to improve flavor and texture, retain moisture, and extend shelf life. The non-characterizing flavor of dried plums helps to improve the savory taste of proteins while rounding out the flavors of herbs and spices. California Dried Plum Board, Booth 1459, showcases the ingredient in a number of products, including steaks, pork loins, and sausages.
● A cut above the rest. A new line, Chef-Ready Cuts, features cubed and diced fruits in ½-in and ⅜-in sizes. Available from Dole Packaged Foods Co., Booth 212, the fruits in this line include pineapple, mango, peach, and strawberry. They come packed in a resealable pouch so they are ready when you are.
● Hot raisins? Flavored, sugar-coated raisins and golden raisins are offered in hot cinnamon, strawberry, apple-cinnamon, peach, and lemon flavors. According to National Raisin Co., Booth 3500, customized flavors can be created to add an unexpected burst of flavor to many different applications.
● More than just a salad ingredient. Carrots, in concentrated and pureed forms, can be used to add flavor and color to a variety of products. Stop by at Grimmway Farms, Booth 3113, for a refreshing sample of carrot juice and learn how versatile carrots really are.