Starches Demonstrate Advancements in Texture
by Donald E. Pszczola
A wide array of food and beverage prototypes from National Starch Food Innovation, Booth 4036, demonstrates how starch-based ingredients can help formulators capitalize on the newest food trends while achieving cost savings and process improvement. Each prototype area—bakery, dairy, beverage, and savory—has its own kiosk or kitchen for attendees to sample the concepts and learn more about the benefits of the ingredients they use.
At the bakery kiosk, a brownie made from a dry mix contains Homecraft Create 765, a specialty flour that can reduce fat content of indulgent baked goods while maintaining texture and sensory properties. Two types of gluten-free cookies—a crispy sugar and a chewy chocolate chip—are formulated with Homecraft Create gluten-free solutions. These ingredients (GF 10 and GF 20) can replace wheat flour while providing comparable texture profiles. Other baked goods available are fortified with resistant starch (Hi-maize) shown to have significant impact on satiety.
At the dairy kiosk, a creamy low-fat chipotle ranch sour cream dip is made with Precisa Cream 20 texturizing solution that replaces part of the cream without compromising on consumer appeal. Yogurts, including a gelatin-free one, are made with starch-based ingredients that provide preferred textures while helping to differentiate the product in the marketplace. A highlight at this kiosk is the company’s newest prototype, fromage frais, which brings a European flair—it is served with a “super fruit” topping and promises to take “permissible indulgence” to a new level. Ingredients that can play a key role in these dairy formulations include N-Dulge dairy texturizers, Nutriose soluble fiber, and Novation starches.
At the beverage kiosk, concepts include a fiber-fortified beverage, clear alcoholic beverage, and an ultra-clear beverage with flavor oils. A fortified water prototype combines the latest flavor trends with one full serving of fiber. It uses an all-natural emulsifier (Q-Naturale) derived from Quillaja trees and soluble fiber (Nutriose) in a surprisingly clear beverage. In an alcoholic beverage, Q-Naturale produces a finished product with higher clarity, enhanced flavor, increased stability, and minimal sediment. The emulsifier is also used in a beverage flavored with orange oil that contains no murk or turbidity clouds.
According to the company, the highlight of the overall booth is the savory demonstration kitchen where Research Chefs Association President Janet Carver and her Culinology team will be cooking morning and afternoon. A variety or recipes are incorporating Precisa Cling and Precisa Cream texture solutions which help formulators reduce tomato solids, oil, cream, and butter, while building back the consumer eating experience. Try, for example, a Memphis-style BBQ sauce which uses Precisa Cling 50 and Textaid modified starch to reduce the tomato solids and costs without sacrificing body, cling, and mouthfeel. Or check out a refreshing carrot ginger soup that shows what a rich, mouth-pleasing texture can be delivered by Precisa Cling 50. Or an almond-peppadew sambal, a South African dip and spread, that gets sheen, texture, clarity, and smoothness from Novation 5600, a cold-water-swelling food starch made from waxy maize.
All these prototypes demonstrate the exploration of texture in a cost-effective fashion. Enjoy your travels, especially the carrot ginger soup.