Feel the flavour
Flavours of the future won’t just be tasted but will be felt. The food market is really pushing the boundaries with development of new flavours and their delivery for example, Prosecco crisps with a prosecco flavour but also a fizzing in mouth experience.
But also expect to see more flavours that give kokumi, or ‘mouthfullness’.
‘Umami’ and mouthfeel or fullness has become a lot understood over recent years, as a result we are seeing more seaweed being used. However, it also delivers rich salty notes and is a healthy ingredient. Kokumi is only just starting to be understood and we will see more of this in the future.
Far-flung and exotic flavours
Opportunities to travel to increasingly far-flung and exotic destinations is still fuelling consumer desire to try new and unusual tastes.
There are lots of exciting trends inspired by tastes from all over the world and finding their way into restaurants and the wider food industry in Europe.
Food trend inspiration will continue to be found in South America thanks to this summer’s Olympic Games.
But we also have our eyes on Middle Eastern and African cuisines. Their popularity is being driven particularly by celebrity chefs (on the television and in the press) and growing numbers of restaurants specialising in flavours from these regions. Moroccan and Persian-inspired cuisines are also receiving a lot of attention, with a particular focus on Lebanese and Turkish flavours.
Adventurous Millennials
Young Millennials continue to be the key consumer group to target for testing out new flavours and are a highly attractive target group for many food and beverage manufacturers as they are open to try new flavours, be it for curiosity or for positioning themselves ‘in the know’ of new trends.
Products that work well in this group will allow for flavour experimentation and ‘excitement in the mouth,’ such as flavours that change during chewing or when combined with each other, she added.
Adult-only flavours will emerge
Dairy is now opening its options more to being infused with alcohol, addressing the consumers need for more indulgent, premium offerings especially in yoghurts, cream sauces and ice cream.
We can expect to see a lot of ‘adult only’ flavours – less sweet and with alcohol – being launched, but there is no one category which is used to specifically test out new flavour innovations. One flavour can act very differently in different ‘end uses’. For instance you can’t necessarily use the same vanilla in an indulgent ice cream and in a vodka and expect them to taste the same. So producers are actively developing solutions to meet needs across various consumer desires, such as health, indulgence, energy or purity, across many different product forms.
News
Did the snow cone start the ice cream revolution?
Ice cream’s origins are known to reach back as far as the second century B.C., although no specific date of origin nor inventor has been undisputably credited with its discovery.
We know that Alexander the Great enjoyed snow and ice flavoured with honey and nectar. Biblical references also show that King Solomon was fond of iced drinks during harvesting. During the Roman Empire, Nero Claudius Caesar (A.D. 54-86) frequently sent runners into the mountains for snow, which was then flavored with fruits and juices.
Over a thousand years later, Marco Polo returned to Italy from the Far East with a recipe that closely resembled what is now called sherbet. Historians estimate that this recipe evolved into ice cream sometime in the 16th century. England seems to have discovered ice cream at the same time, or perhaps even earlier than the Italians. “Cream Ice,” as it was called, appeared regularly at the table of Charles I during the 17th century. France was introduced to similar frozen desserts in 1553 by the Italian Catherine de Medici when she became the wife of Henry II of France. It wasn’t until 1660 that ice cream was made available to the general public. The Sicilian Procopio introduced a recipe blending milk, cream, butter and eggs at Café Procope, the first café in Paris.
Unilever has confirmed that from spring 2016, its adult single-serve ice cream range will contain 250 calories or less in the UK.
That means no change for some of its products, but a size reduction for others.
A Unilever ice cream spokesperson is quoted as saying “that it has deliberately only changed the size of products that were above 250 calories, and not made any changes to some of the bestselling lines, nor to the recipes”.
“For example, none of the Cornetto products will be changing size as they are already 250 calories or fewer. And none of the standard Ben & Jerry’s 500ml tubs will be changing size”.
Some Magnums and individual tubs of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream will reduce in size to accommodate the calorie cap, with differing price drops, while other products will be removed from the market altogether.
“We set our retail prices based on a number of factors including commodity prices, but we ensure that they remain accessible to all by offering a broad range of products of various sizes and styles so that we can always cater to our consumers’ needs.”
Noel Clarke, brand building director for ice cream, Unilever UK & Ireland, said: “We have introduced this 250 calorie cap to help make it easier for our consumers to make informed and healthier choices when enjoying their favourite ice creams as part of a balanced lifestyle.
“It was important there be no compromise to taste or quality and that’s exactly what we’ve delivered. Our products will still taste as good as ever, but through a process of development and resizing we will ensure our entire single-serve ice cream portfolio will contain 250 calories or fewer.”
The move follows the introduction of products that are 110 calories or fewer across the children’s ice cream range.
The company says that through its Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, it is helping millions take action to improve their health and well-being.
News
Study discovers cancer beating preservative in dairy products
The University of Michigan has just published results of a ground-breaking study which has found that nisin, a food preservative growing naturally on dairy products, may help kill cancer cells as well as antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
The study reports that Nisin contains “unusual amino acids” due to post-translational modifications.
“Increasing evidence indicates that nisin can influence the growth of tumors and exhibit selective cytotoxicity towards cancer cells,” the report states. “Collectively, the application of nisin has advanced beyond its role as a food biopreservative. Thus, this review will describe and compare studies on nisin and provide insight into its future biomedical applications.”
The results
Dr. Yvonne Kapila, one of the study’s authors and professor at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, told University of Michigan’s news website that rats fed a “nisin milkshake” saw a 70% to 80% reduction in head and neck tumor cells after a nine-week study. These rats also ended up surviving longer.
Other things nisin can help with, according to the study, include:
Antibiotic-resistant skin and soft tissue infections such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin resistant enterococci
Oral health problems, such as periodontal diseases
Improving the immune system. For example, returning B- and T-lymphocytes levels to normal
However, all of these results were found in rodents only, so further studies will be needed to see how truly effective nisin is on treatment of these diseases or ailments.
Generally regarded as safe
The study said nisin is GRAS, or generally regarded as safe, and FDA approved as a peptide with recognition for clinical use.
“Over the past few decades, nisin has been used widely as a food biopreservative,” the study’s authors wrote in the abstract. “Since then, many natural and genetically modified variants of nisin have been identified and studied for their unique antimicrobial properties”.
It has been accepted as useful in biomedical fields. Researchers said nisin may have anti-biofilm properties that can work with conventional theory drugs and may activate the adaptive immune response and have an immunomodulatory role.
Although findings of this study are promising, the authors said there will need to be further validation of the biomedical uses of nisin via in vivo studies to evaluate it.
News
Why a tiny gap makes a big difference for homogenization
What happens to a drop of milk as it passes through a homogenizer? How exactly does the drop break up, and where precisely does the break-up happen?
Groundbreaking research by Fredrik Innings, who is senior expert at Tetra Pak and associate professor of food engineering at Lund University, drew some interesting conclusions about this fundamental process that lies at the heart of the homogenizer.
What follows here is the abstract of that study. To read the study in full, fill in the form at the Tetra Pak website here.
Drop Break-up in High-Pressure Homogenizers
The overall aim of this project was to investigate the drop break-up process in milk homogenizers. This was done by measurements and calculations of the flow fields in the gap region and by visualization of drops being broken up.
To make visualization and measurements possible, two scale models of a homogenizer gap were developed. The full-scale model was a direct copy of the gap in a production-scale homogenizer, but with optical access. Normal operational homogenization pressures could be tested, and drops down to 5µm in diameter could be visualized.
The second model was scaled-up about 100 times ensuring that the relevant dimensionless groups were kept constant, so that the same factors governed the drop break-up process. The scaled-up model was made of transparent plastic and was used for both velocity field measurements and drop visualization.
From these measurements it was concluded that the drops did not break up in the entrance of the gap. Larger drops were elongated to some extent and smaller ones remained spherical. Not much happens in the gap itself. The velocity profile is very flat throughout the gap in a production-scale homogeniser.
In a pilot-scale homogeniser the boundary layers have time to grow and the velocity profile is almost developed at the gap exit. The growing shear layers seem to have a limited effect on the drops. During passage through the gap small drops will have time to relax back to their spherical shape, while large ones will leave the gap with almost the same aspect ratio as when they entered it.
This study shows that drop break-up takes place in the turbulent jet at the gap outlet. The flow velocity measurements show a very unsteady jet breaking down faster than a jet in a free liquid. Depending on the geometry of the chamber at the gap outlet, the jet can attach to either of the 45-degree walls and become a wall jet.
The turbulence in the jet is very high, with turbulence intensities of 50-100%. Indications were found that flow structures of the size of, or slightly smaller than, the gap height, have very high intensities. Drop deformation experiments and theoretical analyses show that the eddies breaking up the drops range in size from much larger than, to just smaller than, the drop. The larger eddies deform the drop viscously by the velocity gradient created by the eddy. The smaller eddies deform the drop by fluid inertia.
The critical phase of the drop break-up process is the initial deformation. If the drop is deformed to an aspect ratio of 3-5, the drop is then very quickly elongated into one or more filaments which may be bent, coiled and further deformed before they break up into many small droplets.
News
Bumper European ice-cream season
Food giant Unilever has reported sharply increased third-quarter revenues, as sales of ice cream jumped.
The manufacturer behind major ice cream brands like Wall’s and Ben & Jerry’s reported a 9.4% increase in Q3 turnover, which hit €13.4 billion, while figures for the first nine months of 2015 showed 11.1% rise in turnover, reaching €40.4 bn.
A 4.7% growth in nine-month sales for Unilever’s refreshment business unit was driven in particular by a strong Q3, which saw sales spike by 8.5% thanks to the strong performance of ice cream.
Today’s dairy processing facilities need modern technology that is innovative, efficient and reliable. As suppliers of used GEA machinery and with years of technical expertise, we work closely with you to source the perfect machinery for your facility.
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We often have stock of GEA separators, decanters, pumps, valves, homogenizers, rotary valves, heat exchangers, membrane filtration plants, evaporators, dryers, aseptic PET bottling lines, powder handling and packaging systems as well as complete process/CIP integration and automation.
The ICA lay down guidelines for ice cream composition
With the demise of the national standard for all ice cream and a call from the Ice Cream Alliance to uphold a quality standard for ice cream. The ICA has set out the minimum standards which both it and its members have called for to produce a minimum quality standard for ice cream to cover the nation.
These compositional standards are to be made in conjunction with the written procedures prescribed in the ICA Ice Cream Code of Practice so that quality is the target.
New opportunities to bring more yogurt varieties to a growing market
An international survey reveals how yogurt preferences differ between countries and cultures and sheds light on the new opportunities for yogurt manufacturers being created by consumer demand for foods that fit lifestyles and health preferences.
When it comes to understanding the yogurt market one thing is very clear – it is the food’s amazing versatility that is allowing it to deliver great results millennia after it was first eaten.
Based on a consumer perception survey undertaken in six diverse markets (Brazil, China, France, Poland, Turkey and the USA), this paper is the fourth in a series of reports focusing on yogurt. It forms part of the DSM Global Insight Series — an investigation into consumers’ perceptions and attitudes around food, taste and behaviour — that aims to help the food industry deliver healthy, tasty and attractive products to consumers.
Emerging markets and family units are driving increased consumption
Encouragingly for yogurt manufacturers, more than half (53%) of consumers surveyed reported eating more yogurt today than they did three years ago.
A yogurt a day?
While most (86%) yogurt eaters tuck into the food at least once a week, some groups of consumers make it part of their daily diet.
Geographical trends in yogurt choice
For those eating more yogurt than they were three years ago, there are strong geographical variations in the type of yogurt driving this increase. In China, 54% of people are eating more probiotic yogurt, compared to just 11% in the USA and fewer still in the other markets surveyed.
Yogurt is already the next big thing
Based on the consumer survey, yogurt is a diverse and dynamic area with rich potential for growth. Its ability to be healthy or indulgent, flavored or plain, part of a hot meal or a cold snack squeezed in between appointments, gives it widespread appeal and staying power. Furthermore, the strong uptake of yogurt by families with young children may pave the way for a new generation of consumers who see yogurt as a staple part of their diet.
Creating products that inspire markets currently using yogurt primarily as a snack such as Poland to see it as a dessert, or to challenge more mature markets such as France to accept different types of yogurt, such as drinkable appear to be opportunities for yoghurt makers.
Hot summer: Check, Ice cream: Check, Appropriate machinery?
Despite it only being mid-April long-range weather forecasters are already using some pretty heavy-duty words when describing what the UK can expect this summer. ‘Super summer’, ‘prolonged heat wave’, ‘hot sunshine’, ‘a summer to rival Ibiza’ are all terms that have been confidently touted by forecasters and newspapers alike in the past few
weeks, and let’s hope they’re right.
Recent summers have been a little hit and miss to say the least and
even though last summer was ‘nice’, it still didn’t live up to those
endless days of sun we remember ten, fifteen, twenty years ago, and it
certainly didn’t make up for the lack of sunshine we’ve experienced from
the previous few years.
The ice cream industry was hit hard by the weather, but if the
experts are right could this year be the year manufacturers revive it to
the glory days of past?
Well it seems that the weather platform may
well be set to achieve it, now all that is needed is the appropriate
machinery. Good ingredients warrant good machinery and the two together
undoubtedly ends with an in-demand product, and an in-pocket
manufacturer.
Machinery World is experiencing an extremely busy period and
consequently, its current and inbound stock could cater for any size of
manufacturer, from start-up to SME with its pricing structure matching.
So, if it’s cost-effective machinery that works as good as new, you
needn’t look any further.
Alternatively, if you already have the
machinery, Machinery World also offers an engineering service that will
ensure that it works when you need it
most.
Please see our ‘used machines’ pages for a list of stock. If you
can’t find the machine you’re after, please don’t hesitate to get in
touch, and we will do whatever we can to help.
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