Ingredient forces 2002 Part I: Opportunities and Trends

Dairy Foods, Jan, 2002 by Donna Berry

Ice cream has long been thought of as a comfort food. Many television sitcoms have featured a character devouring a pint after a breakup, the loss of a job or simply when down in the dumps.

Today's frozen dessert market is one of the most varied and creative ever, thanks to inclusion innovations by ingredient suppliers. A growing trend is the use of multi-textured inclusions, which range from uniquely shaped chocolate-coated gooey caramel that melts and oozes in your mouth to chewy pecan fudge enrobed in milk chocolate.

Cheese cravings

To meet the demands for more varieties and flavors of cheeses, suppliers have identified improved ripening cultures and enzymes, which provide for a more controlled ripening environment. This results in consistent cheese flavor development. Some suppliers also offer accelerated cheese ripening systems--culture and enzyme combinations--that enhance the level of flavor development while reducing aging time. Controlling the rate of flavor development, particularly in aged cheeses, is critical to meeting finished product sensory specifications, as well as minimizing costs.

A trend that has been taking place in recent years and continues is the addition of savory ingredients to traditional cheeses such as Cheddar, Monterey Jack and even mozzarella. Suppliers are offering a range of ingredients specially processed to blend with cheese curd and not bleed into the product.

Stay tuned, as next month Dairy Foods exclusive survey of R&D professionals will help you learn how decisions are being made in the world of product development.