Culinology - March 2020 - 20

MENU trends

Photo credit: Seaspice

Madison Giacherio, junior food scientist at
Edlong, added, "Butter, cheese and yogurt
are enhancers. They are the ingredients that
may not be needed in a dish, but are included
to add mouthfeel, richness and creaminess."
Including dairy, as well as eggs and even
some meat broth is a way for flexitarians
to enjoy the familiarity of taste while having
plant based as the main star of the meal. It's
a trick that prepared food manufacturers are
embracing.
"Yogurt is an especially popular sauce
when enhanced with herbs," said Chef
Greene. "And, adding umami ingredients,
especially smoky flavors, can really enhance
plant-based foods."
Aspen Burkhardt, culinary council member
at LifeSpice said, "The addition of dairybased items, as well as eggs, in plant-based
prepared foods can add richness and depth
of flavor. These ingredients may also provide
some 'clean-label' functionality, such as
emulsification and leavening."
Her suggestions include browned butter with herbs over vegetables like butternut
squash, carrots and parsnips. Maybe cotija
cheese on mushroom and squash tacos.
"Whatever it is, it's a small percent of the
total dish," Ms. Burkhardt said.
Jean Heimann, senior culinary scientist at
LifeSpice added, "Even cooking the vegetables in beef, chicken or parmesan broths can
add umami depth to the plant-based food."
For vegan products, culinary professionals
may explore the inclusion of vegan dairy flavor

systems offered by ingredient suppliers. Dairy
fermentation technology - without any dairy -
produces solutions that contribute the flavor,
richness and even mouthfeel of dairy while
maintaining a vegan label.
"Each application scenario poses unique
challenges," said Corunda Pruitt, senior technologist for Synergy Flavors Inc., Wauconda,
Ill. "The systems are designed to supply a
positive organoleptic experience including
taste, texture, body and mouthfeel across a
spectrum of food matrices."
Ms. Sabo said, "When it comes to developing plant-based foods, as with any food, flavor is very important. We have vegan butter,
cheese, milk, umami and cultured flavors to
help plant-based products taste better."
Consumers are starting to become more
discerning with products making plant-based
call-outs, according to Melissa Abbott, vicepresident, The Hartman Group, Bellevue,
Wash. Wellness-minded consumers understand that highly processed, "denatured"
foods, often sourced from processed grain
and seed oils, are not health supportive.
"To them, it's about the integration of whole
plant-foods," Ms. Abbott said.
MiDAS Foods International, Oak Park,
Mich., offers spices and rubs that provide
many satisfying attributes usually only found
in animal-based proteins. Some blends increase umami, while natural smoke and grill
flavors are suggestive of the cooking techniques employed with meat.
"A little char and smoke, when balanced
with salt and other flavors, can take a regular
roasted root vegetable from a side dish to the
center-of-the-plate," said Jerry McDonald,
vice president of culinary at MiDAS Foods.
He suggests the same for meatless
meatballs.
"Combine quinoa, mushrooms and black
beans with some roasted beets and brown
rice. Form them into balls and sear them to
develop just the right amount char," he said.
"When served with a garlicky and spicy arrabiata sauce in an open-faced sandwich, you
will forget you are eating vegan."
Add a sprinkle of Parmesan to keep the
flexitarian engaged.

Plants in their native form
Kerry Lane, owner and co-founder, Beaut
Burger, Tucson, Ariz., used her background

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Culinology | MARCH 2020

Culinology - March 2020

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