1016 Ingredients Column
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
[INGREDIENTS] by Karen Nachay Delight the Palate with Chocolate and Vanilla Ingredients eople love chocolate and vanilla. potato chips, and caramelized definitely worth considering in Chocolate confections of all bananas, and Chuao Chocolatier, savory applications, too, where they Pkinds are indulgent treats while Carlsbad, Calif. (chuaochocolatier. can transform savory foods with sur- vanilla is consistently chosen by con- com), incorporates cinnamon toast prising layers of flavor. sumers as their favorite ice cream cereal, salty toasted bread crumbs, Product developers and chefs are flavor. Chocolate and vanilla are nat- and chipotle pepper and popping using chocolate and vanilla in unex- ural fits in sweet applications like candy bits. Endangered Species pected applications like savory bakery and confections. There’s Chocolate, Indianapolis, Ind. (choco- seasoning blends (spice rubs with nothing more decadent than a rich latebar.com), uses poppy seeds, cocoa powder), sauces for meat chocolate cake with a dark, fudgy dried sage, and crushed roasted cof- applications (mole made with dark frosting. Chocolate candy bars and fee beans. And what better chocolate), and alcoholic beverages truffles pair especially well with a applications than ice cream or pud- (spirits like rum or vodka made with range of ingredients. In their respec- ding to let the creamy, floral flavors of vanilla). Others, such as savory pesto tive chocolate bars, Wild Ophelia, vanilla shine? But why limit the use of made with chocolate, vanilla- Chicago (wildophelia.com), blends vanilla and chocolate ingredients to steeped sauce for poaching fish, ingredients like beef jerky, barbecue just sweet applications? They are vinaigrette made with vanilla bean scrapings, or tomato and bittersweet chocolate soup, demonstrate inter- Chocolate and vanilla are two favorite flavors in sweet applications. Product developers and culinary professionals can also use chocolate and vanilla ingredients to bring new flavor dimensions to savory foods and beverages.© VILevi/iStock/Thinkstock esting and novel ways to use flavors, extracts, or pure chocolate and vanilla ingredients. There’s even a recipe for chili that includes a sur- prising ingredient—dark chocolate ice cream—on foodandwine.com courtesy of cookbook author and founder of Jeni’s ice cream brand, Jeni Britton Bauer. Manufacturers of chocolate and vanilla ingredients are doing their part to demonstrate how these ingredients can add delicious flavors and aromas to both sweet and savory foods. As part of its 70th anni- versary celebration at the IFT16 food expo, Prova, Montreuil Cedex, France (prova.fr), a leading manufac- turer of vanilla and cocoa flavors and extracts, distributed a cookbook with plenty of recipes that incorporate chocolate and vanilla ingredients in applications such as pastries and other desserts as well as in meat and seafood dishes like beef, duck, pork, foie gras, and monkfish, and in fruits pg 46 10.16 • www.ift.org and vegetable purees and salad dressings. Vanilla-infused olive oil is a flavorful drizzle over scallops, where it helps Chocolate and vanilla ingredients bring out their natural sweetness. © Boris Ryzhkov/Hemera/Thinkstock are available in a variety of forms, many of which are featured in this article. The ingredients have specific functions. In addition to its line of vanilla and chocolate extracts, Prova produces cocoa and vanilla flavors that are designed to capture specific flavors and aromas of the ingredients that food and beverage manufactur- ers desire in their finished products. They can also use the ingredients to enhance chocolate or vanilla flavors or extend the flavors, especially in formulations where they have to cut back the usage of cocoa or vanilla ingredients for cost or supply rea- sons. Puratos, Cherry Hill, N.J. (puratos.us), produces Carat Coverlux SH compound coatings in milk, dark, and white chocolate versions and showcases them in its Barks Around it is vanilla’s functionality in so many Nielsen-Massey, which has been in the World product concepts. The different products that makes it so the vanilla business since 1907. It is chocolate barks blend the Carat distinct. It is a flavor enhancer and a not so much the region where the Coverlux SH chocolate ingredients masking agent all wrapped in one vanilla orchid is grown as much as it with globally inspired ingredients like very special bean.” is the varietal of the orchid and the crushed fortune cookies and black Fox goes on to explain that vanilla growing and curing method that sesame seeds or chopped candied ingredients bring flavor enhancement affect the flavor and aroma of vanilla, ginger and chopped wasabi peas. and masking functions to a range of explains Fox. Vanilla planifolia Other chocolate bark product con- applications. “It can intensify fruit Andrews, which accounts for more cepts include using mini marsh- flavors and bring out the ripe sweet than 90% of all vanilla, and Vanilla mallows and graham crackers for a notes we all crave in fresh fruit, thus tahitensis Moore are two major s’mores version and Biscoff cookies its presence in most fruit preps. Its orchid varietals. “From its roots in for a take on speculoos. Still others masking agent effects help reduce Mexico to its rebirth in vanilla’s major include a nod to Columbia, with ‘off’ flavor notes in everything from growing region of Madagascar, it is ground coffee and whole coffee snack bars to highly acidic products. the care of the orchid and the curing beans, and to the Philippines, with In fact, one of the unexpected appli- method that defines its nuanced dif- salted peanuts and crisp rice. cations we see is its inclusion in ference from others grown barbecue sauce, where it helps to elsewhere,” he says. “In Indonesia, Vanilla: Plain No More mask tomato acidity and round out for example, Vanilla planifolia vanilla “The great thing about vanilla is its the sweet-smoky intended nature of is often harvested early, cured versatility,” says Dan Fox, director of the sauce.” quickly with artificial heat, and is sales at Nielsen-Massey Vanillas, Today, vanilla is produced in defined by its smoky nature. In Waukegan, Ill. (nielsenmassey.com). Madagascar, Indonesia, Mexico, Madagascar, that same bean is indi- “We all know vanilla ice cream is the Tahiti, Uganda, and Papua New vidually picked, blanched, and then world’s favorite ice cream flavor, but Guinea, according to sun-cured for months before going to 10.16 • www.ift.org 47 pg [INGREDIENTS] Delight the Palate with Chocolate and Vanilla Ingredients continued... market, thus its deep flavor characteris- Chocolate Co., Burlingame, Calif. manufacturers, pastry chefs, and choco- tics. Vanilla tahitensis is, as you might (guittard.com). latiers are producing. Some of the most expect, unique to Tahiti and offers its Through careful work with family flavorful chocolate comes from heirloom signature fruity, floral notes.” He adds famers in cacao-growing regions, includ- cacao varietals, which, according to the that hybrids of the two varietals do exist ing maintaining the health of the trees, Heirloom Cacao Preservation Fund but their flavor notes and quality fluctu- determining the best harvesting tech- (hcpcacao.org), have flavor traits linked ate too much to be considered for niques, and managing the fermentation to specific genetic characteristics. applications that need consistent flavor. and drying processes, to following time- The understanding of the connection For its industrial customers, Nielsen- tested chocolate-making techniques, between flavor and genetics of the heir- Massey offers vanilla sugar, ground Guittard Chocolate is able to develop loom cacao varietals helps Guittard vanilla beans, and vanilla powder along chocolate ingredients that help enhance Chocolate choose beans that will help to with a comprehensive portfolio of vanilla the products that industrial produce chocolate ingredients with Manufacturers of chocolate and vanilla ingredients are doing their part to demonstrate how these ingredients can add delicious flavors and aromasto both sweet and savory foods. extracts, including some that are organic and fair trade–certified, from many of the Surprised to see a photo of meat accompanying an article about chocolate and vanilla? vanilla-producing regions. So how does a Don’t be. The flavors of cocoa powder blend well with those of spices like chili peppers, product developer choose the best one cumin, ginger, allspice, smoked paprika, and garlic powder used in seasoning blends for a given food or beverage product? for meat. © bhofack2/iStock/Thinkstock “Nielsen-Massey’s unique region-spe- cific approach to vanilla helps to refine application-specific answers to pure vanilla questions,” says Fox. He explains that for some, but not all applications, Indonesian vanilla, with its strong, smoky notes, is sometimes best for use in strong chocolate applications or high-heat bak- ing applications. Mexican vanilla, with its heavier spice note, works well in some savory applications, he says, while the fruity, floral notes of Tahitian vanilla intensify the essential flavor of fruit preps. “Then there is Madagascar bour- bon vanilla. It is one of the answers to every vanilla question. Its creamy, smooth brown notes are what separates great vanilla ice cream from the average. It is the quintessential flavor.” Chocolate: From Seed to Sweet Indulgence Like vanilla, chocolate is not a one-size- fits-all ingredient. The qualities of chocolate that make it such an interest- ing ingredient to work with are the differences in flavors, tastes, and aromas that the varieties of cocoa beans have and how processing can affect them. Flavors include fruity, floral, citrusy, sour, or acidic, and it is the fermentation pro- cess, and to some extent the drying process, that helps enhance and bring out the chocolate and aroma characteris- tics that are in the beans, says Gary Guittard, president and CEO of Guittard pg 48 10.16 • www.ift.org specific flavor and aroma profiles for their customers. “We really try to give them a pal- ette of flavors,” says Guittard.