The success of dairy ingredients
In Harold McGee’s “On Food and Cooking – The Science and Lore of the Kitchen”, milk and dairy products hold the pride of place as Chapter 1. This is no co-incidence as dairy has, and still forms, a significant part of the diet. The main reason behind this is the obvious nutritional contribution of fat, protein, carbohydrate and minerals. It is also due to the wide range of sensory experiences it can achieve from sweet, creamy milk in in its purest form, to soft-cheese and tangy hard cheese, right through to aerated frozen ice creams and desserts. Each very different, but made simply, through the application of the right technical skills, from the same source ingredient – a taste and texture to suit almost everyone; and the success of dairy-free development will be achieved by meeting this challenge.
The ability to achieve this variety from milk is mainly from its fat and protein content. Milk-fat forms globules, with a protective coating of phospholipids and proteins. This reduces the density of the fat, creates buoyancy and allows it to rise, whilst allowing the globules to cluster and ‘cream’ at the surface. These globules are also very heat resistant due to their interaction with milk proteins, which provide further protection on heating, allowing milk and cream to be boiled and concentrated for long periods of time. This is key in the production of sweet dairy desserts. These fat-globules are also important in forming aerated structures such as ice creams, where stable air-pockets form within the fat-globule matrix.
Milk proteins can be generalised into the ‘curding’ (mostly casein) and whey proteins. These are easily recognised in the cheese making process, where acidified or cultured milk is separated into ‘curds and whey’, with the curd being subsequently processed into cheese. The texture and characteristic of the cheese, such as melting properties, is also influenced by the protein within it.
Dairy-free development
The scientific and technical functionality is one of the big challenges facing dairy analogues sector and technologist active in dairy-free development, as to date there is no single-component replacement available. From a clean-label perspective ‘milk’ has an unfair advantage – it is a complex mixture of fat, protein and sugar and not a single ingredient at all. But the emerging clean-conscience trend will have to recognise the inequality of such labelling limitations and embrace multi component analogue blends. These are built with functionality in mind, but present a more sustainable option than the inspiration ingredient.
As an alternative to dairy, more and more consumers are seeking plant-based beverages, shakes and desserts that are high in protein, minimally processed, pure and natural, and also taste great.
Univar Solutions Food Ingredients demonstrated, in its recent creative culinary demonstration, how careful selection and reparation of the right ingredients can be effective in developing plant-based meat and fish alternatives, (available on-demand here). The same approach has been presented within the flexFORWARD Plant-Based dairy and dairy analogues range. The suite of ingredients comprises of texturisers, proteins and modified starches to build back the structural and technical functionality, flavours, colours and taste modulators to boost the sensory experiences, and prebiotic fibres and enzymes to ensure that other aspects of the nutrition are addressed in dairy-free development.
As an alternative to dairy, more and more consumers are seeking plant-based beverages, shakes and desserts that are high in protein, minimally processed, pure and natural, and also taste great.
Univar Solutions Food Ingredients demonstrated, in its recent creative culinary demonstration, how careful selection and preparation of the right ingredients can be effective in developing plant-based meat and fish alternatives, (available on-demand here). The same approach has been presented within the flexFORWARD Plant-Based dairy and dairy analogues range. The suite of ingredients comprises of texturisers, proteins and modified starches to build back the structural and technical functionality, flavours, colours and taste modulators to boost the sensory experiences, and prebiotic fibres and enzymes to ensure that other aspects of the nutrition are addressed in dairy-free development.
Univar Solutions Food Ingredients demonstrated, in its recent creative culinary demonstration, how careful selection and reparation of the right ingredients can be effective in developing plant-based meat and fish alternatives, (available on-demand here). The same approach has been presented within the flexFORWARD Plant-Based dairy and dairy analogues range. The suite of ingredients comprises of texturisers, proteins and modified starches to build back the structural and technical functionality, flavours, colours and taste modulators to boost the sensory experiences, and prebiotic fibres and enzymes to ensure that other aspects of the nutrition are addressed in dairy-free development.
Dairy-free development Demonstration
The focus of these ingredients goes right to the heart of these technical challenges in dairy-free development by not only taking on milk in the plant-based beverage market but also ice-creams and sweet-dairy desserts. These ingredients can also be successfully applied in some of the more challenging products such as spreadable cheese.
The team at Univar Solution Food Ingredients have again put together one of its creative culinary demonstrations to showcase the Flex Forward: Ingredient Solutions for Dairy Alternatives and Analogues. This technical discussion will explore how to successfully formulate great-tasting, better-for-you plant-based dairy products which meet consumer taste and texture expectations, using high quality clean label plant-based ingredients. The hour-long demonstration, again with creative chefs from Bingham and Jones, will take place on Wednesday 19th January at 10:00am GMT. It will also be available on-demand after the live broadcast for those not able to watch at the time.
