Ingredient Round Up October 2008: Miscellaneous Ingredients

Frozen picoIQF Pico de Gallo is a classic Mexican condiment that is ready to add to snack items, entrées or side dishes. Pico de gallo is traditionally made from chopped tomato, onion and chiles with other ingredients often added to complete the blend. For this convenient product, freshly chopped tomatoes, white onions and jalapeño peppers are blended with cilantro, lemon juice and pepper. The mixture is then individually quick frozen to preserve color, flavor and freshness for is a quick and easy way to add flavor and creativity to your products and menu items.Van Drunen Farms; Momence, Ill.
815-472-3100; www.vandrunenfarms.com

The pep of peppermintPeppermint Extract is made from the finest mint oils according to the strictest quality standards. Use it to flavor teas, to enhance fruit salads or to complement chocolate in cakes, ice cream and icings. Peppermint is the signature flavoring of holiday candy. It goes well with vanilla, and is a surprising accompaniment to savory dishes such as lamb, pork and poultry.Nielsen-Massey Vanillas; Waukegan, Ill.
847-578-1550; www.nielsenmassey.com

Salt solutions
Technology allows lower-sodium products with the great salt taste consumers expect. With SaltWise, a proprietary new family of sodium reduction systems, food manufacturers can reduce sodium levels by 25-50 percent in product formulations while delivering taste parity to salt in many applications including prepared foods, frozen meals, meat and poultry, soups, sauces, dressings and salted snacks. In addition, they are highly flexible and can be easily customized to a customer’s specific needs.
Cargill; Wayzata, Minn.
800-227-4455; www.cargill.com

Tasteless fiber
Promitor Soluble Corn Fiber 60A is dispersible, highly soluble way to offer consumers the benefits of fiber with no impact on taste or texture. It has a 60 percent dietary fiber content and is a colorless and flavorless. It’s also a prebiotic fiber that can be used to deliver consumer benefits for added fiber, weight management and digestive health. It is best suited for a variety of dry mix products ranging from beverages and desserts to savory products such as soups, sauces and salad dressings. And it’s label-friendly.
Tate & Lyle PLC; London
44-020-7626-6525; www.tateandlyle.com

Soybeans with stearic acid
Evidence suggests stearic acid is safe at dietary levels and is a good substitute for trans fatty acids. New soybeans are in the pipeline that will have increased levels of stearic acid (approximately 25 percent stearic) in four to six years. These soybeans will produce a semi-solid fat useful for many applications that currently require shortenings. But companies looking for a high-stearic solution do not have to wait – interesterified soybean oils with increased levels of stearic acid are currently available from major oil distributors.
United Soybean Board; St. Louis
888-235-4332; www.soyconnection.com

Automate nutrient analysis
Genesis R&D enables food technology professionals to automate both nutrient analysis and the creation of a variety of labels. With one click, users can automatically generate a label complete with ingredient and allergen statements. Other label formats include: supplement facts, aggregate, dual declaration and the new child label. It enables you to customize your work and save countless hours of re-entry and hand calculations. In addition to the many label formats, a variety of professional reports are available. View your analysis as a spreadsheet, protein quality report, bar graph, single nutrient report or many others.
Esha Research; Salem, Ore.
503-585-6242; www.esha.com

Natural vegetable protein
Nutralys is a vegetable protein, extracted from the yellow pea Pisum sativum, by a proprietary process using only water, not chemical solvents. This gives food processors a secure protein supply with a high nutritional value. It is non-allergenic, GMO-free, environmentally friendly and organic-compatible. Applications include: snacks and cereals, diet products and high-protein foods, meat and dairy products, vegetarian foods and more.
Roquette America Inc.; Keokuk, Iowa
800-553-7035; www.pea-protein.com

Oleic sunflower oil
A few years ago, sunflower was noted for its high linoleic acid. Today, North American sunflower oil has oleic acid levels at 65-85 percent. “Oleics” is now part of the sunflower grower vocabulary. Oil production has been increasing. Eliminating trans fats and lowering saturates while extending shelf life is made easy with oleic sunflower oils.
National Sunflower Assn.; Bismarck, N.D.
888-718-7033; www.sunflowernsa.com/buyers

Gilroy + Spicetec = Gilroy Foods & Flavors
ConAgra ingredient brands Gilroy Foods and Spicetec have been merged under one new company umbrella, Gilroy Foods & Flavors. The new brand was created to describe the breadth of product offerings that range from specialty vegetables, flavor systems and seasoning blends targeting both the foodservice and food manufacturing channels. The unit’s integrated team of culinary and technical experts take a “food first” approach to product development, ensuring that taste and real-world performance lead every project. The portfolio ranges from specialty vegetable ingredients to complete savory systems.
Gilroy Foods & Flavors; Omaha, Neb.
402-595-7139; www.gilroyfoodsandflavors.com