Food developers can sweeten foods naturally with California raisins. Also natural preservatives, they help inhibit staleness and extend shelf life, which makes them an excellent choice for cereal and breakfast bars, snack foods, breads and many types of baked goods. Raisin paste and raisin juice concentrate can be used directly in formulations, offering humectancy and natural mold inhibition. The flavor does not interfere or compete with the desired flavor profiles, but rather may add well rounded, fresh notes.
California Raisin Marketing Board; Fresno, Calif.
559-248-0287; www.calraisins.org
Powdered natural sweeteners
Freeze-dried natural sweetener powders deliver the sweet flavor consumers are looking for with the added benefit of essential vitamins and minerals and the clean-label attributes natural and organic retailers demand for their shelves. Designed to reduce the production challenges associated with thick syrups and liquids, these free-flowing powders offer higher concentrations of sweetener solids and are especially suited for dry mix applications such as bakery mixes, marinades, topical seasonings and coatings.
Mastertaste; Teterboro, N.J.
888-547-8844; www.mastertaste.com
Specialty sweetener blends
Easy-to-use, category-centric sweetener blends have been designed to lower caloric content in finished goods while maintaining flavor profiles. BakeSweet was created to reduce sugar/sucrose levels in cakes, cookies, bakery mixes, fillings and icings. GumSweet, designed for use in sugar free gums, offers a superior 300 S.E. sucrose flavor that aids in flavor enhancement and will help sweetness and flavor last longer. TwoSweet, a proprietary synergistic blend, offers excellent sucrose flavor for carbonated beverages, fruit drinks and powdered beverage mixes.
Univar USA; Redmond, Wash.
425-889-3400; www.univarusa.com
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