As scientists learn more about prebiotics, dairy’s prospects increase. For the present time, look to plants if you want to add prebiotics. But for the future, prebiotics could come from the oligosaccharides in whey permeate.
Although 72% of Americans are aware of prebiotics’ association with digestive health, according to the International Food Information Council’s 2011 functional foods survey, most would be hard-pressed to describe prebiotics and their functions. That’s understandable. The story of prebiotics and health is not simple. But as scientists learn more, the story becomes more compelling and worth the telling.
Dairy is naturally good. But when you add certain functional ingredients, you can make dairy foods and beverages even better.
May 15, 2012
Not for nothing, but those of us in the dairy business know a thing or two about functional foods. After all, if Mother Nature herself could have formulated the prototypical functional food …Well, she did formulate the prototypical functional food, and she called it “milk.”
The frozen yogurt category is getting its second wind. Today’s product is more acidic, and some consumers prefer a sour or tart taste. But the bigger market is for creamy, indulgent frozen yogurt. Here are tips and ideas for working with flavors.
It’s getting harder to stroll a city block without landing in front of yet another frozen yogurt outlet. These brightly colored, sleekly designed shrines to soft-serve bliss are sprouting like spring grass, adding oomph to what some have described as the latest renaissance for a category that was all but written off not long ago.
In our February column we discussed the importance of digestive health as the basis of all good nutrition and the role ice cream products could play in terms of providing probiotic (consumption of “live and active beneficial” bacteria) and/or probiotic friendly (that is, prebiotic) mix ingredients. We reviewed delivery of probiotics via active culturing and/or cold inoculation.
Consumers recognize that cultured dairy products (including yogurt, cottage cheese and fermented milk beverages) are healthy and good-for-you choices. Health professionals consider cultured dairy foods to be nutrient-dense foods, meaning they have a high nutrient-to-energy ratio.
Several cultured product makers are stepping outside of their comfort zone to provide a crowd of innovative new offerings that come equipped with zesty flavors and intricate packaging concepts.
Cost-saving ingredients help processors stay afloat during struggling economic times, while value-added ingredients, which increase production costs, create a point of differentiation in a competitive marketplace.
Jim Carper Chief EditorEuclid Avenue runs east from downtown Cleveland and out to the University Circle neighborhood and the famed Cleveland Clinic medical center. The boulevard is dotted with abandoned
Jim Carper Chief EditorFor as much as ice cream is depicted as a “fun” food, the actual selling of it is anything but. The business of ice cream is hard