Concentrates for beverages that improve flavor and functional choices
Using beverage concentrates has two main advantages: less packing and no shipping costs for water. This holds true for both consumers and processors, since tastes and nutritional preferences lead to changes in the form and diversity of concentrates.
Retailers still carry frozen juice and cocktail concentrates, but the selection is far less than it was a few decades ago. However, the retail beverage concentrate industry is not going away. Simply put, products have developed into increasingly sophisticated systems that are now available in ambient and refrigerated aisles.
The most remarkable feature is the selection of water-enhancing drops, which let users alter the taste and sweetness of water or their preferred liquid carrier. Certain drops have useful components, such electrolytes for hydration and caffeine for energy.
Given the high concentration of the drops, formulators have to exercise caution when mixing components to make sure that, even in the event that the user decides not to follow the recommended dosage, they will still enjoy a pleasing sensory experience and won’t drink an excessive amount of the functional ingredients.
According to Wade Schmelzer, lead food scientist of Minneapolis-based Cargill, “these are aggressive systems.” “It creates the possibility of temperature abuse if customers have the concentrate sitting in a briefcase, pocketbook, or other portable item because they are marketed as shelf-stable items with numerous servings in a box.
“A formulator must take into account every possible use for the drops by the end user. It is recommended that evaluations for home use be incorporated into the creation of beverage drops. Some of these items have concentrations up to 100 times, and the instructions state to use no more than two drops per eight ounces of liquids.
It’s possible that two drops won’t be enough flavor or sweetness in home-use tests, particularly if the drops are being added to bitter iced tea. In that case, the iced tea can be too stimulating if the drop system is caffeinated. Additionally, the additional caffeine can make things more bitter, making the drinker want to take more drops to make up for it. This makes the flavor problem worse and eventually leads to disgruntled customers.”A lot of useful ingredients don’t taste very good,”stated Mr. Schmelzer. With the use of flavor extracts or the high-intensity sweetener system, formulators frequently attempt to hide the flavor. Understanding how and how much of these drops are being used is crucial because formulating them is truly quite the balancing act.
Depending on the taste and useful substances, use may change. Ultimately, the recommended amount of drops indicated on the bottle ought to work.
According to Mr. Schmelzer, drops have traditionally used a combination of sucralose and acesulfame potassium as a sweetener. In light of the clean label movement, formulators are currently investigating less bitter stevia extracts.
Cargill has developed a novel botanical extract that improves the flavor and long-term stability of stevia products while also helping to dissolve steviol glycosides. Early in 2020 is when the ingredient is anticipated to be offered for sale commercially.
Formulators will be able to employ stevia in highly concentrated formulations with the extract, allowing them to create solutions that contain up to 30% stevia, according to Mr. Schmelzer.
Aside from drop concentrates, beverage aisles are seeing the introduction of ambient juice, coffee, and tea concentrations. Premium perishable concentrates are also available in chilled sections. With the goods, customers can make customized, cafe-quality drinks based on their own tastes.
This category features a recent ambient product from Portland, Oregon’s Thaiwala. The flavor and fragrance of Thai tea are provided by the complex concentration. To make the flavored concentrate, Thaiwala brews black tea in tiny amounts and blends it with natural vanilla, organic caramel, cane sugar, Thai herbs, pure cocoa powder, and carrot beta-carotene for color. Customers can add milk or a dairy substitute to the classic drink to enjoy it hot or cold. You can pour the product over ice or steam it like a latte.
Innovation in ready-to-drink
Shaking or mixing a concentrate into a solution is something that many customers would rather not have to deal with. They would rather buy ready-to-drink (R.-T.-D.) drinks and delegate the blending to the processor. Concentrates are frequently employed to guarantee consistency in the final product and to make manufacturing easier.
Concentrates of fruits and vegetables are frequently added to beverages for color, flavor, or nutritional value. In certain cases, the beverage’s distinctive flavor is the concentrate. In others, it’s a flavor enhancer that could also provide some plant-based color. They are offered in puree and juice form. Both are only fruit or vegetable purees, without any water added.
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Fruit juice is usually concentrated to the desired Brix—a measurement of the amount of sugar in a viscous solution—after being clarified and the particles removed. Vegetable juice concentrate seems opaque because it is usually not clarified. The fruit or vegetable pulp is included in puree concentrate, which adds natural fiber to the beverage application and also adds body, texture, and mouthfeel, according to Jose Guerrero, technical services manager at Kerr Concentrates, a Salem, Oregon-based business unit of Ingredion Inc.
Fruit and vegetable juices are passed through several stages of water removal in order to create concentrates. Due to the volatiles and fruit and vegetable scents it carries, the first pass is a valuable stream.
In order to offer top notes and standardize the ingredient to a consistent sensory profile, we add this back to the final concentrate—we call it the essence—Mr. Guerrero explained.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration defines single-strength juices as those that can be made from any of these concentrates, either by themselves or in blends. These drinks are simply identified as “made from concentrate” and the characteristic fruit or vegetable.
Fruit and vegetable concentrates may provide vitamins and antioxidants, depending on the level of use. They might also permit a claim about the serving content of fruits and vegetables. Certain ones allow for a claim of no added sugar even when they are added only for their inherent sweetness.
For example, jicama juice concentrate is composed entirely of vegetables. It has a stronger sweetness and a more balanced color and flavor character.
Leonardo Christol, marketing manager at Kerr Concentrates, stated that jicama juice concentrate is a substitute for conventional sweeteners that can bolster claims about natural sources. “It assists beverage formulators in incorporating sweetness derived from vegetables in a distinctive manner to set their products apart.”
Jicama juice concentrate has a taste and sweetness influence in sensory profiling that is comparable to that of apple and pear juice concentrates. The distinction is that jicama adds vegetables to the recipe since it is a concentrated supply of potassium, an electrolyte for hydration, and a nutrient that is often absent in diets. It also contains other vitamins, minerals, and even some plant protein.
According to Mr. Guerrero, smoothies, nutrient-dense shakes, and meal replacements are increasingly being made using tailored blends of fruit and vegetable juice and puree concentrates combined with creamy bases like milk, yogurt, and plant-based beverages.
He declared, “We are the link between the farm and the beverage manufacturer.” “The concentrate is a reliable, steady, and usable substance. It does away with measurement mistake and frees up capital for trendy flavor creation without requiring fruit and vegetable processing.
Extracts from tea and coffee are similar in how they work. The beverage producer creates an R.-T.-D. beverage by mixing with a base and frequently adding other components. Suppliers handle the brewing and concentrating.
Over the past few years, cold-brew coffee has been more widely available in mainstream retail and food service establishments. According to Synergy Flavors Inc., Wauconda, Ill., interest in the beverage stems from its naturally sweeter, fruitier flavor and smoother, less acidic taste. The brand claims that the sweeter perception of cold-brewed coffee is appealing to consumers who are attempting to cut back on sugar, fat, and calories and who are becoming more health and wellness conscious. The issue facing R.T.D. beverage producers, as well as home baristas, is that the cold-brew method necessitates space, equipment purchases, and theSoaking large quantities of beans requires time and effort. Suppliers of ingredients help by handling the labor and giving the sector a concentration.
John Harper Crandall, vice-president of sales at Amelia Bay, Johns Creek, Georgia, stated that the same is true with tea. The R.-T.-D. tea market is seeing innovation driven by brewed tea extracts. To produce signature flavors, formulators are blending fruit juices, brewed tea, and botanicals; occasionally, they even use functional substances. They’re even carbonating some of them. High-quality brewed tea extracts can be enjoyed with little to no added sweetness, just like cold-brew coffee.
According to Mr. Crandall, “our brewed tea extracts are optimized for stability and ease of use.” “They can be packaged into any kind of container and used with both hot and cold fill processes.”
According to Pam Everett, vice-president of insights and product innovation at S&D Coffee & Tea in Concord, North Carolina, natural energy sources including coffee and tea extracts are found in energy beverages. The business focuses in making extracts unique for drinks with a niche market. R.-T.-D. coffee creations that are trendy incorporate probiotics, butter, protein, and specialty oils. Herbs and spices are popular additions to R.-T.-D. tea.
“Our goal when creating the extract is to ensure that the intended flavors are present in the final product,” Ms. Everett stated. Each beverage has its own unique characteristics. The selection of extract differs depending on the base when creating an R.-T.-D. latte, for instance. When it comes to new alternative dairy products like oat milk, one coffee might pair better with traditional dairy milk. We create the extract using the final product as a guide.