Slideshow: Highlighting Almond Innovation
Snacky snack bars, bread slices, and vegan nacho cheese are just a few of the innovative goods made with the powerful almond.
Almonds are a well-known plant-based food source that offer a high degree of adaptability and versatility, enabling product makers to capitalize on a variety of both established and developing culinary trends.
The key component of Pittsburgh-based The Happy Vegan, LLC’s line of vegan cheese dips and spreads, Notcho Nocheez, is almond flour. Each serving of the traditional, spicy, and zesty dips has 100 calories and 5 grams of protein.
The recipe was created by founder Sharon Gregory in her own kitchen. She ground entire almonds in a Vitamix container before scaling up production with a co-packer.
“During a virtual showcase hosted by the Almond Board of California, I met a local supermarket owner who told me that if I can make the nacho cheese shelf stable, she would put it on her shelf,” Ms. Gregory stated. “As I had assumed, it wasn’t necessarily a linear equation.”
The largest modification involved replacing whole almonds with almond flour.
According to Ms. Gregory, “that’s the ingredient that really makes the flavor and consistency.” “Almonds are a healthier alternative to cashews, and there are a lot of vegan cheeses made with cashews on the market. Cashews are more acidic to the bloodstream.”
Almond butter
The Almond Board’s virtual showcase series, which took place twice a week in June and July, featured a number of almond butters that are satisfying customer desire for unusual flavors and healthier ingredients.
A range of almond butters without added sugar, palm oil, or preservatives is available from Revival Food Co. The items’ distinctive taste combinations and stone-ground texture make them appealing to millennial women, according to Rachel Klein, the founder of the Indianapolis-based firm. Some varieties are Coco Love, which is a combination of raw cacao and coconut, and Chai Time, which is a blend of cinnamon and chai spices.
According to Ms. Klein, “consumers are looking to have more of an experience with the product now than ever.” They desire a product that seems unique and hand-picked just for them. They want food that is Instagrammable, with authentic flavor and texture.
The nut butters from Revival stand out on the market thanks to their flavor-forward approach, but consumers who want to include more functional foods in their diets will also find the brand appealing.
Moms and millennial women are yearning for that, according to Ms. Klein. “They’re searching for foods that they can incorporate into their daily lives and feel good about, foods with functional health benefits and superfoods.”
Base Culture’s almond butters are flavorful with just a few ingredients. While the company’s cinnamon variant comprises simply almonds, sea salt, and cinnamon, its original almond butter is prepared with only roasted almonds.
The company’s founder, Jordann Windschauer, stated, “Instead of using blanched almonds, we roast and grind our almonds with the skin on.” The company is located in Tampa, Florida. “This gives our products a beautiful texture that enhances them, combined with our unique grinding process.”
Additionally, Base Culture sells a range of baked goods and snacks that are gluten-free, with 75% of them containing almonds. The company’s sliced bread is available in original keto, nut & seed, cinnamon raisin, and soft sandwich types. Almond butter and almond flour are two of the main ingredients.
According to Ms. Windschauer, “almond butter adds structure, moisture, and protein to the sliced bread.” “The almond flour acts as a binder for all the other ingredients.”
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Savory and sweet nibbles
The savory salad bars that Chicago-based Undressed Snacks introduced to the market last year garnered media attention. With a complete serving of vegetables and 5 to 7 grams of protein, the bars are free of gluten, soy, dairy, added sugar, and genetically modified organisms. They are available in flavors such sesame ginger, honey mustard, cilantro lime, and chipotle cranberry.
A main component of the bars, which were created to give consumers who are always on the go easier access to greens, are almonds.
“We evaluated every ingredient to see if it would make sense in a salad,” Undressed Snacks founder Anne Klassman said. “In our bars, you can see and recognize the toasted skin-on whole almonds.”
She continued, “It’s difficult to beat the simplicity of a whole ingredient that offers intrinsic protein and the healthy fats found in almonds.”
According to Ms. Klassman, “to say that almonds work very well in our bars is an understatement.” “The flavor pairs well with the greens and flavors in our bars, and it is identifiable without being overbearing.”
Almonds may be included in all of Siren Snacks’ sweet snack options, including their organic protein, keto, and energy bits. The beneficial snacks, which come in varieties like lemon poppyseed, mocha chip, and dark chocolate brownie, are enhanced by almonds’ better flavor and texture over other plant proteins, according to Elizabeth Giannuzzi, co-founder and CEO of the San Francisco-based firm.
Before converting to almond protein, the company made its snack pieces with pea protein.
According to Ms. Giannuzzi, “we found that the texture could dry out pretty quickly.” “We weren’t happy with the pea or legume flavor that persisted even after we blended in other flavors.”
She continued, “Almonds have a cleaner, creamier taste and a softer, chewier texture.”
According to Ms. Giannuzzi, “the texture tended to be grainier and choppier with the pea protein.” “We’ve tried and evaluated all the plant proteins available, and we believe almonds to be superior.”