21
Jan
2021
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Trends at Summer Fancy Food
Animal fats, pumpkin seeds and spicy sweets are among the latest innovations from 2,670 exhibitors.
In a pickle
A peck of pickled innovation goes boldly beyond the classic cured cucumber with unexpected flavors and ingredients. Two products in particular were recognized with innovation awards at the show: Brussizzle Sprouts from Pacific Pickle Works Inc., Santa Barbara, Calif., which are pickled Brussels sprouts with a semi-sweet, tangy and spicy flavor; and Sweet Curry Hurry Pickled Cauliflower from Pernicious Pickling Co., Costa Mesa, Calif., which combines cauliflower with red bell peppers, onion, a sweet brine and hint of curry.
Another exhibitor at the show, Pickled Pink Foods L.L.C., Roswell, Ga., produces several gourmet varieties, including spiced watermelon pickles and, its newest addition, Smokin’ Okra. At the show, the company is sampling yet-to-be-released Perfectly Pickled Peaches.
Brooklyn Brine Co. L.L.C., Brooklyn, N.Y., collaborated with Finger Lakes Distilling Rye Whiskey to create Whiskey Sour Pickles. Other offbeat varieties from the brand include Fennel Beets, Chipotle Carrots and Moroccan Green Beans.
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Bangkok or bust
New products on display at Summer Fancy Food feature authentic Thai flavors in convenient formats, including packaged meals, sauces and spices.
Café Spice, New Windsor, N.Y., is introducing a line of grab-and-go meals in three Thai varieties: Beef Massaman Curry, Yellow Tofu Curry and Red Chicken Curry, each with Thai fried rice. Hari Nayak, culinary director of Café Spice, crafted the recipes after extensive research travels throughout Thailand.
“These meals respond to emerging personal tastes, with humanely raised chicken and beef and vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options,” he said. “People today want healthy, flavorful food created from fresh and whole ingredients.”
From Thai Culinary Arts Studio, L.L.C., Yarmouth, Maine, comes a new line of ready-to-use sauces created by Watcharee Limanon, a Thai culinary artist from Bangkok. Varieties of Watcharee’s sauces include Pad Thai, Thai Green Curry, Thai Massaman Curry and Thai Peanut.
Spiceologist, Spokane, Wash., is debuting a first-of-its-kind Thai peanut seasoning blend, featuring dehydrated peanut butter, exotic Thai spices, ground coconut, chilies and coconut palm sugar.
Sable & Rosenfeld Foods, Toronto, is debuting Red Pepper Thai Bruschetta, which includes chopped red and green pepper, tomatoes, onions, water chestnuts and Thai chilies with lemongrass and ginger.
From Half Moon Bay Trading Co., Atlantic Beach, Fla., there’s new BeeSting Quasi-Thai SíRacha Catsup, which is honey-sweetened and described by the company as a “Thai take on the ever-popular Sriracha craze.”
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The many faces of pumpkin
No longer reserved for seasonal lattes and pies, pumpkin has perennial possibilities in sweet or savory packaged foods.
“We’re seeing a lot of pumpkin and pumpkin seeds,” Louise Kramer, communications director, Specialty Food Association, told Food Business News. “Starbucks put pumpkin on the map with the pumpkin spice latte. Pumpkin is not that new, but we’re seeing a lot of pepita seeds in the sofi winners and finalists this year…. And we’re seeing a lot of pumpkin flavored products being launched at the show.”
Urban Accents is introducing its first ever cooking sauces line, including such varieties as pumpkin mole, pumpkin tagine and pumpkin curry.
Renfro Foods, Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, is debuting pumpkin salsa, which joins a line of gluten-free, fat-free and low-calorie salsa varieties, including peach, chipotle corn, roasted garlic, and pomegranate, among others. Mr. Renfro’s Pumpkin Salsa evokes a spice mix of pumpkin pie with a medium heat level, according to the company.
Speaking of salsa, new Pumpkin Seed Salsa from American Spoon Foods, Petoskey, Mich., features small chunks of toasted pumpkin seeds and flecks of chile de arbol in a medium-spice blend of tomatoes and red bell peppers.
On the sweet side, new pumpkin-flavored products at Summer Fancy Food include G.H. Cretors pumpkin spice caramel corn from Cornfields, Inc., Waukegan, Ill., pumpkin spice madeleines from Donsuemor, Alameda, Calif., and a cranberry pumpkin spice dark chocolate bar from Taza Chocolate, Somerville, Mass.
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Fat in focus
Beyond butter and olive oil, alternative sources of fat have emerged, promising rich flavor and functional benefits. Epic Provisions, Austin, Texas, has introduced a line of single-ingredient animal fat cooking oils, including duck fat, beef tallow and pork lard. Fatworks L.L.C., Niwot, Colo., has added 100% organic chicken fat to its line of premium cooking oils made from pasture-raised and grass-fed animals. The company, which also offers tallow, lard and duck fat, bills itself as “defenders of fat,” which it says has for years been “slandered, beat up, picked on and falsely accused.”
Avocado remains hot as a heart-healthy source of fat, appearing as an ingredient in such products as a new marinara sauce with avocado oil from Victoria Fine Foods, Brooklyn, and avocado oil mayo from Chosen Foods, Inc., San Diego.
Fatty blends are trending, too. Kelapo Coconut Oil, Tampa, is offering a 50/50 Blend of Ghee and Extra Virgin Coconut Oil to add a boost to coffee. New from Epicurean Butter, Federal Heights, Colo., is Organic Cocoa Coconut Butter, which combines coconut oil, butter and cocoa with a touch of honey and Himalayan sea salt.
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Snacking on coconut
Coconut is casting a health halo over the snack aisle, starring in several new products on display at the show.
Made in Nature, Boulder, Colo., has rolled out a new line of organic snacks, featuring toasted coconut chips in five varieties: Vietnamese cinnamon swirl, Italian espresso, maple Madagascar vanilla, Mexican spiced cacao and ginger masala chai.
Dang Foods, L.L.C., Berkeley, Calif., has expanded its range of coconut chips with a salted cacao variety. Produced in Costa Rica, new Crispy Coconut Chips from San Jose-based Natural Sins L.L.C. contains only two ingredients: coconut and raw cane sugar.
Winning an innovation award for best sweet snack at the show, Organic Coconut Snacks from Creative Snacks Co., Greensboro, N.C., combines coconut with chia, pumpkin and sunflower seeds to create a crunchy brittle.
Alli & Rose, L.L.C., Lincolnton, N.C., adds a decadent twist to the tropical treat with the launch Crispy Coconut Rolls half-dipped in dark chocolate, made with coconut milk and featuring roasted black sesame seeds.
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Hatch is hot
On the heels of sriracha comes hatch chile, a New Mexican native pepper popping up in condiments and cooking sauces.
New offerings from Terrapin Ridge Farms, L.L.C., Clearwater, Fla., include Hatch Chile Honey Mustard and Hatch Chile Mayo Garnishing Squeeze.
Serious Foodie, L.L.C., Bradenton, Fla., is introducing Roasted Hatch Chile Cooking Sauce to pair with meat, poultry, fish, eggs and vegetables, according to the company. The Gracious Gourmet, Bridgewater, Conn., offers Hatch Chile Pesto, featuring green roasted peppers and hatch chiles with garlic, cilantro and onions.
The Southwestern staple lends its flavor to snacks, too. From Thanasi Foods L.L.C., Boulder, Colo., comes a new hatch green chile variety of Duke’s smoked meat snacks. Featured among the Salem Baking Co.’s Hatch Pepper Collection are cheese straws, cheddar artisan crackers and thin, crispy chocolate chip cookies featuring hatch chile peppers. Wackym’s Kitchen, Dallas, makes Hatch Cheese Nibbles, which are savory biscuit bites flavored with green and red hatch chiles with sharp cheddar and blue cheese.
The ingredient presents a challenge to manufacturers, however, as it is only harvested a few weeks out of the year.
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Confections with a kick
Spicy sweets are heating up. Chili Crunch Bar from Vivra Chocolate, Walpole, Mass., features toasted tortilla bits embedded in milk chocolate flavored with red naga chili and dusted with sea salt.
Among the unique caramel varieties offered by McCrea’s Candies, Hyde Park, Mass., is basil cayenne, described by the company as a “cool and spicy treat.”
JulieAnn Caramels, West Jordan, Utah, produces small-batch pineapple habanero caramels, which combines flavors of sweet pineapple and creamy butter with a hint of habanero heat. The company also offers such sweet and spicy flavors as mango habanero, and passion fruit and ghost pepper.
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Cuckoo for coffee
Coffee adds a kick to new confections and frozen treats on display at Summer Fancy Food. Laceys Espresso and Dark Chocolate Cookies from Desserts On Us, Arcata, Calif., feature dark chocolate sandwiched between a pair of crisp, espresso toffee wafer cookies.
A new variety of ice cream from Humphry Slocombe Group L.L.C., San Francisco, is Blue Bottle Vietnamese Coffee, which blends organic Blue Bottle brand coffee with sweetened condensed milk and chicory.
Savvy Girl Baking Co., Rhinecliff, N.Y., has announced a gluten-free coffee brownie made with organic espresso coffee and eggs and butter from Hudson Valley family farms.
Brewla, Inc., Brooklyn, has expanded its line of artisan ice pops with a new cold-brewed coffee flavor.
Seattle Chocolate Co., Seattle, is launching its latest bar, A Super Chocolate Dark Truffle Bar Powered by CoffeeFlour and Cocoa Nibs. The treat is made with CoffeeFlour, an antioxidant-packed ingredient derived from dried coffee cherry pulp.
Bequet Confections, Bozeman, Mont., offers salted mocha caramels, which has layers of salted chocolate caramel and espresso caramel.
Other products including Morning Joe Spread, a coffee-infused almond butter from Karamlize.Me, Hillside, N.J.; coffee bean granola bark from Small Batch Organics, Manchester Center, Vt.; and Salted Caramel Macchiato French Breakfast Puffs from The Invisible Chef, Canton, Ohio.
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Maple mania
Make way for maple. The versatile ingredient appears in new beverages, condiments and confections highlighted at the show.
Five Acre Farms, Brooklyn, has unveiled Local Maple Kefir, a smooth and creamy cultured whole milk drink flavored with a touch of maple syrup. From Fat Toad Farm, Brookfield, Vt., comes Vermont Maple Goat’s Milk Caramel Sauce, hand-stirred with simple ingredients.
Maple bacon fudge is debuting from Country Fresh Food & Confections, Inc., Oliver Springs, Tenn. New from Happy Tree Maple Water, New York, is Cold Brew Coffee Maple Water, an organic beverage with 30 calories per bottle.
Other new products include maple bourbon onion jam from Sidehill Farm, Brattleboro, Vt.; spicy maple sugar from April’s Maple, Canaan, Vt.; and smoked maple syrup from SBFK Inc., Londonderry, Vt.
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