Faced with a bounty of options, consumers are always on the lookout for food products that offer a little healthy extra. One way product designers can help make their products stand out on the shelf is by adding real, unique fruits and vegetables in either freeze-dried, drum-dried, low-moisture or individually quick-frozen (IQF) form. These ingredients make good economic sense, are nutritious, and add appealing flavor, color and texture to foods.
“Freeze-dried ingredients are all-natural products that hold their color, flavor, piece identity and nutrient content, and are available in a wide variety of sizes, ranging from whole fruits to powders, making for a very flexible ingredient choice,” says Alan McGuirt, marketing manager, Van Drunen Farms. “The IQF process locks in the flavor, color and nutrient content of the raw ingredient, too, in a form that is easy to use. IQF products are convenient, with diverse sizing options and processing steps that take the ‘dirty work’ out of food preparation that using ‘fresh’ ingredients may require. All Van Drunen Farms products undergo stringent microbiological testing to ensure a great-tasting, safe ingredient.”
Van Drunen Farms offers fruit and vegetable inclusions in a range of forms and flavors, including popular strawberry and blueberry, as well as a range of unique ingredients for food developers thinking outside of the box. Freeze-dried offerings include sweet corn with butter and salt; mango strips; sliced apples with skin; cinnamon apples; tropical fruit salad blends; and shredded or cubed cheese. Low-moisture fruit options include wild blueberries coated with oat flour. IQF selections include grape tomatoes, sliced jalapeños and a pico de gallo blend.
“Many of the unique ingredients that Van Drunen Farms provides are a direct result of listening to our customers’ needs and requests, and a desire to provide quality, unique, value-added products that will help our customers, and their products, stand out in a crowded marketplace,” McGuirt says.
These versatile dried ingredients can be used in a wide variety of applications, like cold and hot cereals, bakery products, pancake mixes, baby foods, dry soup mixes, rubs and marinades, snack foods and trail mixes. IQF ingredients are well-suited for pizzas, salsa, dips and spreads, pasta sauces, salads, frozen dinner entrées, and stand-alone vegetable side dishes. And the ingredients can help manufacturers satisfy consumers looking for nutritious food.
“Healthy snacking, in general, seems to be a big trend in the industry,” McGuirt says. “And manufacturers are interested in adding creative twists to snacks. Also, there is a lot of interest in being able to make fruit and vegetable serving equivalent claims on finished products.”
