Products from Goya Foods, Inc., Secaucus, NJ, such as black beans, pink beans or chickpeas, demonstrate the migration of foods across aisles and into mainstream grocery baskets. “You probably wouldn’t have seen a Goya product in any abundance several years ago,” says Anton Angelich, group vice president marketing, Virginia Dare, Brooklyn, NY. “You may have seen it in an ethnic aisle. You may have seen it in a specialty store. If you walk into any supermarket just about anywhere in the United States today you’re going to find Goya products in a pretty prominent position with a lot of facings on the shelf space. You see observationally, or if you do any market research, people who are shopping in the Goya aisle are not necessarily Hispanic. A lot of people have accepted those products. It’s a very high-quality product that appeals to everybody.”
Beans have widespread appeal because they are economical and nutritious. “Beans are a typical daily part of Hispanic/Latino cuisine,” says Víctor Lobo DiPalma, technical manager, Latin America, ADM, Decatur, IL. “While the United States has come to know restaurant refried beans as a salty, fat-added side dish hidden under lettuce shreds, Hispanic/Latino cuisine in America is getting back to its more-traditional fresh-food roots, making the dishes leaner and less-sodium-laden, with beans coming back to the center of the plate. North Americans have, in many instances, been accustomed to potatoes and meat at most meals. While chicken and beef will not leave this position, smaller portions of animal proteins over a bean and rice mixture will be more economical without lowering the amount of protein or the customer’s expectations in the full dish, with a benefit of added fiber and nutrients and lower cholesterol.
“True Latin American bean dishes are commonly prepared with very simple, fresh ingredients—lots of onion, some garlic and finely chopped celery sprinkled with oregano,” continues DiPalma. “While beans themselves are fairly bland, they are great flavor carriers. They can be cooked and added whole to a sauce or mashed into a paste combined with diced, sautéed vegetables, then whipped for a ‘mashed potato’ everyone will love.”
Mainstreaming flavor
The heightened spiciness of Hispanic dishes is a common misconception. “Many people think of chiles when they think of Latin cuisine,” says Amy Marr, vice president of marketing, Gilroy Foods and Flavors, Omaha, NE. “The American palate loves heat, but with the wide variety of chiles used in Latin cooking, it’s becoming more about the flavors found in those chiles. For instance, habanero chiles pack a fierce punch, but also have a fruity undertone. According to USDA figures, Americans are eating 38% more chile peppers than they were in 1996, and they’re branching out beyond the jalapeño in their exploration of chile varietals.”
Marr also notes that “citrus flavors, such as lime, play an important role. Herbs like cilantro and oregano, and spices like cumin and annatto, are combined into pastes and rubs for meat and fish.”
However, heat is still a draw for some consumers. At McClancy Seasoning Co., Fort Mill, SC, Reid Wilkerson, president, is seeing an increase in imports of red hot peppers. “I’m grinding hotter red pepper than we ever have, 60,000, 80,000 SHU,” he says. “Americans are eating hotter and spicier foods.”
Wilkerson finds that many manufacturers are not reducing the heat to accommodate American consumers. “People are looking to create products that are more authentic and more true to the actual recipes and things that they’re seeing. That’s even spilling over into the prepared-food segment,” he says.
At times, less-fiery chiles do the trick. Poblano, Santa Fe, Coronado and some ancho chile peppers can be used to deliver minimal, if any, heat to the palate, suggests Zack Sanders, technical services and business development manager, Kraft Food Ingredients, Memphis, TN.
Roasting chiles for meat sautés, soups and stews is a technique offered by Chris Keegan, R&D chef, Cargill Flavor Systems, Cincinnati. To widen appeal, he believes “it’s not a question of modifying the flavors so much as expanding the use to jazz-up American dishes.” He suggests creating a green chile sauce to top omelets, or adding chipotle to soups, stews and creamy dips.
No doubt, the most-popular flavors are chipotle, cilantro, chiles, masa, cumin and lime,” says Keegan. He predicts increased use of “spices like cinnamon and clove, as well as increased use of an herb called epazote. During the next few years, I expect the next big push in a couple of years will be the Oaxaca moles. The flavors are so complex and unique, they are bound to create consumer interest.”
