“Dried blueberries, which are less than 20% moisture and often infused with a light sugar solution to give them weight and pliability, are a perfect add-in to snack mixes and bars,” says Thomas Payne, industry specialist for the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council, Folsom, CA. He cites other options like shelf-stable, moist blueberries infused with syrup and freeze-dried blueberries. “These quick-frozen and dehydrated blueberries have moisture levels in the 2% to 4% range,” he says. “The freeze-dried blueberry maintains its shape and color and is ideal for grain-based snack foods.”
Sweet and salty
All types of fruit complement nuts and seeds, creating a sweet and salty combo that many consumers crave. Sahale Snacks, Seattle, offers nuts and dried fruit pieces that are glazed in kettles with organic evaporated cane juice and natural fruits, like strawberry juice concentrate or pomegranate juice concentrate. The glazed nuts are then finished in a dry-roasting process.
“There’s a growing trend toward topical application of seasonings on nuts and seeds. Sometimes they are sweet and salty, other times spicy and hot,” says Wilkerson. “We recently developed a brown-sugar spice seasoning that works well on cashews. We have a wasabi seasoning that works on all types of nuts, as well as dehydrated vegetables such as peas.”
Bold flavors continue to attract. “Demand shows that consumers are trending toward innovative flavors,” says Justin Havlick, president, Thanasi Foods LLC, Boulder, CO. The company flavors its co-branded large-size sunflower seeds with the likes of bacon, hot buffalo, and dill pickle.
The original baked snack
Pretzels are one of the original better-for-you snacks, but after awhile, plain pretzels get boring. “A few years back, we developed a carbohydrate-based spray-on aqueous system that assists with seasoning adhesion,” says Wilkerson. “Seasoning adhesion can be challenging on baked snacks, because there’s no residual surface oil like one gets after frying. It is even extra-challenging to get a seasoning to adhere to pretzels without adding oil, as pretzels have a slick, nonporous surface. This fat-free spray does the trick, and can turn an ordinary pretzel into one with a mesquite buffalo flavor profile, for example.”
Another specialty product, derived from waxy corn starch, is recommended for the adhesion of seasonings, flavorings and particulates to snack foods, notes Alejandro Perez, snack and bakery applications, National Starch Food Innovation, Bridgewater, NJ.
“It is especially well suited for reduced-fat products where oil cannot be used for adhesion purposes,” he says. “It has low viscosity with high solids and possesses a high degree of tackiness.”
Another way to add value to pretzels is to formulate using different grains, particularly ones that qualify as whole grains.
Going for the grain
Whole grains include all three edible parts of the original grain: the fiber-rich outer bran layer, the starchy endosperm and the germ. “As long as all three of these parts are still present in their original proportions and all nutrients retained, the grain kernel can be cracked, crushed, rolled, extruded, cooked or otherwise processed and still be considered a whole grain,” says Cynthia Harriman, director of food and nutrition strategies, Whole Grains Council, Boston, noting that all whole grains are rich in vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. All of the following can be considered whole grains, notes Harriman, provided they are consumed with all of their bran, germ and endosperm: amaranth, barley (excluding pearled barley), buckwheat, corn (including popcorn and whole cornmeal), millet, oats and oatmeal, quinoa, rice (brown, other colored rice and wild), rye, sorghum, teff, triticale, and wheat (including its many varieties, such as spelt, emmer, farro, einkorn, durum, and forms such as bulgur, cracked and wheatberries).
“Each whole grain differs in taste and texture, as well as impacts product processing,”
says Harriman. “Shelf life tends to be shorter for whole grains (due to the presence of unsaturated fatty acids), but none of these issues should deter snack food manufacturers from switching from refined grains to whole grains.”
A combination of whole grains forms the basis of a dough that’s extruded into any shape and size pellet, notes Mike Shafiabady, director of research, J.R. Short Milling Company, Kankakee, IL. “Resembling uncooked pasta, the pellets can be air popped for a low-fat snack,” he says. “Depending upon the blend of grains and other ingredients, it is possible to produce a snack that is a good source of fiber and high in protein, as well as low in calories and sodium.