Balancing Asian Flavors

As Asian foods have taken an increasing share of the ethnic-food spotlight, product developers want ingredients to add flair to finished products. When formulating traditional Asian and Asian-inspired foods, TABASCO® Industrial Ingredients/McIlhenny Company recommends its fermented chile-derived ingredients to add complex flavor, as well as various levels of heat.

Fermented foods are often created through controlled use of microbial cultures. “Fermentation has been long used in Chinese culture to prepare foods,” says Jason Gronlund, executive corporate chef. “The benefits of this were realized over 2,000 years ago.” He cites several examples, including: China’s sufu (fermented tofu) and douchi (salted, fermented black soybeans), Southeast Asia’s tempeh (partially cooked, fermented soybeans), Indonesia’s peanut onchom (fermented, pressed peanuts), and Japan’s miso (fermented rice, soy and/or barley) and natto (fermented soybeans). Soy sauce, which originated in China and then spread throughout Asia—and the world—is another classic example of a fermented food.

TABASCO Brand Pepper Sauce undergoes a unique, three-year fermentation process that “delivers a flavor profile that is very like the foods that have made Asian cuisines very flavorful,” says Gronlund. He notes that the sauce “has a flavor that the consumer can identify with, and they may not realize why. In all cuisines, you need that balance with acid and sweet, and TABASCO can help be part of that balance.”

Gronlund recommends TABASCO’s Liquid Red Sauce, Pepper Pulp, Pepper Paste and Processors Blend to “keep with the true Asian flavors.” He notes that each ingredient—aside from the Liquid Red Sauce—has a more-fermented and pepper note with less vinegar flavor. “The pulp and paste will leave very small particulates,” he says, noting that the Processors Blend delivers a combination of great color, larger particulates and flavor. Use levels vary depending on the application, he notes, pointing out that higher fat contents in some foods, such as ice cream, can move the heat perception of capsaicin from the front of the mouth to the rear, slightly delaying its effect. He recommends the Processors Blend for soy-sauce dressing applications, and the Pepper Pulp and Paste to add spice to sauces for tonkatsu (breaded, fried pork cutlets).

The company can add various levels of sauce to intermediate- moisture products to increase moisture content, as desired.

TABASCO® Industrial Ingredients/ McIlhenny Company 
Avery Island, LA 70513 
Phone: 337/373-6105 
Website: www.tabascoingredients.com