Fruit and Nut Snacks for the 21st Century

Beware of over-roasting. “People tend to use a higher temperature to bring out the stronger flavor of nuts,” Huang says. That can play havoc with that protective cellular structure. “Naturally, the oils are contained in separate compartments in the cells,” he says. “But when you high-temperature-roast the nuts, you rupture those cellular structures, making those individual oil cells an oil sack. That makes the almond more susceptible to oxidation.”

Ironically, some degree of roast, when done at the right temperature, actually increases shelf life by denaturing enzymes that would otherwise leave the nut less stable. The real key to stability, though, is smart post-roast handling. “Our recommendation for roasted products is that they should be vacuum-packed, probably under cold storage, although vacuum packaging alone can help preserve the shelf life,” Huang says.

Nitrogen flushing will help retain freshness, says Nesper. She also suggests “a light spray of antioxidants to the product or to the nuts themselves, and that will extend the shelf life.”

A candy coating is another way to “seal” the nut and protect it from oxidation, notes Michelle McNeil, marketing director, California Walnut Board, Folsom.

But in the end, the surrounding product matrix and the package itself are the linchpins in keeping a nut snack in good shape. “You’ve got roughly 9 to 12 months on a product, depending on how fresh the nuts are when you’re using them,” McNeil says.

The nut industry has a selection of ingredient forms for product developers to choose, the most popular of which, Nesper notes, are roasted. “But nuts are available in many forms,” she says. “They can be diced to whatever size specification a customer wants. They come in meals or flour-type preparations where they can replace some of the flour in products. They come sugar-coated, as well, so they can be used to add flavor in applications.” Then there’s butter. She notes that 100% roasted hazelnut butter adds quite a bit of hazelnut flavor, as well as moistness, to bars.

Peanut powder, peanut flour milled to a finer particle size, is also an option. “That powder is very soluble, very aromatic, very fragrant and has a lot of flavor in it,” says Bob Coyle, marketing team leader, National Peanut Board, Atlanta. “We’re now working with different channels to get peanut protein powder into more beverages and other snacks.” One innovative snack concept is an energy bar featured at the Fancy Food Show called Pure Power, made with a triple threat of peanut ingredients—the whole nuts, the flour, and roasted aromatic peanut oil. He says this gives “that added protein and all that nutrition in the bar. So here, we’re tapping into several different consumer trends and wants in terms of having a great-tasting snack and a very clean label.”

And that’s just what today’s—and tomorrow’s—snackers are looking for.

Kimberly J. Decker, a California-based technical writer, has a B.S. in consumer food science with a minor in English from the University of California, Davis. She lives in the San Francisco Bay area, where she enjoys eating and writing about food. You can reach her atkim@decker.net.

Healthy Perceptions

According to Chicago-based Mintel’s “Healthy Snacking” report, released in Feb. 2008, 86% of consumers surveyed consider nuts and seeds a “healthy snack,” while nearly 90% feel the same about fruit or dried-fruit snacks.