Joe Nuts at UMass

UMass has the best food science department in the United States and possibly in the world! I know this for a fact because I just came back from my U-Mass Food Science Alumni weekend and Dr. Decker, the department head told us this several times and backed it up with data and literature from Food Technology (Feb. 2011 issue, page 2) that confirmed this.

But even if Dr. Decker hadn’t told me this, I was able to see firsthand what a great job the university is doing training the undergrads into the food science superstars of the future. During alumni weekend the students presented to the staff and alumni their award winning product development competition innovative product “Joe Nuts” a twist on the classic coffee and doughnuts. Joe Nuts are a dry deep fried doughnut that has a liquid coffee filling (real coffee, not a coffee gel or syrup!). They look like a Munchkin (or a Tim Bit as the Canadians call them) but when you bite into it, hot coffee liquid is released.

The presentation included everything a food company would require in terms of getting a product ready for market. There was nutritional data, functional ingredients and even a El Bulli style reverse spherification process that helped them create a coffee sphere with a liquid center. The balls were IQF’d and placed between sheets of dough to form the raw doughnut ball. The ball is then partially fried and frozen and can be reheated at the store level. Food safety was considered, so was packaging, marketing and the reheating process.

Well, all I have to say is-Dunkin Donuts and Tim Horton’s should start recruiting now because these young food scientists are already creating line extensions like vanilla hazelnut creamy centers (no real dairy allowed because it will interfere with the spherification process), and a cinnamon dusted apple cider center Joe Nut.