The COVID-19 pandemic and high stress levels have propelled consumers to reach for comfort foods. According to Israel-based Salt of the Earth, the same events drive consumer demands for flavorful and soothing, yet better-for-you choices. 

Salt of the Earth gives food companies a “significant edge” in meeting these dual demands through its all-natural solution. Mediterranean Umami Bold can boost flavor while cutting salt from consumers’ favorite comfort foods, such as pizza and tomato soup.

“Consumers are working from home and do not enjoy active social lifestyles as before, so eating at home and turning to comfort food has become the new normal,” says Tali Feingold, business unit director of Salt of the Earth. 

“Yet these same consumers are more conscious about what they put in their bodies and study labels to ensure ingredients are all-natural, without additives.”

“We want food to be memorable and tasty. From home made cooking, to buying ready to eat meals, from snacking in front of the TV and at Zoom meetings, consumers want to enjoy their food without intaking synthetic ingredients,” she tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

Comfort makes a comeback
The formulation is upgrading this nostalgic category that has made a big comeback over the last 12 months, hailing it as a “compelling umami boost” while at the same time effectively reducing the need for salt.

England’s salt reduction program will have led to nearly 200,000 fewer adults developing heart disease and £1.64 billion (US$2.3 billion) of healthcare cost savings by 2050, according to research by Queen Mary University of London. 

Mediterranean Umami Bold allows pizza makers to craft cleaner-label products and reduce sodium while keeping a good flavor.Consistently ranked among the top comfort foods is pizza. According to Innova Market Insights, data from H1 2020 indicates that gluten-free was the number three positioning for pizza NPD overall, used for 11 percent of launches globally. 

However, this was mainly because of the “gluten-free” claim’s popularity in North America, wher it was used for 29 percent of launches over the 18 months to the end of June 2020. 

Vegetarian and vegan claims were also in the top five positionings for pizza NPD globally in the first six months of 2020, used for 9 percent and 6 percent of launches, respectively. 

“A lot of consumers are home cooking and trialing out vegan pizzas, different toppings, experimenting with new flavors from hot to sweet. The sky is the limit and you can throw anything on a pizza today,” adds Feingold.

Boosting flavor and reducing sodium
Mediterranean Umami Bold allows pizza makers and other savory product makers to craft cleaner-label products, reduce sodium and keep an appealing flavor. 

“Mediterranean Umami Bold can be used in plant-based meat from beetroot and mushrooms to cauliflower, in processed meats, salad dressings, hot dressings, and in crackers in snack coatings. Mediterranean Umami bold has multiple functionality: it is both a flavor enhancer and sodium reduction ingredient,” Feingold explains.

It’s plant-based, vegan, kosher and halal and easily helps replac synthetic ingredients and other artificial additives as well as salt replacements.

“Removing salt from a recipe and adding Mediterranean Umami Bold enhances all of the flavors in the application, without influencing texture or mouthfeel,” stresses Rakefet Rosenblatt, a food technologist for Salt of the Earth. 

“Mediterranean Umami Bold helps keep the flavor systems balanced, even with reduced sodium.”

Mediterranean Umami Bold can also reduce the amounts of certain ingredients, such as flavorings and spice blends. The easiest way to use it is to add to the aqueous phase in the recipe. It is functional across a variety of processing conditions, being heat- and pH-stable. 

It is suited for meats and fish, sauces, soups, ready-to-eat meals, plant-based meat analogs and bakery items.