Hydrosol is launching new stabilising and texturing systems that it claims enable food companies to make high-selling trend products.

Demand for vegan and vegetarian products continues to rise, the company notes. Plant-based alternatives to dairy products are especially strong growth drivers in this market. Hydrosol has developed individual stabilising and texturing systems for a wide spectrum of dairy alternatives that it says give them properties very close to those of products made from cow’s milk. These include cultured desserts that contain no milk components, soy or gluten. The company’s functional systems are designed to let manufacturers adjust products to get a texture comparable to yogurt. A creamy, smooth consistency and authentic flavour are characteristic of the vegan creamed cheese alternatives made with them, Hydrosol believes. Used in vegan cheese alternatives, these tailor-made ingredient complexes are said to give ideal melt properties as well as the taste and enjoyment consumers want. For milk drinks, Hydrosol works with alternatives not only to animal milk, but also to soy. A current example is a drink based on sunflower and oats that the company says delivers a pleasing flavour. Functional systems for soft-melting, creamy vegan ice creams round out the product line for plant-based dairy alternatives.

Given the worrying increase in obesity all over the world, Hydrosol says, reducing the amount of sugar in foods and beverages is a major global concern. More and more governments are demanding low sugar products, but from a technological point of view sugar has many positive properties. It gives products flavour, body, texture and a pleasant mouth feel. This, according to the company, is just what the new stabilising and texturing systems from Hydrosol accomplish. In application trials, technologists and scientists have found the optimum interplay of hydrocolloids, starch and plant fibre for various products. The result is individual ingredient combinations for foods like yogurt, drinking yogurt, mixed milk drinks and pudding, as well as for fruity refreshing drinks and energy drinks, ketchup and plant-based whipping creams. These new functional systems enable different sugar content levels as desired, from reduced sugar to sugar-free.

Poultry products make up the world’s fastest-growing meat category, and Hydrosol says it has developed a wide range of solutions for them. These include injection brines for fresh chicken meat which are said to give increased moistness and tenderness, with outstanding brine retention and individually adjustable yield. There are also functional systems for chicken nuggets, ground meat products and schnitzel. These are claimed to provide excellent binding and a juicy bite, and allow the use of vegetable ingredients in addition to meat, which opens up many possibilities for innovative product ideas. The portfolio also includes functional systems for the economic production and long shelf life of poultry sausages. For poultry cold cuts from all-muscle tissue, Hydrosol offers tailored ingredient combinations for high-end premium products as well as cost-optimised recipes.