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Ingredients changing future of food
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Wednesday, 22 June, 2022, 13 : 00 PM [IST]
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Chef Ishita Kirar
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Introduction
The well-known correlation between diet and health demonstrates the great possibilities of food to maintain or even improve our health. This fact has brought about a great interest in seeking new products that can contribute to improving our health and well-being. This type of food able to promote our health has generically been defined as a functional food.
Nowadays, one of the main areas of research in food science and technology is the extraction and characterisation of new natural ingredients with biological activity (e.g., antioxidant, antiviral, antihypertensive, etc.) that can contribute to consumer's well-being as part of new functional foods. The present work shows the results of a bibliographic revision done on the chemical composition of different macroalgae together with a critical discussion about their potential as natural sources of new functional ingredients.
In different countries, they have their own traditional way to serve food. Food traditionally has been synonymous with different regional hues and their own special flavours, based on the skilful blending of amazing ingredients usually locally sourced and conjured up with the extreme dexterity with the base of common and uncommon spices.
Ingredients are the technique where a portion of traditional food, authenticity, and honest cooking is the best way to satisfy your guest. Nowadays we are going to recognise many old and new ingredients combinations where we perform up to the mark. Product innovation is an important part of restaurant menu creation. We need to be well innovative and well knowledgeable of different available ingredients and their sources to perform best in service industries.
Today's trend for the selection of ingredients for any innovative recipes is based on organic, non-GMO and gluten-free, healthy diets, and so on.
Organic food is grown without the use of synthetic pesticides, the selection of written ingredients has more antioxidants, and people with allergy to food or preservatives often feel better when they eat only organic food.
GMO stands for “Genetically Modified Organism” and the gluten-free ingredients such as brown rice, buckwheat, quinoa, wild rice, amaranth, sorghum, millet, corn, teff and so on.
Some ingredients have been dietary staples and they are popular in the entire world and it’s available in grocery stores. These ingredients are not only suitable for a healthy diet, they are also fit in the lifestyle trends, such as clean, healthy eating, innovation, and spherification. Spherification is a modern technique which is involved in semi-solid spheres with thin membranes out of liquids. It is burst –an in-the-mouth effect.
These all techniques and ingredients enhance the flavour and texture of culinary techniques.
Paleo (Paleo diet which typically includes lean meats, vegetables, fish, vegetable nuts, fruits, and seeds- foods that in the past could be obtained by hunting and gathering) and grain-free.
Using herbs and plants is more interesting and blessed ingredients for food industries. In an age when the world is full of chemicals which are really harmful to health in this world, Its raised safety questions, and maximum people are depending on and turning to herbs for health care. People believe in the healthy use of diet herbs and plants are safe and cause no side effects.
Ingredients include stevia, erythritol, plant proteins, soluble rice flour, pectin, lecithin, plant sterols, turbinado sugar, oil and shortening and so on.
Stevia - Stevia is a shrub native to America, these leaves may be used as a calorie-free substitute for sugar. The use of stevia can be used to replace some or all sugar in the most popular recipes. Since most purified stevia leaf extracts are already blended will other ingredients when u use these ingredients no need to add an extra ingredient in it (e.g., applesauce, yogurt, egg whites) commonly used when replacing sugar. Stevia can also increase sweetness such as honey, molasses, or sugar. Stevia can also enhance the flavour of other ingredients in recipes such as vanilla and chocolate.
Erythritol- Erythritol is utilised as a sweetening agent it is also regards to its sensory characteristics, such as flavour, colour, and texture. It is also used to produce no-sugar-added, reduced-sugar, or sugar-free alternatives.
Plant Proteins- Plant proteins are the protein found in plants only, not from fish or animals. It can include a variety of foods, though mainly plant proteins are found in nuts (both raw and roasted), legumes, seeds, and beans. Potatoes and some other vegetables also contain protein, including broccoli, kale, asparagus, and mushrooms. Another good food that's filled with plant protein is the nutrient-dense Ezekiel bread, which is made from barley, wheat, lentils, millet, and spelt.
Pectin- Pectin used in Molecular Gastronomy/ Spherification. Pectin fibre is found in fruits. It is also used as a thickener in cooking and baking.
Lecithin- Lecithin used in Molecular Gastronomy/ Spherification
Plant sterols- Plant sterols are used for lowering cholesterol levels it is also beneficial for colon cancer, heart disease, stomach cancer, heart attack, obesity, and many others if I talk about a suitable cooking method for this plant sterol spread is not suitable for frying. The best cooking method for this is baking such as muffins. Plant sterols are found naturally in fruits, vegetables, wheat germ and wheat bran, cereals, legumes and so on.
Turbinado sugar - Turbinado sugar is raw sugar. It is safe to eat the natural sugar content available in this Turbinado sugar. Turbinado sugar differs from more common sugars it comes from the first pressing sugar cane which retains more flavour.
Ginseng - Ginseng has been used as a medicinal herb in Asian countries for hundreds of years. It contains many kinds of ginsenosides as major active ingredients and is known to have neuroprotective, anti-diabetic properties. We developed cream soup with different concentrations.
Edible Flowers- Edible Flowers to flavour your food and improve your health and innovative presentations. Violet (pansy), Chamomile, Rose, Clover flowers, saffron, tree peony, Japanese honeysuckle, marigold (calendula) and so on.
Functional Mushrooms
Functional mushrooms are types of fungi that are heralded for health benefits beyond their nutritional compositions. The exact benefits depend on the species of mushroom used. However, functional mushrooms are often categorised into two main groups: medicinal mushrooms and adaptogenic mushrooms.
Medicinal mushrooms contain compounds that provide specific health benefits.
(The author is lecturer, IHM Faridabad)
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