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Plant-based Dips: A Party Game Changer

A party is not complete without an assortment of flavorful dips to dress up the chips. In the past, the best party hostess would fan out the traditional guacamole, salsa and ranch. But, over the years, the dip category exploded into a medley of options. As a result, party planners now can offer a variety of plant-based dips including hummus, queso and tzatziki. These vegan dips are made dairy-free using different legumes, nuts or vegetables as bases. Though plant-based dips can simulate dairy-based dips texture, taste and shelf-life, they too come with similar challenges. For example, water loves to migrate…

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Citrus fruit used to make sustainable, upcycled citrus fiber

Pizza Expo 2024 – Top 5 Food Trends

The International Pizza Expo is a trade show that takes place every year in lively Las Vegas. Thousands of pizzeria professionals fill the convention hall exploring the latest food, equipment and restaurant technology. The thrill begins at the entrance door where foodies are greeted with the warm savory aromas of pizza permeating the air. Besides the intoxicating smells, I captured several food trends while strolling the hall floor. Dairy Alternative & Meat Substitute Options Still on Tap Though the meat substitute segment slowed down over the past few years, this segment is still relevant in the pizza category. A handful…

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Frozen desserts like ice cream uses citrus fiber to improve texture and stability over shelf-life

Frozen Desserts: Smoothing Out the Texture

It is one of the many nostalgic memories that many Earth dwellers have had since childhood – eating ice cream. And if you reside in the USA, you most likely recall the infamous Baskin-Robbins 31 Flavors ice cream shop. This frozen dessert joint sold a flavor for every day of the month. But ironically, many lickers defaulted to their favorite flavor or flavors if given the choice. Today, ice cream not only comes in different flavors but also bases too. Originally, milk was the starting base. However, frozen desserts now can be churned using plant-based milks like oat, almond, coconut…

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Soft-baked Cookie - Citrus Fiber Improves Soft Texture and Shelf-life

“C is for Cookie” as in Soft-baked Cookies

“C is for cookie and that’s good enough for me.” These satirical words stem from the iconic Cookie Monster. Though he originated in the USA, this monochromatic blue puppet is recognized all around the kiddie world preaching the good word about cookies! These delicious, sweet morsels come in a variety of flavors, shapes and sizes. They are available with candied toppings, filled with sweetness, enrobed with chocolate or come in different textures. One popular bakery format hot out of the oven includes soft-baked cookies. Soft-baked Cookie Challenges Bakers Face Baking soft cookies comes with an array of challenges. Bakers are…

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Clean Label Food - Citrus Fiber

Clean Label Food & Beverage: 2023 Top Searches

Food trends come and go, however, clean label is here to stay. Although clean label suggests just that, the definition is highly subjective and carries a myriad of meanings. To some this term implies familiarity, naturalness and simplicity. And to others it refers to sustainable and environmentally friendly. Regardless of the clean label food definition, this movement has affected most food and beverage categories to some degree. Citri-Fi Citrus Fiber  – Clean Label Food & Beverages Citri-Fi is produced from byproduct of the citrus juicing industry. The clean process, which is free from chemical modifications, is one piece of the…

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Upcycled Citrus Fiber - Citri-Fi

Top 5 Facts about Citri-Fi® Upcycled Citrus Fiber

The True Citrus Fiber Pioneers – Fiberstar, Inc. The Fiberstar team takes pride in being the upcycling citrus fiber forerunners. For over 20 years, Fiberstar’s expertise revolved around creating value-added products from plant-based fibers, specifically citrus-based fibers. This technology evolved years before other food ingredient companies jumped on the bandwagon after noticing the value that citrus fiber brings to the food and beverage market. The 20-year mastery in citrus fiber technology and dedicated passion built a solid foundation for converting side streams into value-added ingredients. Because of this, Fiberstar produced a line of citrus fibers that fit today’s paradigm –…

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Formulating Meat Substitutes using Citrus Fiber

Formulating Meat Substitutes: Citri-Fi® Portfolio

Formulating meat substitutes has been an on-going challenge for every plant-based food producer. For instance, consumers expect the foods to taste exactly like animal-based products. Without that parity, consumers skip the re-purchase and gravitate back to their beloved fleshy bits. Though meat substitute products come close to their animal counterparts, they still fall short in taste and texture. To create a meat substitute requires plant-based ingredients. For example, product developers use a protein base in addition to texturizers, stabilizers, and gelling agents. This hodgepodge of ingredients are needed to create the firm meat-like texture, succulence and binding. At the same…

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Formulating with Citrus Fiber

6 Ways to Formulating with Citrus Fiber

Look at a food product’s label and you will be daunted at how many food ingredients are listed. Some are your classics found in grandmother’s pantry. Others struggle to roll off the tongue easily. And then some ingredients read like hieroglyphics dug up from an Egyptian crypt. Regardless, formulating with citrus fiber and/or other natural functional ingredients can help clean up food labels which improves the product’s image. The market demands more natural ingredients that create high quality healthy food products with a long shelf-life. Using the words ‘natural ingredients’ and ‘long shelf-life’ in the same sentence is an oxymoron…

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Pumpkin Pie Filling - Citrus Fiber

Perfecting the Pumpkin Pie Filling – Citrus Fiber

Tis the season when baristas whip up frothy pumpkin spice lattes and shoppers restock their pantries with pumpkin spice everything. Over the years, pumpkin spice penetrated almost every food group including beer, cookies, candy and even butters. This flavor trend evolved into a tradition which marks the dawn of a new season. Despite pumpkin spice’s trendiness, its popularity originated in the traditional pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin Pie Filling Pitfalls As soon as Fall arrives in the U.S., every baker is pumping out fresh pumpkin pies. And like most shelf-stable foods, pies fall victim of stability issues. Over time, water migration…

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Citrus Fibers Improves Stability and Mouthfeel in Plant-based Beverages

Strip the Stabilizers – Plant-based Beverages

In previous articles crafted about plant-based beverages, the topics focused on types of plant milks, food ingredient usage and processing methods. Yet, none honed in on the clean label trend. Simplified food labeling continues to be a hot topic especially in plant-based milks like oat milk and almond milk. Some manufacturers tout their homemade style processing which uses no stabilizers. At the same time, stability and texture tend to be compromised. In the 1980’s, finding a sludge of chocolate at the bottom of a milk glass created Cheshire smiles on every kid’s face. Today, finding a slug of particulates at…

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