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Tomato Extension, Natural Tomato-like Texture, Viscosity, Thickness in pizza sauces and plant-based pizzas - Citri-Fi Citrus Fiber
June 22, 2022
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Dressings, Soups & Sauces

Plant Based Pizza: Piece by Piece

Plant based pizzas contain multiple components including the crust, sauce, dairy-free cheese and plant-based meat. Each ingredient faces its own formulating challenges. However, plant-based ingredients like Citri-Fi® citrus fiber binds the water and emulsifies to alleviate stability and texture issues.

Someone told me once that pizza is the ultimate food. It contains all 5 food groups: fruits/vegetables, starch, dairy, protein and fat. In product development classes, pizza was the go-to meal when creating portable snacks, feeding a family of five and nourishing those in need. Although pizza is a quick and easy morsel for the consumer, the complexity spins most food developers heads when it comes to plant-based pizzas.

Pizza is comprised of multiple components including the crust, sauce, cheese and protein toppings. When combined together, water and oil, when not bound, tend to migrate in different directions. Throw in refrigeration and freeze/thaw storage, pizza stability and texture risks quality issues. Plant based pizzas are not exempted from these dilemmas. These products tend to have their own challenges.

Building the Foundation: Pizza Crust and Sauce

For instance, pizza crust serves as the foundation. Today, there are a variety of crusts available catering to various diet requirements such as gluten-free, keto and low-carb. Many of the base flours used do not contain gluten. Because of this the pizza crust lacks binding. Crusts tend to crack and separate or turn soggy depending on the flour bases used. Some of these bases such as starch-based gluten-free flours or cauliflower need binding power to hold it all together.

Citri-Fi citrus fiber, at <1% usage level, holds a lot of water especially in bakery products like pizza crusts. This natural ingredient works synergistically with starches and gums to create a pizza crust that stands up in heat. Citri-Fi shines most in freeze/thaw conditions. This citrus fiber binds the water to prevent water migration during freeze/thaw cycles. As a result, the pizza crust remains intact and produces a tender bite after baking.

Another component of plant based pizzas that tend to use water and oil binders is sauce. Although red sauce is the gold standard, today the culinary world introduced everyone to new sauce options. The market now offers pesto, white cheese and even butternut squash sauces. And like the conventional red sauce, these sauces require viscosity and stability to maintain texture. Citri-Fi citrus fiber’s water holding and emulsification at <1% usage level stabilizes the sauce while creating the natural thick texture. And because of its functional benefits, it keeps the water and oil in the sauce instead of leaking into the crust and toppings. Due to the recent starch and food gum supply limitations, Citri-Fi is an ideal substitute.

Dairy-free Pizza Cheese - Meltability

The crust and sauce typically are plant based. The more challenging components of a pizza are dairy-free cheeses and plant-based meats. Dairy-free cheeses do not contain animal-based casein which creates that gooey meltable texture when heated. Because of this, plant-based cheeses have limited melt-ability. This significantly affects not only the visual but also the mouthfeel and texture. Developers combine a melting pot of ingredients (no pun intended) such as starches, food gums, plant proteins and fibers to improve shred, spread and melt.

One solution available includes Citri-Fi when used at <1%. As mentioned, this natural ingredient binds water and emulsifies. As a result, the cheese holds onto the water and oil during refrigeration to prevent water migration or oil purge. Citri-Fi can also work synergistically with other plant-based ingredients to create a smooth and melt-able plant cheese.

Plant-based Meats Texture the Top

Lastly, plant-based meats topped on pizzas typically are pepperoni or sausage bites. Pepperoni meat alternatives tend to lack moisture and fall apart. Using the Citri-Fi 100 line at <1%, developers can create pepperoni slices that bind the water which improves the stability and moist texture. On the other hand, sausage bites typically have soft texture and lack the chew similar to their animal-based counterparts. When using Citri-Fi TX texturizing citrus fiber, product developers can create sausage pieces with more meat-like texture. The Citri-Fi 100 line can also be used in conjunction with Citri-Fi TX to bind the water and oil to produce the succulence.

In the end, Citri-Fi citrus fiber is a versatile formulating tool for plant based pizzas. This natural ingredient’s ability to hold water and emulsification, solves many challenges when creating the crust, sauce, dairy-free cheese and meat alternatives.

Citri-Fi is non-GMO Project certified, gluten-free and allergen-free. Labeling options include citrus fiber, dried citrus pulp or citrus flour which resonate well in the clean label market. Citri-Fi also have no E-number which is favorable in food markets like Europe.

For information about creating plant based pizzas, please contact us.

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Citri-Fi Citrus Fiber is a clean label starch replacement
April 29, 2022
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Bakery, Dairy, Dressings, Soups & Sauces, Frozen Foods, Processed Meats

Starch Replacement in Formulations: Ironing out the Options

Supply chain hiccups are disrupting the availability of food ingredients like modified starches. As a result, starch replacement in formulations is a recent request in the industry. Modified starches provide multiple benefits including thickening, viscosity, gelling, binding and emulsification. At the same time, Citri-Fi® citrus offers similar functionalities due to it natural upcycled fibrous composition. As a result, this citrus fiber can be used to extend or replace some modified and clean label starches.

Food starch is one of the most common food ingredients used today. For instance, consumers sprinkle food starches into their home recipes to create thick and creamy soups. And the food industry uses it as a workhorse ingredient in almost every food product around the globe. Many of the common botanical starch sources include corn, wheat and rice. They all provide multiple functionalities including thickening, viscosity, gelling, binding and emulsification depending on the botanical source and modification. In the hydrocolloid world, they are the champions of water management. As a result, they create high quality processed foods such as yogurts, salad dressings and frozen appetizers. Currently, multiple hiccups within the supply chain disrupted the availability of certain food ingredients. This includes modified starches. As a result, starch replacement in formulations or extension strategies remain on the top of many companies’ minds.

However, challenges arise when extending or replacing modified starches. Modified starches sustain harsh food processing, storage and handling conditions. Without modified starch, sauces would separate out over time. Some yogurts would fall off the spoon in a watery mess. And frozen products would form ice crystals affecting the food texture during reconstitution.

Some potential starch substitutes on the market consist of blends containing gums, alginates, plant fibers and emulsifiers. However, choosing the optimal replacement or extension highly depends on the starch’s original contribution to the food formulation. For example, was the starch used to create viscosity in heated and low pH conditions? Or was it to provide emulsion stability as well? Not one size fits all when replacing starch in a formulation.

Comparing Natural Citrus Fiber to Starches

One natural solution which provides multiple functionalities is Citri-Fi citrus fiber. This citrus fiber holds significant amounts of water and provides emulsification properties stemmed from its natural upcycled composition. At low usage levels (<1%), this plant fiber improves stability, texture and nutrition in a variety of food products ranging from bakery to sauces. Because of this, Citri-Fi and modified starches share parallels. For example, Citri-Fi provides cold viscosity, water holding, emulsification and gelation under certain parameters. This natural ingredient also stabilizes food in low pH, heat, freeze/thaw and shear conditions similar to modified starches.

Yet, some of the key beneficial attributes include its water capacity and emulsion stability. Citri-Fi holds 9 to 10 times its weight in water and three (3) times its weight in oil. Its natural functionality creates its stability unlike modified starches which need chemical modifications to do the same. Citri-Fi also contributes dietary fiber which helps improve food nutritional profiles. Lastly, Citri-Fi has no E-number unlike starches.

Formulating with Citri-Fi Citrus Fiber

With starch replacement in formulations, product developers need to understand two key factors. First, they need to identify the targeted functionality within the food application that the starch is delivering. Second, they need to outline the processing conditions. With these two pieces of information, the Fiberstar technical team can recommend the best citrus fiber for the application.

One of the important considerations when replacing starch in formulations is the incorporation method in the process and the proper hydration time to activate Citri-Fi’s functionality. In some cases, adjusting the usage level or using a different particle size may be more successful.

Creating Additional Viscosity

There are a few options when creating viscosity. First, as mentioned, shear opens up the fiber to create additional viscosity. Because of this, homogenization will open up the citrus fiber to expose more surface area where the water attaches. If homogenization is not an option, then trying either Citri-Fi 200 or 300 series may be a suitable solution. The 200 series is citrus fiber co-processed with guar gum and the 300 with xanthan gum.

Creating Gelled Textures

Because Citri- Fi contains high levels of intact native pectin, this natural ingredient can provide gelling at low pH and high Brix similar to isolated pectin. Most popular products are the 100FG and the 100M40 used at 1-2%. The gelling properties benefit applications such as fruit preparations like bake stable fillings.

Creating Emulsification

Binding oil and water is another key feature of Citri-Fi citrus fiber. Citri-Fi can bind up three (3) times its weight in oil making it an efficient emulsifier. To incorporate, the citrus fiber is typically added uniformly into the oil first before hydration to create a stable emulsion. However, Citri-Fi can also be added to the dry ingredients first before the hydration and oil step.

As a recap, Citri-Fi is a clean label solution that provides similar functionalities as modified starches. Therefore, starch replacement in formulations is possible. Some of these benefits include cold viscosity, heat, pH and freeze/thaw and shear stability and gelling. Citri-Fi's typical usage level (< 1%) may provide cost-in-use savings. Besides the functional benefits, Citri-Fi does contribute dietary fiber. And this natural ingredient is non-GMO Project certified, non-allergenic and gluten-free. Additionally, Citri-Fi has no E-number unlike modified starches so it is preferred in regions like Europe.

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Egg replacement in dressing, sauces, bakery fillings and dips
April 20, 2022
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Bakery, Bakery Fillings, Dressings, Soups & Sauces

Egg Replacement: The Good Egg – Citrus Fiber

The market demands egg replacement options due to price and availability fluctuations, plant-based lifestyle trends and allergen-free food requirements. Though many solutions exist today, Citri-Fi® citrus fiber is one clean label option available to partially replace egg depending on the food product. Due to the citrus fiber’s high water holding and emulsification properties, Citri-Fi works synergistically with other food ingredients such as starches, gums and plant fibers to remove egg entirely.

Real eggs are the workhorse ingredients in the food world. They have so many functions in baked goods including aeration, browning color, binding, humectancy and leavening to improve the texture over shelf-life. Moreover, eggs provide coagulation, coatings, crystallization control and richness to a variety of other foods. Besides the functional benefits, eggs also fortify foods with protein content. So, why would the market demand egg replacement options?

Eggs experience pricing fluctuations like any other food staple. Temporary anomalies such as the current Avian flu create price hikes and supply constraints that affect companies that are not locked into contracts or lack buying power. On the other hand, there are other market dynamics at play that drive the need for egg replacers. For instance, there is a wave of consumers shifting toward a plant-based diet. Because of this, people are looking for animal-free including egg-free foods. Another segment steers away from egg products due to allergen concerns. Typically, if one allergen is avoided such as gluten, other allergens are added to the elimination list. For example, many restaurants are converting over to vegan mayonnaise for food safety and allergen reasons.

A Nest Full of Egg Replacement Options

There have been egg replacers on the market for over 10 years now or more. And they vary amongst different ingredients such as food gums, dairy and wheat proteins, starches, plant fibers and blends of these ingredients. Other types of ingredients also include leaveners, enzymes and emulsifiers. The type of ingredients used highly depends on the food product that the egg is used in. And each ingredient has both pros and cons. For instance, some ingredients are chemically modified, some are considered allergens and some lack nutritional contributions. In the end, egg replacement requires multiple ingredients or a systems approach. Dialing into that exact system is a challenge especially to reach 100% egg replacement.

Citrus Fiber as an Egg Replacer Formulation Tool

As mentioned, some plant fibers provide some of the lost functionality in an eggless food. For example, Citri-Fi citrus fiber is a potential solution. This natural ingredient provides high water holding and emulsification properties similar to eggs. As a result, product developers can reduce the amount of egg in the formulation. And when used with other hydrocolloids, 100% egg replacement may be possible especially in bakery products.

Citri-Fi can partially replace eggs in baked goods including pancakes, cookies, layer cakes and muffins. This citrus fiber extends eggs in bakery fillings like custards too. In both instances, less than 1% will create high quality bakery products. In addition, these baked goods tend to maintain freshness over time improving shelf-life. This natural citrus fiber is added in with the dry ingredients such as flour and sugar before the liquid phase.

This natural ingredient is allergen-free and ideal as a gluten-free bakery ingredient. Many gluten-free products avoid ingredients such as egg, soy, wheat and dairy. These ingredients tend to provide water holding, binding, structure and emulsification to the food. Without using one or more of these food ingredients, the bakery product tends to lose quality. However, Citri-Fi, at <1% usage level, provides moisture retention and oil and water binding to improve the structure and freshness over time.

Yet, Citri-Fi also shines in egg-free spreads such as vegan mayonnaise. This citrus fiber’s high intact pectin content creates an emulsion with the other food ingredients which does not break over time. As a result, the mayonnaise remains uniform and creamy.

If you have additional questions about citrus fiber as a potential egg replacement ingredient, please contact us.

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Tomato Extension or Tomato Extender, Natural Tomato-like Texture, Viscosity, Thickness - Citri-Fi Citrus Fiber
August 31, 2021
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Dressings, Soups & Sauces

Tomato Extension: Stay out of the Red

Tomato availability continues to be tight due to reduced acreage, continuous drought, rotation to more profitable crops and last year’s COVID hoarding. Though extending tomato with modified starches and food gums help bridge the shortage, the market offers more natural fibers like Citri-Fi® citrus fiber which closely simulates tomato functionality. As a result, at low usage levels, Citri-Fi extends tomato solids while still creating more natural textures, colors and flavors in sauces, pastes, dressings and soups.

The tomato shortage story begins with “once a upon a time” when tomatoes were a key staple crop in the California central valley. But over the years, the market and the environment took its toll on this once flourishing agriculture. This saga talks about how the tomato crop fell out of favor in export due to stronger domestic currency. As a result, this drove farmers to reduce their crop size and/or sow their fields with other profitable foods like almonds, pistachio and grapes. And then compounded with drought and last year’s COVID hoarding spree, tomato supplies struggled to rebound. Now tomato extension enters the storyline.

Quick Fixes for Tomato Extension

Despite the tomato’s dramatic saga over the years, the food industry offered several solutions including extending tomato pulp. Some extension methods included hydrocolloids like modified starches and food gums. These commodity ingredients bridged the tomato availability at times. Like quick fixes, these come with limitations. For instance, starches tend to produce more gel-like and pasty textures. On the other hand, certain food gums create sliminess and gumminess. Despite the textural drawbacks, customers settled with these options not knowing that the market offers other ingredients that function similar to tomato.

More Natural Ingredient Solutions

For example, another way to approach tomato extension is by using Citri-Fi® citrus fiber. This natural upcycled ingredient is created by a process free from chemical modifications. Due to its concentration of fibers and native intact pectin, this citrus fiber simulates tomato composition. As a result, at low usage levels (<0.5%), Citri-Fi creates more natural textures, color and flavors when replacing a portion of the tomato solids.

In addition to the textural and extension benefits, Citri-Fi also is heat, pH and freeze-thaw stable. Because of this, sauces, dressings and pastes remain uniform and inseparable during harsh food processing conditions. Citri-Fi’s labeling options include citrus fiber, dried citrus pulp or citrus flour which resonate well in the natural markets. And this functional ingredient contributes fiber which benefits the nutritional statement. Citri-Fi is also Non-GMO Project Certified, E number-free, allergen-free, and gluten-free.

To learn more about tomato extension using natural fibers like Citri-Fi, please contact us!

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January 28, 2021
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Dressings, Soups & Sauces

Plant Sauces: Dressing up Stability and Emulsification

Creating plant sauces containing no animal-derived ingredients separate over time and lack full body mouthfeel. Natural ingredients like Citri-Fi® citrus fiber provide high water holding and emulsification which improve stability and texture in products like vegan ranch dressings.

The market whirled their attention around meat substitutes for the past year. At the same time, dairy alternative foods such as plant milks and dairy-free cheeses continued to grab market share. Yet, one food category remains amiss in this plant-based phenomena – plant sauces. For centuries, sauces and dressings were and still are food’s beloved canopy of flavor and texture. And since some of these products use animal-derived ingredients, they too face challenges converting into vegan versions.

Plant Sauce Challenges

Some sauces and dressings use egg and/or milk proteins to provide texture, stability and flavor. When eliminated, food products suffer from oil and water separation, lack of creaminess and thin textures. However, food developers replace these animal-derived ingredients with modified starches, gums and chemical emulsifiers. As a result, food label declarations turn into lengthy lists full of questionable ingredients in the consumers’ eyes.

Today, the market offers a few natural ingredient options. One natural option, Citri-Fi citrus fiber, provides high water holding and emulsification properties. This citrus fiber’s insoluble and soluble fiber containing intact pectin uses a physical and surface activity mechanism to create the natural emulsification. The oil and water bind tightly to improve stability over time. Moreover, the citrus fiber improves the texture by creating a smooth and full body mouthfeel.

Citrus Fiber Improves Vegan Ranch Dressing

For example, food products such as ranch dressing typically uses mayonnaise, yogurt and buttermilk. Each component contains animal-derived ingredients such as egg and milk protein. However, at very low usage levels (0.2% to 2.0%), Citri-Fi can be used to replace egg in mayonnaise and to improve the texture of plant-based cultured products like dairy-free yogurts. So when the two are combined to make the vegan sauce, it performs like its animal-derived counterpart.

Citri-Fi is non-GMO Project Certified, non-allergenic and gluten-free. It has no E-number. Labeling options include citrus fiber, dried citrus pulp or citrus flour which all resonate well in the clean label markets. Fiberstar, Inc. is a proud member of the Plant-based Foods Association (PBFA).

To learn more about how to create vegan mayo, plant-based cultured products like non-dairy yogurt or plant sauces like vegan ranch dressing, please contact us. Formulation sheets and technical support are available.

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Plant-based Meats, Meat Alternatives & Plant-based Foods: Citri-Fi Replaces Methylcellulose, Improves Juiciness, Firm Texture and Meat-like Texture. Dressings, Sauces, Condiments - Citri-Fi Citrus Fiber Creates Stability, Natural Emulsifier, Creamy Texture, Clean Label, Starch Replacement
October 6, 2020
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Dressings, Soups & Sauces, Meat Substitutes

Sauces & Meat Substitutes: Citrus Fiber Successes

Food sauces and meat alternative products have one functional need in common – emulsification. Citri-Fi® citrus fiber provides the oil and water binding to create stable and high quality sauces and meat substitutes. At the same time, this natural citrus fiber cleans up labels by replacing starch, gums and other stabilizers while improving texture and stability.

Citri-Fi® citrus fiber provides multiple functionalities which benefits various food products. For instance, in September, 2020 despite the numerous citrus fiber wins, two categories stood out – sauces and meat substitutes. So, what do these three foods have in common? All require emulsification in order to create stability. At the same time, finding a natural emulsifier is an even bigger challenge.

Creamy and Emulsified Stable Sauces

In sauces, Citri-Fi citrus fiber provides several benefits. For example, in dressings and condiments like vegan mayonnaise, Citri-Fi 100M40 (0.25% to 1.50%) emulsifies the oil and water to create a creamy texture. This emulsion remains stable for a long time which is one of the reasons why product developers prefer Citri-Fi citrus fiber in this type of application. Also, Citri-Fi does not contain an E-number which appeals to the European markets.

Another popular sauce of the season is cheese-based sauces. Once again, emulsification plays an important role in creating creamy and stable textures. However, due to the clean label initiatives, product developers now seek out natural ingredients. This strategy not only creates labels with recognizable components but also simplifies the label using less. Citri-Fi citrus fiber binds oil and water in cheese-based sauces to provide long-term stability as a natural emulsifier. At the same time, this natural ingredient replaces gums and starches which make labels more consumer friendly.

 Clean Label Meat-like and Succulent Meat Alternatives

One hot area is meat alternatives. The market exploded with numerous meat alternative foods ranging from meat substitute beef patties to seafood analogs. Fiberstar led the charge offering not only highly functional citrus fibers, but also solutions sets. For instance, Citri-Fi 100 citrus fiber series provides high water holding and emulsification properties due to its high level of intact native pectin. As result, meat substitutes containing this citrus fiber produce juicy and succulent textures.

On the other hand, Citri-Fi TX10, a texturized citrus fiber, creates meat substitutes with more meat-like texture. In addition, TX10 improves cold binding and in some instances replaces wheat gluten – a common binder. Both the Citri-Fi 100 series and the TX10 are recommended to create high quality meat substitutes.

Moreover, to create clean label meat alternatives, Fiberstar introduced three different solution sets using citrus fiber. As a result, all three solutions can replace methyl cellulose. The three solutions include using both the 100 series and TX10 in addition to other natural ingredients. For example, the natural ingredients include enzyme, native starch, alginate or gellan gum. A video series and technical bulletins are available to you. Please contact us for more information.

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Dressings, Sauces, Condiments - Citri-Fi Citrus Fiber Creates Stability, Natural Emulsifier, Creamy Texture, Clean Label, Egg-free sauces, mayonnaise - 394x294
April 21, 2020
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Dressings, Soups & Sauces

Egg-Free Sauces: A Hard Egg to Crack

Citri-Fi® citrus provides natural emulsification and high stability to egg-free sauces and dressings like mayonnaise. As low as 0.25% to 1.50% usage level delivers thickness and full body to no egg dressing food products. Due to its high functionality, this citrus fiber also replaces starches and gums to clean up food labeling.

Eggs are essential when creating foods such as baked goods, dairy desserts, dressings and sauces. Because of its composition, eggs offer the biggest bang for the buck - emulsification. On the other hand, despite eggs being a natural food, it does not serve the vegan, vegetarian and/or allergen-free markets. And in some markets, developers seek out egg-free options to create healthier and safe food products for retail and food service. In that case, Citri-Fi citrus fiber is an excellent natural ingredient to use when creating egg-free sauces and dressings.

Creating Egg-cellent Egg-free Sauces

Citri-Fi citrus fiber provides high water holding and emulsification properties. Due to its composition, this natural fiber binds oil and water and creates highly stable sauces. As a result, formulators can eliminate eggs in certain egg-free sauces and dressings like mayonnaise. Citri-Fi's recommended usage levels range between 0.25% to 1.50%. And because this functional fiber provides similar benefits to eggs, Citri-Fi also replaces starches and gums which are typical go-to's when formulating egg-free sauces. Citri-Fi cleans up labels and creates high quality food products. For instance, Citri-Fi's labeling options include citrus fiber, dried citrus pulp or citrus flour which resonate well in the natural food markets.

Moreover, Citri-Fi citrus fiber also provides thickness and full body mouthfeel. This plant-based ingredient is vegan, vegetarian and allergen-free. It has no E-number which is ideal for certain markets like Europe. Citri-Fi creates highly stable egg-less sauces and dressings. Learn more about natural emulsification or creating no egg sauces by checking out the video library.

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March 12, 2020
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Dressings, Soups & Sauces

Cleaning up Cream-based Foods using Citrus Fiber

Citri-Fi® citrus fiber improves cream-based foods by stabilizing oil and water (emulsification) and creating a rich and full body mouthfeel. Moreover, this natural ingredient improves labeling by replacing starches, gums and other chemical stabilizers.

One of the mouth's favorite past time is seeking out creamy and rich foods. Cream-based foods range from cottage cheese dressing, cole slaw dressing and cooking creams. Also, this term includes whipping creams and foods as well as cream cheese, spreads and dips. Many foods containing a creamy profile originate from dairy-bases. On the other hand, there are many non-dairy creamy foods on the market due to the escalating plant food trend.

Citrus Fiber Functional Benefits in Creamy Foods

Citri-Fi natural citrus fiber provides high water holding and emulsification properties. As a result, these functionalities improve stability and texture in creamy-based foods. In addition, this natural citrus fiber improves the creamy and full body mouthfeel.

Clean Label Benefits in Cream-based Foods

Many cream-based foods incorporate gums, starches and stabilizer systems that are under scrutiny today due to the clean label movement. For this reason, Citri-Fi is an ideal solution when replacing these alternative ingredients. Citri-Fi's label options include citrus fiber, dried citrus pulp or citrus flour. As a result, this natural ingredient creates more label friendly products. Moreover, Citri-Fi is non-allergenic, gluten-free and non-GMO Project certified. And, this natural ingredients has no E-number.

Additional Information

Learn more about Citri-Fi's clean label benefits by checking out the following:

NEW VIDEO: Creamy Foods (Cottage Cheese, Cole Slaw, Cream Spreads)

Blog: Cream Fillings for Bakery: The Freezer's Princess

Frozen Desserts: Keeping them Creamy (Dairy Foods) 

BLOG: How to Make Clean Label Yogurt Using Citrus Fiber

BLOG: Warming up to Citri-Fi Citrus Fiber in Natural Soups

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October 31, 2019
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Dressings, Soups & Sauces

Warming up to Citrus Fiber in Natural Soups

Tomato soup and grilled cheese. Broccoli cheddar soup. Chicken tortilla soup. Sink back in your chair and let your mouth water. Granted this is a tiny selection of what the world has to offer when it comes to natural soup. Every country around the globe has at least one soup often a staple of their land.

A simple food which uses leftovers, catch of the day or what is on hand turns into a diverse array of styles, flavors and textures. As a result, the spectrum is wide. Clear broths are on one side while hearty stews are on the other of the scale. Rich and creamy types of natural soups like bisques and chowders which typically contain higher fat content recently moved up the popularity ladder.

Scaling Up Soup

Creating these higher fat natural soups from scratch at home is straight forward. However, scaling this up to a commercial level with handling, storage and reconstitution is a whole new challenge. Some manufacturers use heat vats and ship the natural soup frozen to restaurants with no need to retort. These type of natural soups tend to separate out during the freeze/thaw and reheating process. And depending on the restaurant, some sit in kettles for hours on end which sometimes breaks the emulsion and creates stratified layers of water and fat.

There are natural emulsifiers on the market that can play a key role in these luxurious soups to help them withstand the rigors of commercial and sales distribution. For instance, Citri-Fi®, a clean label natural citrus fiber, provides high water holding and a pleasant mouthfeel that provides body. Due to its naturally occurring lipophilic components, internal surface area and high content of native pectin, this natural citrus fiber stabilizes emulsified systems to prevent fat separation. Citri-Fi is typically used between 0.3% and 1.0%. This natural stabilizer can be added to dry ingredients like salt and seasonings before being incorporated.

Citri-Fi is plant-based, non-allergenic and is Non-GMO Project certified. This natural emulsifier labeling options include citrus fiber, dried citrus pulp or citrus flour which resonate well in the clean label and natural food markets.

Have questions or need a sample? CLICK HERE!

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