NAFFS Newswire - January 18, 2010
McCormick Serves Up 2010 Flavor Forecast; Promotional Opportunity at NAFFS Winter Meeting; Anti-Hunger Aromas to Aid Weight Management; Study Shows Calcium May Enhance Taste; Mixed Results on Sugary Drinks and Weight Gain; and More.
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Tuesday, January 19, 2010
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MCCORMICK SERVES UP
2010 FLAVOR FORECAST Drawing on the expertise of leading chefs, food bloggers and other culinary authorities, McCormick issued The McCormick Flavor Forecast 2010 which identifies the top ten flavor pairings and key trends poised to shape the way we eat in the year ahead. It’s top ten predictions include: -
Roasted Ginger & Rhubarb – exciting layers of spicy and sour, with warming notes and a powerful tang
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Thai Basil & Watermelon – a colorful study in contrasts offers a sweet, refreshing balance
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Caraway & Bitter Greens – North meets South for a distinctive peppery bite
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Bay Leaves & Preserved Lemon – slowly coaxed flavor worth the wait, an aromatic mix of bitter, salty-tart and bright
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Almond & Ale – the bittersweet character of both ingredients makes a congenial, cozy and hearty match
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Turmeric & Vine-Ripened Tomatoes – this colorful and healthful blend is always in season
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Pumpkin Pie Spice & Coconut Milk – this lush, warm pairing reconnects with its tropical roots
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Roasted Cumin & Chickpeas – this globetrotting Mediterranean duet delivers warm, earthy flavor harmonies
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Creole Mustard & Shellfish – a vibrant pair that adds a zesty kick from the Gulf Coast to any part of the country
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Chives & Fish Sauce – a savory fusion of French and Asian cuisines
PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITY
AT NAFFS’ WINTER MEETING A promotional opportunity exists at the NAFFS Winter Meeting to be held on Friday, February 12 at The French Culinary Institute. If you would like to donate 70 pens and/or 70 pads to be used by attendees, please contact the NAFFS office. This is being offered to members on a first-come, first-served basis.
If you haven’t already registered, don’t miss this exciting audience-participation program where Executive Pastry Chef Zac Young of Flex Mussels will use his signature style and bold flavors to put a creative twist on American desserts.
Young will highlight the science behind his delicious creations while attendees savor each bite of these extraordinary desserts. Registration is filling up so save your seat by registering now online at www.naffs.org! ANTI-HUNGER AROMAS TO
AID WEIGHT MANAGEMENT
The concept of using aroma to produce anti-hunger feelings during chewing is “promising and appealing,” says a timely review of the science to date, reported Food Navigator.
As obesity levels continue to grow globally, the food industry is exploring avenues to aid in weight management. One approach has been to create the feeling of fullness in order to reduce food intake.
Reviewing the science on how foods that release hunger-quenching aromas during chewing may aid weight management, Rianne Ruijschop from NIZO Food Research and colleagues reported the effects arise when molecules that make up a food’s aroma activate areas of the brain that signal fullness. Using a process known as olfactometry, traditionally used to test and measure the sensitivity of sense of smell, the researchers claimed that aroma stimuli could be administered separately from other factors like ingredients, texture and taste.
“Among the proof-of-principle studies that were performed, the prolongation of the duration of retronasal aroma release, the addition of specific ingredient-related aroma cues, the engineering of more complex aroma compositions and the adaptation of bite size or duration of oral processing may prove to be valuable aroma concepts for the development of foods containing triggers that induce or increase the feeling of satiation. The next challenge is to implement these concepts into real food products,” the researchers concluded. STUDY SHOWS CALCIUM MAY
ENHANCE TASTE
Compounds that activate calcium receptors on the tongue may enhance the flavor of low-sugar or low-salt foods, thereby reducing the need for extra flavorings, according to a study from Japan. New research from Japanese company Ajinomoto published in The Journal of Biological Chemistry indicate that calcium channels on the tongue may be the targets of compounds that can enhance taste.
The findings tap into the Japanese concept of kokumi which refers to this balance and taste complexity, reported Confectionery News. Kokumi taste foods contain various compounds that have no taste themselves but can enhance the basic sweet, salty and umami taste sensation they co-exist with. Kokumi compounds include calcium, protamine, L-histidine and glutathione.
Researchers say the study has implications for food formulation by creating healthy foods that contain minimal sugar or salt but still elicit strong taste. MIXED RESULTS ON SUGARY
DRINKS AND WEIGHT GAIN
Studies reporting a link between sugar-sweetened beverages and weight gain have garnered a lot of attention but research on the issues has yielded mixed results, researchers note in a new report on Reuters. “The purported link between soft drinks and other beverages and obesity risk is unclear and complicated, especially in young,” Dr. Mark A. Pereira, at the University of Minnesota and an author on the report, told Reuters Health.
Pereira and his colleagues conducted a study where they found no link between weight gain over five years and teens’ drinking of sugar-sweetened beverages. According to the report, Pereira’s team assessed diet, lifestyle and weight in 2,294 ethnically-diverse boys and girls in the Minneapolis/St. Paul school system.
When the teens were about 15 years old, 1,289 reported drinking seven or more servings of white milk weekly, while 1,456 said they drank sugar-sweetened punch and 1,325 said they drank sugary soft drinks up to six times a week. Additionally, about 1,300 of these teens said they drank up to six servings of apple juice or orange juice weekly.
The study showed no overall association between consumption of sweetened beverages and the teens’ weight gain over five years after allowing for other behaviors tied to beverage drinking habits and weight status.
However, drinking little or no white milk tied to greater gains in body mass index (BMI) while drinking white milk nearly every day or more often seemed tied to lesser BMI gains.
The findings also showed an association between diet soft drink intake and greater weight gain but this finding “appeared to be explained by overall dieting practices,” rather than diet soda drinking, noted Pereira. NAFFS CALENDAR
February 12 – NAFFS Winter Meeting, The French Culinary Institute, NY, N.Y. March 11 – California Meeting, Crowne Plaza, Anaheim, Cal. November 4-7 – NAFFS Convention, Longboat Key Club, Longboat Key, Fla.
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