Will Steam Infusion change the flavour of my soup or sauce?
One of the key deliverables from our £1 million Innovate UK research project was to understand the impact of Steam Infusion cooking on flavour. What we found was that by varying the steam pressure, the Vaction™ Pump can achieve two different results. We can emulate steam injectors if you’re reformulating an existing product and need to match the flavours exactly to maintain your customer base and it can create unique conditions for new product development, delivering fresh, home-made flavours that consumers will love. Here we take you through the great results Steam Infusion can achieve in your NPD process.
Capture volatiles
The Steam Infusion processing conditions allow you to capture more of the volatiles from the ingredients, locking them into the sauce. If you're making sauces with strong flavours, for instance, ethnic/curry sauces, this is of particular benefit.
The results have been proven by GCMS (Gas Chromatography-Gas Spectrometry) testing at the University of Lincoln, achieved thanks to the partial vacuum created within the Vaction™ Pump. The fast processing times allow manufacturers to retain the intense top notes that are usually lost to the atmosphere (that great smell!) during the frying stage in traditional processing.
Steam Infusion can achieve up to a 50% reduction in spices (recipe dependent) compared to traditional steam-jacketed cook as the process locks in flavour to deliver enhanced flavour profiles, helping manufacturers to save money.
Preserve flavours
Extended cook times with traditional technologies can lead to over-processing, degrading the flavours of many products. Steam Infusion’s fast cooking times preserve natural flavours, leading to fresher tasting products that resemble home-made fare. In vegetables in particular, this prevents excess cabbage or musty notes.
The rapid cooking also stops the onset of a Mallard reaction, which can have a significant impact on the flavour profiles of a product, particularly those that are dairy-based, dulling fresh notes. By preventing burn-on contamination, Steam Infusion delivers fresher flavours which also look more appealing thanks to colour preservation.