Trendy Food Manufacturing
"By the time a trendy food becomes mass produced, it is usually
on its way out," says Dana Cowin, editor in chief of Food & Wine
magazine. While it is true that the culinary world leads in food
trends, the staying power of a trend can be best determined by
its overall contributions to a society's culinary habit.
For instance, roasting - a popular classic cooking method - is
making a strong comeback in Americans' food fare and has the
potential for much more than a passing fad. Roasting develops
desirable flavors within a food product. In addition, it
provides other benefits such as healthful cooking, convenience,
and simplicity. The result is a cooking method that is likely to
become more popular within our cooking culture.
Grilling is another cooking method that provides the same
benefits. However, "Trends start and stop whether we think they
should or not," says Cowin. One might have assumed that the
lowfat food trend would have stayed forever, but it has lost
some of its initial steam. This may eventually happen to the
roasting and grilling trend as well.
Other trends in the food world include more regional ethnic
foods. For instance, Italian food has been big for years, but
now food magazines and cookbooks feature Umbrian, Tuscan, and
Sicilian food. Food manufacturing companies are starting to jump
on this bandwagon as well.
Before developing products to match a trend, the industry
considers many factors. According to corporate chef Matthew
Walter's experience, food manufacturing companies are looking to
develop products that will be around for the long haul. Western
foods that typically require less preparation time and slower
cooking methods are easier to mimic in a manufacturing setting.
However, trendy Asian foods such as Thai traditionally require
greater prep time and shorter cook times to retain flavor and
color. Thai tends to be more difficult to duplicate because the
types of cooking methods and large batches produced do not match
traditional preparation methods.
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