APPLICATIONS
Executive
Summary
Formulating healthier canned, frozen
and refrigerated soups.
Building a flavorful base
with the right stock or broth.
Thickening agents that help
build texture in soups.
Specialty
soups
By CINDy HAZEN
S
Contributing Editor
ome days, I crave canned tomato soup mixed with
milk and topped with crushed saltine crackers. Just
as tasty as I remember from my childhood, it’s still
my go-to comfort food.
But, while nostalgia has its place—Campbell’s tomato
soup was introduced in 1897, after all—condensed soup
is more basic than my typical fare. Like many other
consumers, I’m looking for soup with more nutrients in
the form of extra vegetables and whole grains, along with
less fat and sodium. I want it to be filling, but at a reasonable
calorie cost. I might not even want soup in a can.
Begin with a base
Most soups begin with a stock or broth base. These
terms are often used interchangeably, but generally a stock
is made with poultry or meat bones. The gelatin released
from these bones imparts a fuller mouthfeel and richer
flavor. Broths are typically made from meat. Vegetarian
bases are the exception to this generality. More often the
term vegetarian stock is used rather than vegetarian broth.
34
Food Product Design
A chef or home cook might create stocks or broths by
simmering vegetables, meat or fish and other seasonings
in water for hours at a time. For those without the luxury
of scratch-cooking techniques, using prepared bases in
powdered, paste or liquid forms either refrigerated or
frozen, replaces this step.
When choosing the base, consider the clarity of the
broth. Will the finished product be clear like a French
onion soup or thick and dark like a beef stew?
The base most commonly used is a chicken or turkey
broth or stock, notes Xingqiu Lou, director of technical
development, Proliant Meat Ingredients, Ankeny, IA. Even
the majority of cream soups contain some kind of stock,
“usually a chicken or turkey, unless the soup is specifically
a different genus/species. These stocks are mainly lighter
in flavor and go well with the majority of all other flavors
within that particular soup.”
Bases cover a wide spectrum of flavor profiles because
the raw materials and the production process used in
their manufacture impact them. Additional flavor
March 2012
enhancers, such as MSG or yeast extract, can boost and
smooth out savory flavor.
If the goal is to formulate without MSG or I&G
(inosinate and guanylate), “flavor-enhanced stock and
broths can be utilized to replace artificial flavors
and/or chemical-type additives,” says Lou. “These are
reacted flavors from meat broth and stocks through a
Maillard reaction. The Maillard reaction causes an
enhanced meaty flavor and umami taste. The flavors
have a natural meaty flavor from both proteins and/or
their amino acids but, in addition, they have an aroma
from the Maillard reaction.”
Using an emulsified stock can reduce or eliminate
dairy products that pose an allergen risk in creamy-type
soups. For example, Lou explains, “emulsified chicken
broth is chicken fat that is emulsified with chicken broth.
The label is still ‘chicken broth’ because chicken fat is
not an added ingredient; it is the natural chicken fat in
high-fat chicken broth.”
When formulating reduced-sodium products, bases can
help restore flavor.“When salt or sodium is reduced in meat
or savory applications, the product will not be tasted with
the regular fullness and richness,” Lou continues. Adding
bases helps restore the taste, mouthfeel and richness “to
certain levels,” he says.
The stock’s format can offer advantages and
disadvantages. Powdered stocks are easy to store and
have a longer shelf life. However, an additional
manufacturing step is required to dissolve the stock.
They also have a potential for foaming. Powdered stocks
do not generally have the full mouthfeel associated with
liquid products. “Powder product tends to have some
burning notes or increased bitterness from the drying
process,” says Lou. “Liquid products maintain more of
the original flavor profile.”
These can be found as frozen liquid stocks, containing
30% to 35% total solids. The storage and transportation
requirements of frozen or refrigerated stocks may create a
disadvantage for some manufacturers.
Shelf-stable pastes are easier to use than frozen liquids
because they are easier to store and don’t require a thawing
step. However, Lou cautions that they have a shorter shelf
life and often higher sodium. Normally these products
contain 35% to 60% solids without salt. “In this range of
solids, without the addition of salt, the broth will not be
shelf stable,” he says. “If refrigerated, you can extend the
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APPLICATIONS
shelf life to a few weeks or months, depending on the
product’s total solids or water activity.”
Cooler varieties
Besides the potential for an upscale package,
refrigerated and frozen formats can give the opportunity
to create higher quality taste, texture and nutrition than
dried or canned soups. Formulations vary little across
these two lines.
“There are only two ingredients that we change
when moving from one format to the other,” says Levon
Kurkjian, vice president of marketing, Kettle Cuisine,
Chelsea, MA. “With our line of refrigerated soups we use
freshly peeled and cut potatoes, and in the frozen format
we use IQF potatoes because the fresh potatoes don’t
hold up in the slack out (defrosting) and rethermalization
process. We also often use a wheat flour for making roux
in our refrigerated line, but find that rice flour performs
better in the frozen format. The only
other difference is that some vegetables
don’t spend as much time in the kettle
in the frozen format so that they will
maintain the same level of crispness,
despite slightly longer rethermalization
with frozen soups.”
Beyond flavor, the choice of
vegetables
impacts
texture
and
appearance. “Vegetables that have high
concentrations of water, like zucchini,
do cut well but take a lot of care in
the cooking to ensure that they don’t
breakdown too prematurely in the
soup,” Kurkjian says. “Vegetables that
are odd-shaped, like broccoli and
cauliflower, are difficult to cut uniformly
and often result in highly variable floret
sizes, and these vegetables also tend to
further breakdown as soup are stirred.”
He recommends using root
vegetables because they are very easy to
cut and they hold up very well in many
different types of soups. Besides carrots
and potatoes, consider adding leeks,
parsnips or turnips.
Building texture
“Traditional stocks and broths are not
utilized for texture improvement unless
used at extremely high levels (10% or
above),” says Lou. To build texture in
soup formulations, thickening agents like
starch work well with stock and broths.
Adding hydrocolloids to the
formulation will help provide a
consistent product. The correct
36
Food Product Design
March 2012
APPLICATIONS
Putting the Umm in Umami
T
he flavor-enhancing, umami effects of monosodium
glutamate (MSG) and 5' nucleotides are widely known.
According to Food Reviews International (1998; 14(2-3):
139-176), this effect is perceived as an “increase of
continuity, mouth fullness, mildness and thickness of food.”
However, it may take several tries to perfect the levels
needed in a particular flavor of soup. One Polish study (Food
Quality & Preference, 2007; 18(5):751-758) found that “the
optimal dose of umami substance for one product is not
necessarily the best for another one.” The research showed
that MSG generally had a stronger influence on palatability
than I+G, but that the result and synergies varied, depending
on the matrix. For example, the flavor enhancers worked
well in tandem in mushroom soup and also improved
chicken broth, but most combinations of MSG with I+G
decreased green-pea soup palatability.
-The Editors
texturizer depends on formulation and process. Suzanne
Mutz-Darwell, senior market development manager,
texture, National Starch Food Innovation, part of Corn
Products International, Bridgewater, NJ, cautions,“pH, fat
and process type impact the choice of texturizer. A range
of texturizers exist to meet common formulations and
processes, from instant starches to traditional modified
starches to functional native starches and flours.”
Further, “many different factors affect stability, such
as the type of starch, ingredient interactions, storage
temperature and duration, number of freeze/thaw
cycles, ice-crystal formation and excess shear,” MutzDarwell continues.
Functional native starches and functional flours can
“deliver the texture attributes and simple labeling desired
by consumers with the processing stability required of
processed foods,” says Mutz-Darwell. “These ingredients
function similar to traditional texturizers but can be
labeled simply according to their base description—corn
starch, tapioca starch or wheat flour.”
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Food Product Design
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March 2012
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For dairy-based soups, developers can use a creaminessenhancing, starch-based texture system to reduce cream,
oils or milkfat in a formulation. Besides reducing fat
content, these ingredients may allow product designers
“to use a more process-stable ingredient versus cream or
whey-based products, as it doesn’t change the color or
separate under high heat processes, and potentially delivers
a cost savings on the formulation with the replacement of
fats,” says Mutz-Darwell.
Where appropriate, such as in a beef or vegetable stew,
whole grains not only can boost the nutritional profile
but also build body. However, “in looser broth-based
soups, they present a visual that is not widely accepted
among consumers,” says Kurkjian. “In our experience,
whole grains work best in highly viscous, thick soups.
When the grains are able to attach themselves to other
ingredients, as is the case with thicker soups, the texture
is much more pleasing than when they are more isolated
with broth-based soups.”
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40
Food Product Design
Overall, soup is a big trend for 2012, “because of its
healthy implications and its budget-friendly appeal,” says
Barbara Zatto, director of culinary, sales manager, West,
Mizkan Americas Food Ingredients, Mt. Prospect, IL.
“World cuisine is a focus for all food manufacturers and is
also a spotlight with soups. Consumers are looking for full
flavors with soups, so major manufacturers are responding
with more line extensions around world-cuisine flavors,
healthy/all-natural flavors and reduced-sodium options.
Soups with Hispanic and Asian influences seem to be
growing the fastest.”
In terms of ingredients, Zatto sees tomatillos gaining
ground, both as a soup base and as an ingredient.
“Tomatillos are all-natural and no-sodium ingredients
that offer a fruity and acidic soup base,” she says.
“Manufacturers creating Mexican cuisine can add heat
on top of a tomatillo base for a sweet and spicy flavor
combination.” Also in the Hispanic category, she says,
“Green chiles, combined with chicken, pork and
veggies, are increasing in popularity. Chipotle peppers
and purées are finding a foothold in soup formulations
because they are also an all-natural and sodium-free
ingredient that builds flavor with soups, casseroles
and entrées.”
March 2012
APPLICATIONS
FOOD PRODUCT
Photo: National Onion Association
Kurkjian says ethnic and regional cuisines serve as
inspiration for many new recipes. “We also have a trend
of recipes that are twists on classics,” he says. “Many new
recipes start with a platform of recognizable soup varieties
and then add a unique, on-trend ingredient. Throughout
all of these trends, there tends to be more of a focus
on indulgent and rich soups rather than more healthconscious soups— both trends are moving in parallel, but
the indulgent soups have a slight edge.”
Artisan and exotic soups are also gaining ground.
“Manufacturers are responding with soups that have
“handcrafted” texture and consistency,” says Zatto.
“Restaurants are featuring soup bars with dozens of
choices, from the classic chicken noodle to artisan to
world-cuisine soups with ingredients like coconut milk,
chipotle peppers, and other ethnic ingredients and spices
that give soups a new and exciting flavor profile. In New
York, restaurants are featuring soup cocktails—lobster
bisque with a shot of brandy on top—on the bar menu.
Others are serving creamy bisques in heavy mugs with a
flourish of sherry, bitters or brandy on top.”
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Mutz-Darwell notices “a growing trend of restaurants and celebrity chefs moving
their products to the supermarket shelf.” Product designers can help retool these
specialty soups from restaurant preparation to large-scale food processing without
sacrificing flavor, texture or natural claims.
On the horizon, Zatto projects manufacturers will most likely experiment with
functional ingredients in soups, such as vitamins, nutraceuticals and probiotics.
For now, sodium reduction is at the top of many developer’s goals. Umami
ingredients, such as MSG, 5' nucleotides and yeast extracts, or more “natural” sources
of free glutamic acid and glutamates, such as mushrooms or soy sauce, are popular
ingredients to replace lost flavor impact caused by salt removal. Raising the spice level
can also make up for lower salt content.
Formulators can try other flavor enhancement options, too. For example,
“anytime a manufacturer adds a wine reduction or a vinegar to the formulation,
they can reduce sodium and build flavor using all-natural ingredients,” Zatto
advises. “With soups, manufacturers build the flavor over low heat and use wine
reductions at the end of the cooking process to keep the top notes of the wine.” A
good example of a vinegar-based soup is Chinese hot and sour soup. In most Asian
soups the acid will be vinegar.
In classic soup flavors, such as tomato soup, “manufacturers can use vinegar to
reduce sodium and add flavor,” Zatto says. “For example, in a tomato balsamic soup,
manufacturers can finish the formulation with the vinegar. In a butternut squash or
lentil soup, vinegar can enhance or brighten the flavor of the vegetable.”
Soups are good vehicles for delivering a healthy serving of vegetables. Because
they are inexpensive compared to many other entrées, they provide a good entry
point to experiment with different cuisines. But perhaps their greatest benefit is
the comfort they provide and, occasionally, a bit of nostalgia with a very familiar
product, such as that found in the classic red and white cans.
Cindy Hazen, a 20-year veteran of the food industry, is a freelance writer based in Memphis,
TN. She can be reached at [email protected].
Reproduced with permission from Food Product Design, March 2011. ©2011 Virgo Publishing.
All Rights Reserved. For electronic usage only. Not to be printed in any format.