Food Processing - November 2007 - (Page 19)

fruit and vegetable “chips” (made of a base of rice and potatoes) with one-half serving of real vegetables in every ounce. “More than half of us are struggling to get enough fruits and vegetables into our diets,” according to Al Carey, the snack division’s president and chief executive. “Fruit and vegetable chips are the next frontier.” They are available in six ﬂavors: Farmland Cheddar (made with pumpkin); Garlic & Herb Field (also pumpkin); Tangy Tomato Ranch (pumpkin and tomato bases); Wild Berry Patch (dried apples, blueberries, cranberries and strawberries); Apple Cinnamon Grove (dried apples, blueberries, cranberries and strawberries); and Peach Mango Paradise (dried apples, peaches and mango). “Flat Earth is an innovative snack product that builds on and expands Frito-Lay’s health and wellness portfolio,” says Joe Ennen, vice president of innovation. “Today’s consumer demand for healthier options was our call to action to develop Flat Earth baked snacks.” Why the moniker Flat Earth? People once believed the world was ﬂat, until someone set course to prove otherwise. Frito-Lay believed they too could change conventional thinking by creating convenient, great-tasting snack crisps made with real fruits and vegetables. This idea led to the development of the Flat Earth brand and its whimsical icon the Flying Pig, a ﬁtting symbol for a snack that was once thought impossible (“when pigs ﬂ y”). - Diane Toops, News & Trends Editor A LOGICAL STRETCH FOR AN ICON Not many food products debut in Walgreen’s drug stores (if we can still call them drug stores). So when the cashier pointed out they were promoting a new product at the cash register, I was curious. As she pointed to the boxes of Oreo Cakesters, I uttered a lustful “Hmmmmm ” Somewhere amid the spinoff from Philip Morris and acquisition of Danone’s biscuit business, what I consider the real Kraft news of the past summer was lost. The iconic Nabisco brand had been stretched into a new but logical category, and the product was deliciously well executed. Oreo Cakesters are Little Debbie-like snack cakes that debuted this past August. “Experience the classic taste of Oreo in a soft snack cake – smooth, one-of-a-kind Oreo crème sandwiched between two luscious chocolate cakes,” a company announcement entices. “So rich, so moist, your whole family will love them. This is BIG!” At nearly three inches in diameter, these are big … for Oreos. They come in two varieties: Original and Chocolate Crème, each sandwiched between soft, devil’s food-like cakes just a shade or two lighter in color than the Oreo cookie. But there’s no mistaking them for Oreo cookies. Sure, the taste is chocolatey and the crème ﬁ lling is white and sugary, but this is decidedly different from the original Oreo. And that’s OK. Oreo Cakesters are packed two to a single-serve pouch, six WWW.FOODPROCESSING.COM pouches to a carton. One can only assume the size and shape of the individual packs would also do well in vending machines and convenience stores. At 250 calories (that’s for two cakes), 12g of total fat and 3g of saturated fat – no trans fat – they’re not too bad for you. This may not have been their intended use, but they’ve become my favorite in-the-car breakfast. - Dave Fusaro, Editor in Chief FAIR TRADE, CULTURALLY IDENTIFIED AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY, DELICIOUS I am not a chocoholic. Yet when I ﬁrst tasted Pasadena, Calif.-based Choctál Inc.’s ice creams, made with fair-trade, organic chocolates from developing nations, I thought I would die. You see, I am an ice cream-a-holic, and I think the quality of ice cream has slid markedly over the past half dozen years. Even the premium brands have been inching up on the overrun (the amount of air) and substituting more milk and halfand-half for the real thing – heavy cream. My ﬁrst clue that I was in the presence of the pinnacle of ice cream was not the ﬂavor but the heft. Pick up a pint of Choctál and the density and weight impress you instantly. It had been a long time since I needed to do warm-ups before lifting a pint of ice cream. But the Pure Costa Rican Chocolate, Pure Ghana Chocolate, Pure San Dominican Chocolate and the Borneo-sourced Pure Kalimantan Chocolate are exactly what chocolate ice cream should be – sultry as Angelina Jolie, rich as Donald Trump, dense as (insert your favorite celebrity name) yet smooth. Choctál also introduced a Pure Madagascar Vanilla. But be prepared: This is a real vanilla, and lots of it. Not only is Choctál generous with the beans, the care they put into preserving the deep, ﬂoral quality is front and center, with vanilla’s identity as an orchid in full bloom. Some might ﬁnd this one too intoxicating, but that would be a reﬂection on how unfamiliar our palates have become to the real deal. This vanilla ice cream is as near to ﬂawless as can be. All ﬁve Choctál products were released in spring and are, in my opinion, underpriced at a suggested $5.99 per pint. - David Feder, Managing Editor & Editor-Wellness Foods A TASTE OF THE OLD WORLD, WITHOUT THE WORK After returning from a visit to Italy a few years ago, I immediately began to miss the great wines, pastas and cheeses – especially the grated cheeses that topped practically every dish, from appetizers to salads to the main course. When Kraft Foods released Kraft GrateIt-Fresh Parmesan Cheese this past February, I was elated. The fresh Parmesan cheese comes in a convenient built-in-grater that brings the fresh taste of Italy or your favorite restaurant home. Forget the scraped knuckles and hard-to-clean grater or micro plane, Kraft Grate-It-Fresh brings old-world taste and modern-day convenience home to your refrigerator. NOVEMBER 2007 FOOD PROCESSING • 19 http://WWW.FOODPROCESSING.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Food Processing - November 2007

Food Processing - November 2007 Contents Editor's Page NewsBites Regulatory Rollout Food Biz Kids Our Favorite Products of 2007 Ingredients Product Development Plant Operations Packaging New Product Profiles Toops Scoops

Food Processing - November 2007

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