Culinology - December 2017 - 17

indulgences
A

lthough we've long been a grab-n-go
nation and we love our "available anytime" portable snacks and desserts - think
doughnuts, brownies, cookies, Danish, milk
shakes and smoothies - they're not replacing the traditional concept of a sit down, end
of the meal dessert.
Reports, including Technomic's 2017
Dessert Consumer Trend Report published
in early fall, reveal that such craveable snacks
and meal replacements aren't actually impacting our desire for the "real thing." In fact,
Technomic reports that "18- to 34-year olds
are increasingly likely to visit specific restaurants for a meal because of a dessert they
offer."
As consumers continue to seek menu
options they may feel good about, chefs are
giving desserts a makeover by experimenting
with a range of nontraditional ingredients.
Less sugar, more spice, hearty grains and
even naturally sweet vegetables like beets
are appearing in today's sweet treats. The
market research company Mintel reports that
vegetables, in particular, are taking center
stage internationally in sweet categories, often
replacing fruit due to concern over sugar
content.
"Vegetable cake recipes in the Western
world have long been seen in the domain
of cake blogs and celebrity chef websites,
but have had limited exposure in packaged retail offerings to date. However, this is
likely to change in coming years," said Chris
Brockman, research manager, food and
drink, EMEA region, Mintel, in a report about
sweet bakery.
Meanwhile, there's a movement under
way in the US to create satisfying, healthy
desserts with a focus on three categories:
fruit, nuts and dark chocolate. Walter Willett,
MD, professor of epidemiology and nutrition,
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health,
Boston, spearheaded the Three Pleasures
Initiative in partnership with the Culinary
Institute of America (CIA). The strategy was

introduced in 2016 at the CIA's Menus of
Change Conference.
"For the CIA, it's a 'strategy' within the
Menus of Change umbrella; for Harvard, it's
a public health initiative," said Sophie Egan,
MPH, director of health and sustainability
leadership, and editorial director for the
Strategic Initiatives Group based in Copia,
Calif., at the CIA's new downtown Napa headquarters for consumer programs.

by Karen Weisberg
editor@sosland.com

Redefining dessert
"It's a challenge to the food service industry
to redefine dessert by questioning the longstanding concept of dessert as a 'bomb.' (Mr.
Willet) is demonstrating that we (as guests)
can be satisfied with just a few bites of these
three ingredients," she said.
Needless to say, the challenge affords culinarians the opportunity for innovation and
creativity. Traditionally, it seemed easy to rely
on refined sugar and grains - to pour on the
toffee or caramel syrup, but the initiative aims
to change the options available on dessert
menus.
"His point is that those three ingredients
[i.e., categories of ingredients] can allow great
variation in mouthfeel, sweetness, texture,
crunch - they all have distinct roles to play;
what comes out of the restaurant kitchen
is often remarkable. It's also a nice learning opportunity for our CIA students, plus a
great teaching tool to challenge staff: What is
dessert?"
The hope is that thinking along these lines
will encourage greater originality in the sourcing of "interesting" ingredients and experimentation with various techniques, such as
smoking pistachios or grilling peaches, Ms.
Egan said.
As for the substitution - or addition - of
vegetables like sweet potatos or zucchini to
the Three Pleasures parameters, Mr. Willett
said, "In principle, this could be ok, but it may
take a very creative chef to make this the
same pleasure as the fruit."

Photo by: CIA/Phil Mansfield

DECEMBER 2017 | Culinology |

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Culinology - December 2017