Supermarket Perimeter - December 2022 - 24

Bakery
Brownies
reinvented
Hybrids of this classic sweet treat abound
BY JOHN UNREIN
THE CLASSIC BROWNIE is deep in the heart of a dramatic makeover.
There are now brownie Bundt cakes, brownie-inspired cheesecake
slices, brownie cookies, brownie batter bites and over-the-top brownie
desserts topped with marshmallows at classic restaurants. But before
we get carried away with all the creative possibilities, here's a bit of
history.
Sources suggest that it was at the Columbian Exposition in the 1890s
that the decadent chocolate dessert was introduced. As the story goes,
the wealthy socialite Bertha Potter Palmer " asked her chef at The Palmer
House Hotel in Chicago to create a dessert that could be tucked into a
box lunch for ladies to eat while attending the Columbian Exposition.
The result was a super-rich, fudgy-chocolate confection - the Palmer
House brownie. The brownie remains on the hotel's menu, but the
name of the creative chef, alas, is lost in antiquity, " as reported by
Suzanne Hall in A Batch of Brownies.
These brownies, possibly the first ever made, included significant
amounts of chocolate, butter, and sugar, as well as cake flour and eggs.
Interestingly, they were also topped with walnuts and an apricot glaze.
The use of chocolate in baking increased dramatically in the late 19th
and early 20th centuries, largely thanks to the efforts of enterprising
housekeeping and cooking educators who partnered with industry
in the name of " domestic science. " At the Columbian Exposition, for
24 - DECEMBER 2022
example, Walter Baker & Company demonstrated chocolate making
with their equipment and offered free samples to visitors.
Indulgence on demand
Barry Callebaut, the world's leading manufacturer of chocolate and
cocoa products, conducted a survey for US and Canadian consumers to
understand their attitudes toward indulgence when it comes to cookies
and brownies. The survey builds on Barry Callebaut's " The Future
of Indulgence " Report, released earlier in the year, which found that
consumers are looking for indulgences that help them " Celebrate Life, "
offering unique tastes and textures for an intense experience. Using
their findings from the survey, the company has officially launched
Cookies CRAZED 2.0 to help food manufacturers understand the needs
of today's consumers.
Cookies CRAZED 2.0 is founded on the following survey findings:
* Nearly 1 in 4 consumers say they are consuming more cookies
compared to a year ago.
* More than half of consumers surveyed would be motivated to try a
new cookie if it featured a unique flavor.
Barry Callebaut's chef team then created innovative cookie and
brownie concepts using Barry Callebaut products. All of the featured
concepts in Cookies CRAZED demonstrate how to create cookies
supermarketperimeter.com
BARRY CALLEBAUT, JOHN UNREIN / SOSLAND PUBLISHING COMPANY, MILK BAR
http://www.supermarketperimeter.com
Supermarket Perimeter - December 2022

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