Taste vs Tradition

Indians, as a whole, are deeply rooted to the traditions of their families and their cultures. And nowhere is this more evident than in their palates. While they may be willing to push the boundaries of their gastronomic experience, the comfort food will continue to be home cooked traditional dishes served up in their kitchens over generations

The recently conducted Taste/ Tomorrow survey by Puratos Global proved this to hold true across the world. Traditional cuisines are future proof even though consumers are keen to try innovative techniques, nouvelle cuisines and sample new recipes, and try out different food variations.

Food variation takes on many different routes and one such route is food assimilation, which is copying food from other culinary cultures and trying to prepare it as authentically as possible. Food variation is also about food adaptation, adapting a new or foreign product to produce an old favourite with a twist. Peanut butter macarons in the US is an example of this. The idea is that people like to be surprised, while visually the food looks familiar, the taste leaves them pleasantly surprised.

Food variation can also include food integration. It is about integrating and slightly adapting ingredients from other cultures, often leading to food fusion. It is that subtle twist in the preparation of the food or in the introduction of new ingredients that makes people curious. And, that again, appeals to their hunger for variety in food experiences.

So depending on the food culture, the tradition and heritage of a country or a region, food will be adapted to local needs, integrated in country-specific recipes or assimilated without change. People will adapt, integrate or assimilate new food based on where they live and their food traditions. Food innovation will lie in offering variation, pairing tradition with innovation, and respecting the cultural food style of each country (assimilation, integration or adaptation). And Puratos India will be focusing on this very theme of Tradition vs Innovation.

Traditionally innovative

The future of food innovation in terms of bread, patisserie, pastry and chocolate will lie in its variation. While consumers crave different flavours, different ingredients or different food structures, they are unhappy to move completely away from old favourites like chocolate or vanilla. In an effort to please consumers who are craving that ‘something’ different, companies will now have to offer variations to their customers while keeping within the confines of something familiar.

Puratos has built a range of products that combine this need for something new with the nostalgia for the good old days. It has captured the idea that tradition is future-proof and that it provides a solid foundation for future innovation. In keeping with the theme of Tradition vs Innovation, Puratos has introduced a new category of products that allows bakers to innovate while holding that familiar taste of yesterday.

O tentic Durum is a convenient solution for creating breads with a distinct taste of yesteryear in a secure easy package. O-tentic Durum finds use in all bread variations from the simple loaf to the ciabatta, from the snacking to crisp bread-rusk. For the discerning Indian palate, Puratos has introduced Easy Curry Masala – a Bread Mix for snacking purposes which has a pleasant mouth feel. The new Vivafil, fillings prepared with fruit puree contains more than 20 per cent fruit. These new generation ready-to-use filling is freeze – thaw stable and is bake stable as well. Vivafil can be used in products ranging from laminated doughs, cakes, sweet bakery products to soft biscuits. Vivafil is available in strawberry, mango and kiwi variants. Decorfil, which are glazes with a combination of colour and flavour, offers a perfect finish and enhanced taste to mousse, cream cakes. Decorfil comes in strawberry, orange, pineapple, blueberry, melon and neutral variants.

In an effort to provide a bakery glaze without egg, Puratos has introduced the Harmony Moonlight – Glaze. This helps in giving a shiny finished look to bakery products such as croissants, milk rolls, etc. Tegral Sponge Cocoa & Tegral Sponge Cocoa Egg Free stays true to the Tegral tradition of providing a cost effective consistent premix. These come with the light aerated texture, moist mouth feel and rich chocolate taste. These premises find great use in innovative as well as traditional offerings like swiss rolls, cakes, snack cakes, etc.

As part of the renewed push in the fields of innovation, Puratos has also launched Tegral Choux Mix, that brings French connection on the table. As a base for creativity, it offers endless possibilities, giving chefs the freedom to innovate.