Applications of natural ingredients in savoury food products - Natural Food Additives, Ingredients and Flavourings - page 304

Table 13.15 Chilled Béchamel sauce for use in a ready meal - typical formulation build

Ingredient Rationale % level in the

completed sauce

Cold water Base 25.544

Full cream milk Flavour, texture and mouthfeel 50.000

Single cream Flavour, texture and mouthfeel 9.000

Grated cheddar cheese Flavour, texture and mouthfeel 6.000

Heat treated fl our Thickener 2.000

Cook up functional maize starch Thickener 4.500

Butter, unsalted Flavour, texture and mouthfeel 2.000

Salt Flavour 0.500

Enhancing yeast extract Savoury background and MSG

replacement

0.100

Onion powder Savoury fl avour 0.300

Nutmeg ground Flavour 0.025

White pepper ground Flavour 0.030

Bay extract Top note fl avour 0.001

phosphate and sodium aluminium phosphate. So are there any natural alternatives?
The main challenge in adding fl avour into these products is the short but very high
temperatures that are involved in the processing of coated products. These are a
short par-frying step to set and brown the outer coating (~195°C for 30-40 seconds)
for a deep fry end cook or an oven end cook or a deep frying step to fully cook the
product (~175-185°C) for a time as determined by the size of the product).

13.6.1 Types of coated product

Breaded
The simplest type of coated product is produced by rolling a whole muscle protein
for example a fi sh fi llet, chicken portion or beef strip or a vegetable in seasoned
wheat fl our (alternatively called a one-step breader) and fully cooking by deep
frying. Approximately 10% seasoned fl our by weight is picked up by the substrate
assisted by fi rstly dipping the substrate in water beforehand. This produces a light,
crispy coated product which is usually eaten soon after cooking. The seasoned
fl our generally contains approximately 12% salt with the addition of spices and
herbs. MSG in the seasoned fl our may be replaced by an enhancing yeast extract.
Any fl avour system needs to be suffi ciently protected against the harsh cooking
conditions and is usually restricted to simple combinations of spice and herb in
the fl our. More complex fl avours are introduced by the use in the fl our of fat-
encapsulated or spray-dried fl avours that offer some protection against the high
temperature. Alternatively fl avours may be introduced into the substrate by
marinating the substrate prior to breading.
Improved adhesion of the seasoned fl our to the substrate is achieved by the
addition of starches and egg to the water used for dipping the substrate.

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