Consumers are appreciating how they can add richness and depth to even the simplest of ingredients: from familiar foods like meats, cheeses, and vegetables to unexpected items like oils, honey, and even sweets. But instead of building their own smokehouses, they’re learning how this flavor can be achieved with the addition of smoky ingredients like paprika and smoked chili peppers.
Smoked herbs and spices allow the introduction of a note of smoky flavor that enhances but doesn’t overwhelm. Familiar ingredients are reimagined and repurposed to create a new dimension of taste. McCormick’s process flavor technology can deliver the profile of smoked spices and herbs with other natural flavors.
According to a study from Datassential MenuTrends, the term “smoke” has grown on US menus from 40% in 2006 to 51% in 2016. There’s also been an uptick with associated terms such as “burnt” and “charred” rising from 2% of menus in 2006 to 7% today. The increase in popularity can be seen most clearly in new product launches, with the number of newly-released smoke-flavored food and beverage products surging by 335% in the US since 2006, said Mintel GNPD. This is exciting news for us, as we predicted smoked spices as a Flavor Forecast® trend in 2015 and are glad to see the trend is arriving right on schedule.
Allow McCormick to offer inspiration on ways to introduce smoke into your products:
Nuancing your flavor profiles is easy with McCormick's process flavor technology. As Lisa, a McCormick senior process flavorist, says, “Process flavors put a lot of complexity into your flavor. If you're looking for a signature flavor, we can do that here and we can give you an advantage in the marketplace [that’s] a lot harder for your competition to duplicate.”
Contact your McCormick account manager today to find out more. New to McCormick Flavor Solutions? Contact us today.
