We have come up with an innovative idea to include freeze dried fruit within confectionery products as decoration or as an inclusion. Opening up many new opportunities within the chocolate confectionery sector. A great example of one of our creations is the banoffee chocolate pies, using freeze dried banana slices means the banana will only darken slightly over shelf life where as fresh bananas tend to go black and slimy within this type of application.
Richard Ilsley, Group Sales and Marketing Director of Chaucer Foods, said: “The use of many types of fruit in chocolate confectionery would normally be very limited because it greatly reduces the shelf life of the product and makes handling very difficult. However, by incorporating freeze dried fruit, producers can mix fruit and chocolate and produce numerous innovative creations without compromising the shelf life of the chocolate.”
“The premium chocolate market is growing across the world, and the trend to more high quality, indulgent products with natural additions is stimulating innovation in novel flavours and ingredients. Using freeze dried fruit will open up new possibilities for producers and enable them to capitalise on this trend,” he added.
Using freeze dried fruit in chocolate has a number of benefits:
- The shelf life of freeze dried fruit is typically 12 months and above.
- Only a small amount of freeze dried product is required to make a big impact on visual appearance.
- Fresh, frozen or canned fruit have a high water contain making them unsuitable for use in chocolate confectionary. Freeze dried fruits moisture content is typically below 5%.
- The great fresh taste of the fruits really complements the chocolate taste.
- Freeze dried fruits maintain their characteristic fresh flavour and natural bright colour.
- Even when freeze dried we ( working along side researchers at Sheffield Hallam University) have found that the freeze dried fruits still maintain the majority of their nutrients such as vitamin C, phenolic content and antioxidant activity.