Hydrosol: Addressing current food trends with new stabilizing systems

The focus is on the company’s ideas for plant-based alternatives to dairy and texturing systems for reduced-sugar foods.

Vegan alternatives to dairy products

Hydrosol said demand for vegan and vegetarian products continues to rise: Plant-based alternatives to dairy products are especially strong growth drivers in this market.

Hydrosol has developed individual stabilizing and texturing systems for a wide spectrum of dairy alternatives, which the company said gives them properties very close to those of products made from cow’s milk. These include cultured desserts that contain no milk components, soy or gluten.

The company’s functional systems let manufacturers adjust products to get a texture comparable to yogurt. A creamy, smooth consistency and authentic flavor are characteristic of the vegan creamed cheese alternatives made with them. Used in vegan cheese alternatives, these tailormade ingredient complexes give ideal melt properties as well as the taste and enjoyment consumers want.

For milk drinks, Hydrosol works with alternatives not only to animal milk, but also to soy. A current example is a drink based on sunflower and oats. Functional systems for soft-melting, creamy vegan ice cream alternatives round out the product line for plant-based dairy alternatives.

Less sugar, same enjoyment

Reducing the amount of sugar in foods and beverages is a major global concern, Hydrosol noted. More governments are demanding low sugar products, but from a technological point of view, sugar has many positive properties. It gives products flavor, body, texture and a pleasant mouthfeel.

Hydrosol said the new stabilizing and texturing systems accomplish this. In application trials, technologists and scientists have found the optimum interplay of hydrocolloids, starch and plant fiber for various products. The result is individual ingredient combinations for foods like yogurt, drinking yogurt, mixed milk drinks and pudding, as well as for fruity refreshing drinks and energy drinks, ketchup and plant-based whipping creams.

These new functional systems enable different sugar content levels as desired, from reduced sugar to sugar-free.