Feast for the Eyes - Part One

By James C. Burg, Technical Editor

Gold Standard
Say Quality
Design Spectrum
Entrée, Stage Right

A product's appearance contributes markedly to its overall acceptability. Also essential to new product design is a combined effort by technical, culinary and marketing groups, with each sector offering solutions as to what makes an appealing product. Technical groups - including ingredient chemists, and food, application and sensory scientists - provide insight into ingredient functionality, product design, processing and shelf-life aspects of visual design, as well as design creativity in product acceptance and performance. Culinary experts develop ideas using existing and new ingredients carrying visual and gustatory appeal. Marketing researchers identify new and developing trends capable of being turned into new visual designs. Effectively combining this talent leads to outstanding products with better-than-average visual appeal and, therefore, expectations of market success.

What exactly is visual appeal? This subjective measure is defined primarily by the intended consumers.

A gold standard is typically chosen by the design team's marketing group and might represent a currently existing product type known and accepted by consumers or even the market leader. The standard also might represent an entirely new product concept, with a high degree of potential popularity with consumers. The gold standard might be prepared from scratch by a chef or food scientist, or it might be selected from an available market version. The visual attributes of the standard chosen by the design team can be determined by using descriptive profiling techniques, a sensory statistical method for defining, among other characteristics, colors, uniformity of appearance, and other visual factors that set a visual profile for the chosen standard. The method can be used for all other attributes of the product as well, such as texture and flavor.

For instance, a target design might be a freezer-case, two-layer yellow cake with strawberry-colored frosting, strawberry halves, frosting fruit and leaf decorations. The visual descriptors, or standardized terms chosen to define given attributes of the product, are set for each aspect of the design. These descriptors might be:

• physical appearance (shape, symmetry, irregularities in shape such as fall or dimples, uniform thickness of icing, uniformity of icing application, icing graininess, holes, "goose bumps," sheen, and moistness);

• color (strawberry shade, other fruit shades, uniformity of hue or color, intensity of hue as it increases from darker shades, tint or depth of hue as it increases from whiteness, appropriateness of tint, hues or shades of frosting decorations, hue tint or depth as it approaches white, and color contrasts with the cake icing); and

• overall appearance (degree of perfection of design elements, cake-slicing ease, shape of pieces, cake-section crumb appearance, apparent sponginess, cake softness and color, and interior icing color).

Once the set of visual descriptors is determined, the panel evaluates standard examples representative of the attributes sought, such as icings of strawberry shade, with desired appearances after freezing and thawing. Color values are matched with color charts or colorimetric standards to ensure all panelists agree on hue perceptions. A numerical scale is chosen for each descriptor category. Hues and tints could be rated from zero to 7, so that a red hue standard and a strawberry shade standard are used to score the product samples vs. the test samples. The other visual attributes are rated similarly, yielding a profile that can be statistically related to the design objectives.

The panel rates all the other product attributes, such as textures, moistness and taste, to produce a composite profile of the target design or designs. Designers then can proceed to develop product prototypes that most closely match the profile(s) sought for the gold standard. An appearance of freshness as prepared, stored and served is an important factor. Uniqueness of design, presentation and packaging round out the initial profiling. Packaging appearance is particularly important where the product is not visible, or would not appear appealing in a frozen state. Carefully chosen package graphics will help the visual appeal. Several versions of a product might then be chosen for market tests. Formulations then can be additionally modified to match the most favorable responses from market tests.

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After sensory testing, the next step is to successfully duplicate the product under industrial processing conditions.

"All aspects of the visual must say quality," says Scott Gilbert, executive chef, Food Ingredient Specialities (FIS), Solon OH. "The first steps are to prepare an authentic type of the product, and use that as a standard to achieve in the manufactured product. You need to replicate all processes of a product, for example, a roast or a seared meat. Searing quickly accents the caramelized colors and notes, sealing in juices. A seared swordfish speaks to savoriness, and can be paired with a glaze to accentuate the appeal. Vegetables must complete the dish. The finished product sets you up for the total experience. For instance, rotisserie restaurants are appealing, yet this presentation has to provide a consistent experience."

"A basic glaze can be a corn starch in water, which becomes the flavor and herb carrier, and adds shine," Gilbert explains. "Sauted onions with bacon flavor and visible particles in the sauce, such as roasted red pepper and garlic, add the look of savory. The availability of specialty prepared vegetable pieces, such as 3/4 in. random-cut roasted red pepper pieces, vegetable blends and pastas makes it convenient to assemble products at foodservice locations or in manufacturing systems. All products need to pass through storage and shipment conditions, meeting or exceeding expectations."

Glazes for meats and vegetables can be prepared from waxy maize-based native starches, which give smooth textures, clarity and good storage stability at low and varying temperatures. Additionally, very good retention of juices in meats can be obtained.

Dextrins, prepared from starches that have been heat-treated under low-moisture conditions with acid, form larger molecules with adhesive and viscosity properties that can be used for glazes. These GRAS compounds develop good adhesive films that hold particulates and produce shiny, glazed surfaces.

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Frozen, precut vegetable pieces, as well as preprocessed pieces, such as roasted or sautéed vegetables, are available as ingredients for vegetable entrees, sauce inclusions, soups, prepared stews and many grain and pasta applications. Frozen whole and cut herbs also are available for similar products, adding color, shape and visual appeal to product applications.

"Culinary herb pastes can be used for many applications, such as meats, potatoes, vegetables, fish, stews and soups," says Laurel Place, director, sales and marketing, SupHerb Farms, Turlock, CA. "The pastes are also available as marinades, which can be complemented with a paste rub. An example would be a salmon fillet marinated in a basil sorrel marinade product, with a rub of green basil sorrel paste for appearance and color contrast." The marinade helps maintain the salmon moisture, presenting a moister product after cooking. Some other paste products include sweet red pepper sage, a good color complement for seafood, sausages, eggs and bread doughs. Tomato creole paste ignites red sauces.

Frozen herb pieces add color and appeal. A wide range of products is available, according to Place. Depending on the herb, pieces are available from small whole herbs, such as thyme, to extra-large leaves of basil cut at 3/4 in. Other herbs include 1/8 in. tubular chive cuts, and 1/8 in., 1/4 in. and 1/2 in. green onions. Flat Italian parsley is available in cuts from 4 mm to 12 mm. Also available are frozen peppers - including chile pepper pieces, yellow caribe peppers, orange habanero, dark green poblano and serrano - supplying color and particulates for creating visual interest and identifying specialty products, such as ethnic dishes.

Processing factors, such as process cook time and temperatures, freezing process, storage conditions and freeze/thaw cycles, thawing and final cooking method, oven or microwave, and final appearance determine optimum design parameters. The product type and appearance would dictate the selection of these multiple herb and vegetable ingredients for visual appeal. Cost vs. appearance also might become a factor. Larger pieces will give a lower count per pound, so the pieces might be larger, but there will be less of them in each serving. This might not only present an unappealing appearance, but also might make even distribution of pieces in processing nearly impossible.

Green vegetables and herbs contain chlorophylls, which are subject to browning on cooking. The lower the pH of the product containing these ingredients, the more the reaction proceeds. These ingredients benefit from leaving out vinegar and other food acids in cooking.

The individually quick-frozen herb products have a four-year shelf life when stored unopened at -5°F (-20.6°C), according to Place. When stored frozen, the herb pastes have a two-year shelf life. Stored unopened in the refrigerator, the pastes possess 120 days of shelf life.

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Taking all the diverse, visually appealing ingredients, adding useful functional ingredients and processing to perfection will lead to products with appeal. Chicken breast, potatoes and asparagus provide a straightforward example. This product's components might consist of: packaging; roasted chicken breast with a sauce containing roasted pepper; onion and garlic pieces; cooked baby red potatoes in a flavored, seasoned oil sauce; caramelized pearl onions; and crisp, steamed or roasted asparagus spear tips in an herbed sauce with capers. Product design requires determining proper cooking temperatures for the chicken, vegetable, sauce and herb components as carried through the final microwave stage. At the point of consumption, package integrity must exist. There can be no off-notes emitting from the package on opening. Nor can breakdown, discoloration or loss of sealing occur. The entire meal product must exhibit as near to freshly prepared and cooked an offering as possible. The chicken breast requires careful preparation to deliver the most savory-appearing, freshest, juiciest product possible. Preparing the chicken with injectable solutions of marinades containing phosphates and binders, such as substituted modified food starches, adds several benefits. The phosphates help to retain juices, and the starch provides water-binding capacity that reduces purge, or loss of juices during storage, as well as increasing volume during cooking. The freeze/thaw capability in storage is improved. A glaze containing the herbs and spices can be added to the meat to help seal in juices, and provide interesting color and herb shapes. The asparagus sauce can have a lower-viscosity, substituted modified starch and contain herb extracts, pastes and herb pieces. As a result, the sauce will have a light green color from the herbs. The potatoes might be coated with olive or other vegetable monounsaturated oil, steeped with herbs or with added herbal oils to provide color and gloss. The package material and resistance to oils, flavors, colors and other ingredients must be determined.

The potatoes and asparagus received washed and cut fresh can be blanched - placed in boiling water for about a minute to inactivate enzymes that would cause browning or other undesirable reactions. Blanching time depends on the vegetable, and the size and appearance of the finished product sought. Frequently, blanching can be used to remove peels and skins, but it would be desirable to leave the red potato skin in place for appearance. Ascorbic or erythorbic acid baths also can be used for sliced fruits and vegetables to prevent oxidative browning.

All meat, vegetable and sauce components are processed through initial cooking, freezing, storage, thawing and final cooking under microwave or oven conditions to determine the optimum parameters to provide the desired appearance at the point of consumption. The final heating stage is completed by the consumer after frozen storage. Soft textured items, such as the onions, would require special cooking procedures or glazes to produce the caramelized look, yet retain an appealing texture in the product as prepared for consumption.

The chicken sauce can be prepared from substituted starch solutions, with herb pieces, vegetable bits, spices, herbs, and meat pastes and flavors containing colors inherent in the pastes. Or, dark autolyzed yeast pastes or caramel colors can be added to achieve desired colors and viscosity.

"Consistency and stability of appearance of sauces or soups is important for visual enhancement," says Jane Van Vliet, business development manager, FIS. "A sauce has to have stabilizers to prevent curdling on a steam table. A curdled product signals to consumers the flavor is not good, either. We have a stabilized Culinary Cream™ that will not break down or darken during heating, and thus makes a good base for Alfredo sauce or creamy soups."

"Other ways to add appeal include use of flavor enhancers with color, such as Ultra Dark autolyzed yeast pastes for meat notes and roasted color," Van Vliet says. "Deep roast flavors add color cues to the product savoriness. Meat pastes and garlic pastes for sauces and homestyle gravies offer appeal by adding particulates to the products. Herb pastes add color and particulates to potatoes and other products." FIS has solid meat extracts that also will act as particulates. The starch selected for the sauce has an effect on the look of the finished product.

In the native form, common corn starch produces an opaque gel; waxy maize gels tend to be clear; and high-amylose starches are opaque. Other starches provide various effects: potato, waxy-rice and tapioca starches provide a clear gel, while regular rice starch offers an opaque appearance. Modified starches can be used for sauces and glazes due to their wide range of properties in the areas of cling, clarity, sheen, thickening, moisture retention and freeze/thaw stability in storage. Cross-linking of a waxy maize starch from a small to a moderate degree with phosphate linkages provides stability to temperature, shear and pH effects, while increasing hydration requirements. Acid modification of starches increases clarity, but reduces viscosity. Substitution by acetylation or hydroxypropylation of the starch introduces increased moisture control and freeze/thaw stability. In addition, substituted starches possess better clarity, and are more readily cooked. For example, designing a sauce for a frozen vegetable or meat entree with medium viscosity could be prepared using a moderately cross-linked waxy maize starch with hydroxypropyl substitution. The viscosity and freeze/thaw capability depends on the levels of cross-linking and substitution chosen in the starch. This starch type maintains excellent texture, clarity and viscosity throughout extended cycles of freezing and thawing, as well as storage under refrigeration.

Sauces also might contain gums to alter the appearance, increase the cling and maintain viscosity under different heat conditions. Xanthan tends to maintain a fairly constant viscosity through a range of temperatures.

Packaging is the first clue to a quality product, and unique, not gimmicky, packaging opens the door to sales. An attractive black microwavable container, for example, resembles a porcelain dish of modern design, hinting at a trendy restaurant presentation. The package sports a clear window spotlighting the perfectly done chicken breast, presaging the entire meal product. The well-designed label incorporates modern lettering, in line with the trendy restaurant theme, visual pictures, symbols and/or designs to catch the eye among the many offerings on display. The package speaks of care in graphic design, which must be apparent in the visual appearance of the food product.

Simple PET (polyethylene terephthalate) polyesters and other materials have evolved into many composite products having excellent sealing, increased moisture and oxygen-barrier capabilities, and improved freeze/heat stability. Design of the packaging for visual appeal requires that packaging designers and engineers be involved as an integral part of the product design process.

From designing the package to designing the products that will grace the container, food designers focus on the various meal components, their container-material compatibility and their visual strengths as they appear after cooking.

Due to their textural variety and marked difference compared to meat structures, vegetarian meals can prove a more challenging product-development task than meat-based products. Soy- and grain-based meat analogues require emphasis on texture, color and grilling or roasting appearances. Designing a Salisbury steak analogue with soy and grain protein sources for texture and structure can provide a meat-like appearance. A textured vegetable protein base, soy protein isolates, soy flours, oat flakes, vegetable fibers, wheat, rice and other grain products can be used to build the matrix.

Textured vegetable protein is available in dried granules that can be hydrated to a desired state of moisture, swelling greatly to become chewy to soft-chewy particulates, depending on moisture level. The additional soy, oat grain and other fibers also absorb large amounts of water, and can be formulated to obtain grainy, fibrous, tacky blends that can be bases for ground meat substitutes that have the appearance of ground-meat structure. Extruded products can be prepared with an appearance similar to meat structure. Colors such as dark yeast pastes and caramel colors add to the meat-like appearance.

Water control - via use of fibers, substituted starches and food gums - allows for maintaining the moist, juicy meat-like appearance. Juice retention by substituted starches helps to maintain the moisture in freeze/thaw conditions, and purge can be reduce during storage. Konjac gum hydrates readily, forming a slippery gel that can be used as a fat substitute. Small granules of the gel can be incorporated into the product, giving the slick, white appearance of fat nodules.

Click here to read Feast for the Eyes - Part Two.

• Photo: Cherry Marketing Board

• Photo: FIS

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