Natural fruit fibres for confectionery fruit products, preventing caking and creating texture

The fruit jelly market is growing, both for the wellness and health-food segment, as they could be enriched with nutritional supplements such as vitamins or essential oils. The trend for sweets with enriched ingredients or functional characteristics has been increasing in significance around the world too.

Consumer demand for vegan products has also a strong influence on the confectionery market. Confectionery in which pectin is used as a plant-based gelling agent with colouring foodstuffs and natural sweeteners, which are also sustainable, is particularly popular. Dried fruits also fit in with the global trend for healthier foods and the demand for natural snacks.

Using multifunctional fruit fibres for manufacturing soft dried fruits and confectionery Soft dried fruits and fruit jellies or fruit pieces have a tendency to stick together or to stick to production machinery and packaging. After a short time, the product becomes clumpy and unappealing. Herbacel AQ Plus Citrus can help with this. This multi-functional citrus fibre is able to act as an anti-caking ingredient and not only prevents the product from sticking together, it also makes it easier to process. The use of Herbacel AQ Plus Citrus and Herbacel AQ Plus Apple is also recommended to give texture to fruit pieces.

Herbacel AQ Plus Citrus and Herbacel AQ Plus Apple are highly functional natural fruit fibres which are manufactured using freshly harvested, de-juiced and carefully dried fruits. They are ideal for use as part of a Clean & Simple concept.

Herbacel® AQ® Plus Citrus as an anti-caking agent in soft dried fruits and confectionery such as fruit jellies where generally, separating and coating agents are used as so-called anti-caking agents and reduce the product’s tendency to stick together. These additives also have disadvantages, however. Separating agents which are currently authorised for manufacturing dried fruits are hydrated poly-1-decan (E 907) and for confectionery, waxes (E 901 – 905), silicates (E 551 – 559) or hydrated poly-1-decan (E 907) pursuant to EC directive 1129/2011, and must be labelled with the corresponding E number. If silicates, hydrated poly-1-decan or waxes are used for confectionery, production is often particularly labour-intensive. Plant oils give the product an attractive glossy look, but the lm of fat also means that the product spoils more quickly and a rancid avour could occur. In addition, the taste of fruit ap- pears less pronounced. This can also be detected when using starches. Therefore, fruit-based solu- tions are intensively searched.

Using Herbacel AQ Plus Citrus means that the unwanted disadvantages of customary anti-caking agents are avoided. This means that both the manufacturing process and the product can be improved and simpli ed. Dried fruit and confectionery are given a light dusting using the citrus fibre instead of being coated. It is much easier to dust the product, particularly fruit jelly, using coating pans.

Optimal results can be obtained with a dosage*1 of Herbacel AQ Plus Citrus of only 0.1% to 0.3% for confectionery. Soft fruit jellies which have been coated with Herbacel AQ Plus are particularly suitable for processing into fruity chocolate balls.

It is also common for jelly to have a layer of sugar. This can be saved by an alternative powdering with Herbacel AQ Plus Citrus and thus reduce the sugar content.

The use of citrus bres also means that the use-by date can be extended, which is an added bonus. Any water which comes out of the product is bound during storage, the dried fruits can be cut more easily and do not stick together as much. This means storage and processing of the fruits is improved for use in other products such as baked goods, fruit breads, muesli bars, chocolate-covered fruits or for use in savoury products such as in cheese or in pies.

The indulgence isn’t in uenced negatively. The sensory properties of Herbacel AQ Plus Citrus are neutral and make the natural flavour of the dried fruits more appreciable. For optimal re- sults, a dosage*1 of only 0.3 % to 0.5 % of Herbacel AQ Plus Citrus is required for dried fruits.

Herbacel® AQ® Plus Citrus and Herbacel® AQ® Plus Apple to create texture for fruit pieces Just like with other confectionery, a common manufacturing problem with fruit pieces is that they stick together once the product chills. This can be avoided by powdering the product using Herbacel AQ Plus Citrus or Herbacel AQ Plus Apple.

During the process, the multi-functional citrus and apple fibres also bind water, the fruit pieces do not stick together as much and they also become easier to process. The mouth-feel of the products is also improved. It gives them a natural, more typically fruit-like texture and an improved bite.

In our example recipe for manufacturing fruit pieces, Herbstreith & Fox Classic Pectin CS 538 provides the necessary gelling properties. The result is therefore particularly fruity, in combination with the natural sweetness and the flavour of the fruit juice concentrates.

Thanks to Herbacel AQ Plus Citrus, there is no suppression of flavours. The fruit fibres produce the pulpy structure which is typical of fruit.

therefore prevents the fruit from sticking together. As a consequence, the fruits become easier to process and the use by date can be extended. Using our fruit fibres also promotes the fruity character of the soft dried fruits and avoids adding an unwanted layer of fat. Simply powdering fruit jellies with Herbacel AQ Plus makes it very easy to coat them in chocolate.

Herbacel AQ Plus Citrus and Herbacel AQ Plus Apple mean that fruit pieces are much easier to process as the pieces do not stick together so much.

Not only this, the fibres will give the product a natural texture which is more typical of fruit as well as a good bite.

Herbacel AQ Plus Citrus and Herbacel AQ Plus Apple allow products to be created which meet the needs of today’s consumers. They are therefore ideal for use as part of Clean & Simple concepts.

Please contact us; we would be happy to advise you on using Herbacel AQ Plus Citrus and Herbacel AQ Plus Apple to optimise and expand your range.