OKAYAMA, Japan — Hayashibara Co., Ltd. of Okayama, a subsidiary of NAGASE & Co., Ltd., held a workshop on Nov. 18-20 at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at Copia, in Napa, California, USA as the Nagase Food Ingredients. Twelve prominent North American chefs, who are experts in foodservice and R&D, came together to appreciate global cuisines and learn new skills and techniques to enhance their foodservice operations.
The workshop showcased many applications of TREHA (R) (trehalose), a plant-based food ingredient with the amazing natural functionalities of extending freshness of foods (examples are shown below). TREHA is derived from starch and is GRAS-designated, Non-GMO, and Kosher- and Halal-certified.
Application details: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M104815/201912134759/_prw_PA1fl_8eI2GXkr.pdf
Two guest chefs demonstrated several applications in Japanese dishes–sushi, tempura and tofu–as well as Western confectionaries, cheesecake and matcha creme brulee. They shared their experience and advice, including benefits in reducing food waste, operation costs, and maintaining freshness and outstanding food quality for their consumers.
After learning TREHA’s unique functionalities, each of the chefs had applied their new knowledge to creating their own recipe. In three days, more than 25 different dishes were presented on the table and created exciting discussion about the effectiveness and use of TREHA.
Furthermore, in respect to contributions towards two of the UN SDGs–(2) Zero Hunger and (12) Responsible Consumption and Production–, the attending chefs learned about how using novel food ingredients can have enormous impact in sustainability on a North American and global scale.
In large-scale foodservice operations, where enormous amounts of food are prepared (banquets, catering for inflight and cruises), it is challenging to maintain high quality of freshness–especially on buffet lines and in mass production where food may be held prior to serving. The chefs were very excited to learn how TREHA can be applied to preserve freshness longer in both fresh and frozen food applications.
The workshop gave potential solutions to global food issues by utilizing TREHA’s unique functionalities such as extending the shelf life of foods, keeping freshness longer, especially fresh vegetables and fruits, and improving quality in a variety of foods.
The moderator, Chef Barbara Alexander, the former CIA executive chef, was fascinated to see that a salad prepared the day before was as fresh and crisp after more than 12 hours. This demonstrated TREHA’s natural ability to prevent vegetables from going limp and preserving the crunchy texture for a longer period of time. In addition, one of the chefs tried TREHA on roast chicken, and the attending chefs were amazed at the difference in juiciness and the beautiful golden colored skin.
Please visit:
https://www.nagase-foods.com/treha/
*The interview with Chef Barbara Alexander
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj7bOZPXM0U
From an educational perspective, Nagase Food Ingredients is committed to providing useful information to the global foodservice industries.
Official website: https://www.hayashibara.co.jp/data/en/
