Just as a chef uses meat broths as building blocks for flavorful soups, sauces and gravies, industrial customers rely on these basic ingredients for their products.

Meat and poultry stocks, and extracts in dry and paste form, constitute the Building Blocks® Savory Broth Flavors line from Hormel Foods Corporation, Austin, Minn. The stocks and extracts feature real meat flavors from chicken-, turkey-, beef- and pork-based ingredients.

The stocks and extracts are processed from bones with adhering meat; the protein is extracted from the bones by cooking them in a thermal vessel. The resulting broth is concentrated to reach a higher solids level. Salt and other flavors may be added to produce reaction flavors for savory notes.

The flavored beef stock pastes have rich beef flavors and come in several variations: roast beef flavor, bouillon flavor, intense reaction flavor and glace. Chicken flavors feature flavored chicken stock paste, fried chicken flavor powder and robust chicken flavor paste. Flavored pork stocks and turkey stock come in paste form. The ingredients can be customized for specialty applications. A powdered char-grill flavor can be used as a stand-alone ingredient to add a grilled note to sauces or gravies, or it can be added to broths to boost the savory notes.

A Very Nice Start

Product developers can add ingredients such as wine, vegetables, spices, herbs and other flavors to create customized soups, sauces and gravies. The stocks and extracts contribute meat flavors to products like beef vegetable soup, chicken noodle soup, beef stroganoff sauce, and beef, chicken and turkey gravies. Usage levels of these concentrated ingredients in the final formulation is about 1-3%.

“They are the core of the sauce; the basic flavors are there,” says Lisa Selk, manager, technical services, Specialty Products Division. “You add what you need to make your product, that's why they're called building blocks. You've got a really nice start.”

Many companies add the pastes directly to their cook kettles. Some combine them with other ingredients first. They typically are used in prepared and dried gravies as the base, or they can be the basis of a sauce for a frozen entrée.

Producers of meat products utilize them as part of the injection liquid for their products, while flavor companies may use them as bases for their reaction flavors. “The pastes and glace develop a smooth, velvety mouthfeel,” Selk says.

The dry powdered beef and chicken stocks can be reconstituted as liquid stock or used in dry flavor or seasoning mixes. Some plants prefer to use dry blends in-house when making soups, sauces or gravies, according to Selk.

Product versions with or without salt, HVPs or MSG are available, as are natural broths.

For more information:
Mike Buttshaw at 800-956-0399
www.hormel-spd.com • www.hormel.com
Hormel Specialty Products Write in 204