Specialty cuts of potatoes offer gourmet style at budget pricing. Lamb-Weston's Sales Solutions offers a wide variety of potato offerings and proven sales strategies to increase profitability, as well as other foodservice alternatives, such as breakfast and lunch pockets and fruit turnovers. Lamb-Weston offers foodservice vendors sales support that is designed to help expand menus and profits.
Lamb-Weston Inc. WRITE IN 263

From dried cheese and cheese flavor enhancers, to consumer packaged butter and processed cheese, Land O'Lakes processes and markets almost 12 billion pounds of milk a year and is the largest branded marketer of butter in the U.S. Beginning 75 years ago as a dairy cooperative, Land O'Lakes has over 6,000 farmer members and 98% name recognition among U.S. shoppers.
Land O'Lakes International Foods. WRITE IN 264

Add instant consumer appeal to pizzas, bruschetta and other Italian dishes with sun-dried tomatoes. Toss'n Topping Sun Dried Tomatoes, a new presentation by Valley Sun, adds color and flavor to specialty dishes and is easy and convenient to use. All Valley Sun products are home grown in California under the strictest quality control.
Valley Sun Products Inc. WRITE IN 265

Consumers love almonds in everything from cereals to salads. Almonds are nutritious and flavorful, and studies show consumers are willing to pay more for items with almonds. Paramount Farms takes almonds a step further by presenting a flavorful, new approach to seasoning almonds for a variety of food applications. Flavor profiles range from praline and caramel to garlic teriyaki and Italian parmesan.
Paramount Farms. WRITE IN 266

ACH Food Companies Inc.--formerly AC Humko--was out in force at this year's IFT Food Expo. The company touted its three divisions--ACH Food and Nutrition, Humko Oil and ACH Rice Specialties. ACH Food and Nutrition features dried powders of everything from honey to vinegar and has an exclusive arrangement with French's to produce certain products. Further products of note were a raspberry powder in an energy bar application, as well as a vitamin E powder and a spray dry powder that boasts all the benefits of soy. ACH also produces the three-oil blend that is in Boost and is exploring a variety of nutri-blends.
ACH Foods Companies Inc. WRITE IN 267

Fruit flake powder adds flavor, texture and moisture to processed meat patties. JLS DRY flake powder from Tree Top, a blend of plum, apple and pear flake powder, is shown by independent research to improve yield, lower fat and provide a moister, meatier taste to meat patties, sausage, and hot dogs.
Tree Top Inc. WRITE IN 268

Juicy pineapple was featured at Dole Packaged Foods. They package the fruit in many forms, such as slices, chunks, cubes and tidbits. Dole also supplies juice, concentrate and essence. Small particulates--like cubes, tidbits and crushed items--are available in aseptic packaging. Shelf stable Fruit Bowls are supplied for meal kits.
Dole Packaged Foods Co. WRITE IN 269

The veggie Philly steak sandwich at Jon-Lin Frozen Foods included their IQF vegetables and fruits. They prepare fresh vegetable pieces from onions, red and green bell peppers, green and yellow zucchini, mushrooms, corn, broccoli, eggplant and carrots, for a partial list, and sautée, grill, fire-roast or smokehouse roast them to bring out their flavors and enhance their appearance. Fire-roasted and smokehouse roasted products have signature grill marks.
Jon-Lin Frozen Foods. WRITE IN 270

Roasted potatoes featuring roasted Gold wedges with garlic and Parmesan seasoning and roasted Red chunks with campfire seasoning, were presented by NorSun Food Group. The seasoned, roasted potato line also includes chipotle style, herb style, and country style seasonings. Roasted Red, Russet and Gold potatoes are offered in wedges, chunks, sliced and diced. Their extensive line of frozen potato products also includes baked and IQF forms.
NorSun Food Group. WRITE IN 271

Known for its innovative cheese products, Sargento offers a new flexible pouch cheese sauce, as well as shelf stable and refrigerated cheese sauces, shredded and cubed cheese, and portion control cheese.
Sargento Foods Inc. WRITE IN 272

Dried plums were shown in meat products such as hot dogs, hamburgers and Italian sausages at the California Dried Plum Board. Recent research shows that about 3% dried plums added to meat has the potential to retain moisture and to serve as an antimicrobial agent. It improves cook yields and reduces lipid oxidation.
California Dried Plum Board. WRITE IN 273

Cheese, cheese powders and savory flavors were all on display at the Kraft Food Ingredients' booth. Launching what was termed the next generation of grill flavors, Kraft Food Ingredients' backyard grilling concept manifested itself in two of many offerings, Backyard Grill Flavor^w and Chargrill Flavors. Other flavors on display and for tasting included a return of Cracker Barrel^w profile cheese powder, a honey-roasted coconut topping and, thanks to the acquisition of Nabisco, Grey Poupon^w, A.1. ^w and Oreo^w offerings.

Kraft Food Ingredients. WRITE IN 274

Sweetened and unsweetened, pureed, frozen and canned tart cherries, as well as cherry pie filling, were exhibited at the Cherry Marketing Institute booth. Red and green Maraschino cherries are used in confections and popular beverages, among many other applications. Dried tart cherries are a convenient form for breads and other baked goods, cereals and snacks. Cherry juice concentrate is becoming more popular for beverages and juice blends. Balaton cherries, a new variety, are in more plentiful supply. A growing body of literature discusses the many nutritional benefits of cherries.
Cherry Marketing Institute. WRITE IN 275

Ice cream bon bons held roasted almonds in their centers at the Almond Board of California booth. The newly revised "Book of Almonds," a resource guide for food technologists, was available. Nutritional studies on the health benefits of almonds are based on industry supported research.
Almond Board of California. WRITE IN 276

Pasta comes in many shapes and sizes. At A. Zerega's Sons Inc., their newest pastas have thin walls so they can cook up quickly under microwave conditions. They are designed to go into microwave side dishes. Shapes include spirals, shells, elbows, penne and mini lasagna.
A. Zerega's Sons Inc. WRITE IN 277

Information on rice, specifically dedicated to the processed food industry, was available at the USA Rice Federation. The Federation represents producers, millers, marketers and allied companies that work on 80% of the rice acreage and 98% of the milling capacity in the U.S. Rice consumption is expected to grow one pound per capita per year over the next few years. See the website www.riceprocessing.com.
USA Rice Federation. WRITE IN 278

Infused cranberries were shown at Ocean Spray Cranberries' booth. Ocean Spray is debuting a white cranberry juice, scheduled to hit stores nationwide in July. This juice offers a different flavor profile and promises all of cranberry's health benefits--with less of the tart taste.
Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. WRITE IN 279

A wide variety of wild rice products were on display, as were crisp rice and Thai Jasmine rice, rice meals, rice flours. Also shown were quick cooking rices, milled and parboiled rice, wild rice with cook times ranging from 20-60 minutes and value added quick cooking wild rice with a cook time ranging from 3-10 minutes.
Riviana Foods Inc. WRITE IN 280

Egg products, and their care and handling, were subjects covered by the American Egg Board. Information on egg products and their suppliers, as well as the latest nutrition and health information, was offered at the booth.
American Egg Board. WRITE IN 281

Organic Certified Ginger meets Australia's stringent Organic Standards and is randomly and annually audited. Buderim Organic Certified Ginger is available in several forms: Small Diced Drained, Standard Diced Drained, Crystallised Small Dice and Crystallised Standard Dice. All raw ingredients used in processing are Organically Certified.
Buderim Ginger Ltd. WRITE IN 282

Wheat, barley, rye and triticale are offered in numerous forms. Pearled, cut, grits, flakes and flours are among them. Some of the highest concentrations of beta-glucans, the soluble portions of dietary fiber known for cholesterol-lowering effects, are found in standard and waxy, hull-less barley varieties.
Minnesota Grain Inc. WRITE IN 283

A pioneer in food dehydration continually increases product offerings with an eye on customer support. Rogers Foods uses top of the line equipment and technicians to research and develop quality seeds produced by quality growers. Their aim is to produce the best raw products for the best finished products.
Rogers Foods Inc. WRITE IN 284

Interactive ice cream contained Confecshure Burste pop rocks that "sparked" in the mouth as the ice cream melted at Balchem Encapsulates. Flavorshuree encapsulated cinnamon was shown in microwave cinnamon rolls. Encapsulation preserves the flavor of cinnamon and prevents it from inhibiting dough rise.Balchem Encapsulates. WRITE IN 285

A better brand of frozen vegetables is created when water content is reduced before freezing, such as in Gilroy's GardenFrost Dehydrofrozen process. GardenFrost Softfrozen and Dehydrofrozen vegetable purees were featured in various food applications, such as Cajun Sausage Jambalaya and Roasted Portabella Focaccia. GardenFrost products have brighter color, fresher appearance, and less weeping than individually quick-frozen (IQF) products. See the website www.gilroyfoods.com
Gilroy Foods, ConAgra Inc. WRITE IN 286

Cheese sauces, as well as puddings, snack dips and nutritional beverages, are aseptically packaged and offered by Dean Foods Co. Some cheese sauce offerings are: Cheddar, Nacho, Jalapeno, Pepper Jack and Swiss. Diet beverages, sports/energy drinks and nutritional supplements are healthy and flavorful. Non-dairy coffee creamers and other dry ingredients, such as stabilizers, are offered.
Dean Foods Co. WRITE IN 287

The addition of 3- 5% dried plum puree improves moisture content, flavor and shelf life and reduces fat in processed meats, such as hamburgers and hot dogs. Plum Juicy™ products offer food professionals this same functionality. A smooth, dark brown puree with no yeasty or burnt off flavor, Plum Juicy has a basic formulation of over 70% dried plums and dried plum concentrates. Moisture is 30+/- 0.5%, pH is 3.5-4.5, and titratable acidity is 1.4%-2.2%, as malic acid (for flavor and preservative properties). It's available in several blends, including concentrate, plum/pear/apple blend and low moisture.Midway Farms produces a line of fruit-based ingredients from raisins, figs and dates.
Midway Farms. WRITE IN 288

Technical Session: Raisin' Awareness of Raisins

Raisins are a functional and healthful ingredient that can be added to a wide range of sweet and savory foods. Professor Mary Ellen Camire, Ph.D., in the Dept. of Food Science & Human Nutrition at the University of Maine at Orono, presented poster session 30D-17 on "Raisin Dietary Fiber: Composition and Characteristics." Raisins contain about 4% dietary fiber, and also inulin and phenolic acids. Camire concluded that increased consumption of natural, golden and dipped raisins might provide cardiovascular and other health benefits.

Julio Loaiza, Ph.D., research associate in the Dept. of Horticultural Sciences at Texas A&M University, gave a poster (#44C-19) on "Analysis of Raisin Extracts to Determine Phenolic Content and Antimicrobial Activity." Loaiza identified numerous phenolic compounds in raisins, including catechins, and acids such as chlorogenic, caffeic, quinic and gallic. Raisin extracts inhibited the growth of L. monocytogenes and E.coli O157:H7, suggesting that raisins have antimicrobial properties related to their phenolic content.

While raisins are well known for their use in sweet goods, savory dishes also benefit from the sweet, tart flavor of raisins. At a presentation by the California Raisin Marketing Board (CRMB), Fresno, which sponsored the above research, current technical and culinary information was presented on raisins. Celebrity chefs are participating in the CRMB's campaign, "Look Who's Cooking with California Raisins," which began last October. One of the chefs, Thomas Keller, owner of The French Laundry, Yountville, Calif. in the Napa Valley, featured sautéed shrimp with jasmine rice and raisins. At least a dozen delectable dishes were presented.

Contact Camire atcamire@maine.edu. Contact Loaiza at jgloaiza@neo.tamu.edu. For more information on raisins, visit www.calraisins.org

-Laura Brandt, Contributing Editor