Now there is a unique way to bring sauces to refrigerated and frozen products—in portion-sized, meltable form. Added to a meal kit or side dish, this remarkable product can make dishes extraordinary in moments.

Sargento Food Ingredients’ Custom Melts™ are made using a patented technology that is totally customizable—delivering form, flavor and functionality to application demands. Saucing a dish is made simple due to the product’s excellent cling, intense flavor and cleaner dispensability than custom-made sauces.

Custom Melts is a line of unique, dairy/cheese-based sauces that are solid at refrigerated temperatures, yet transform to a sauce-like consistency quickly at low temperatures. These high-quality sauces come in many forms—shreds, dices, cubes or slices. Which form to use depends on the viscosity of the product and the heating method being employed.

When added to a product, the melts turn into flavorful sauces within a few moments of heating. Melt characteristics vary by application, so it is important to understand both the food component and method of heating. Generally, melt temperature is between 110°-120°F. If left undisturbed, Custom Melts will melt, but not flow. This is beneficial when the application calls for sauce-like consistency without becoming overly messy (such as hot sandwich applications). In applications where the product is stirred, the sauce evenly coats and has good cling properties.

Both easy to use and consumer-friendly, Custom Melts’ refrigerated state gives them the added benefit of freshness, according to Sargento’s president, Kevin Dela-hunt. “Custom Melts also appealed to consumers because it let them feel like they were actually cooking a meal for their family. The product melted quickly and smoothly, adding a creamy texture to a variety of dishes.” In addition, adds Delahunt, consumers really liked the product’s freshness, form and ease of preparation.

Developed to be stable at refrigerated temperatures, Custom Melts’ shelflife had been determined to be 120 days, refrigerated. Under frozen conditions, shelflife is nine months. In addition, the product has less than half a gram of trans fat per 1oz serving.

Custom Melts are available in over a dozen varieties and are split into two categories: cheese sauces and culinary sauces. Cheese sauce flavors include Cheddar/American, Pepper Jack, Blue Cheese, Sharp Cheddar and Monterey Jack. In the culinary category, look for Alfredo, Garlic-Herb, Creamy Tomato Basil, Country Gravy and Strawberry Cream, to name a few.

For more information:
Sargento Food Ingredients, Plymouth, Wisc.
Dick Williamson, 800-795-7090
www.sargentofoodingredients.com