ARE SPROUTED GRAINS THE FUTURE?

ARE SPROUTED GRAINS THE FUTURE?

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  W holegrain Ingredient Producers EDME,based in England, has pioneered an innovative new category of ingredients. Michael Carr, Sales and Marketing Director of natural ingredient producer at EDME says, “We’ve identified a growing interest in sprouted foods and have developed a brand new product category to help bakers and food manufacturers meet that interest and demand.” Sprouted grains meet the demand for new wholegrain ingredients that are nutritious, soft and tender, as well as being more palatable and digestible. Recently named Rural Business of the Year by the Anglian Business Awards, EDME’s quality assured products of nutritious flours, flakes and kibbles result from processing pulses, seeds and wholegrain cereals - raw and malted. As Michael Carr says, “If you eat bread with ‘bits’ in it, the chances are you will have often eaten Edme’s natural wholegrain ingredients”. The health benefits of wholegrain – reduction in the risk of heart disease, diabetes and many bowel disorders, to name but a few - have long been established. Nutritionists advise three portions of wholegrain a day. According to the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition’s (SACN) recent Carbohydrate and Health report however, in Britain 20 percent of the population eat none at all; 33 percent eat only three portions a week; and just 5 percent manage the recommended intake. Britons are eating far too little fibre. Michael Carr continues, “It will take radical changes to address this. As well as educating people about the benefits of wholegrain, the food industry clearly needs some new ideas.” The Essex-based business, which has served the food industry in the UK and international markets for 135 years, has drawn on its expertise in malt to research and develop a new technique. This ‘WholeSoft Sprouted’ technique uses the first stages of the malting process to capture the goodness of whole grains; provide them with succulence; and make them accessible to the food industry. Premium quality raw cereal grains are steeped (soaked), germinated (sprouted) and then, rather than being kilned and dried, which is what would happen in the malting process, they ARE SPROUTED GRAINSTHE FUTURE? WholegrainIngredients ProducersEDMEthinksso 56 | November 2016 - Milling and Grain F
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  are pasteurized. Thisprovides stable, succulent, and tasty ingredients. According to Mintel Ingredient Insight, consumer demand is there, with 43 percent of UK consumers looking to buy food containing whole grains. But it was found that many people find the taste, texture and/or appearance unappealing. The ‘WholseSoft Sprouted’ technique is a much more approachable way for consumers to access whole grains, with their added benefit in terms of nutrition and fibre. The sweet, almost juicy texture provides an appealing soft bite with a slight chew. WholeSoft Sprouted Rye in particular adds notable flavour. All WholeSoft Sprouted grains have the full bran layer, so help deliver much-needed fibre; are low in starch; contain antioxidants; and offer easier absorption of nutrients such as calcium, iron and zinc. EDME’s WholeSoft Sprouted grains also have a wide range of applications in the baked goods category and other food manufacturing sectors. For bakers, of key interest are the visible attractive-looking whole grains, which contrast with the burnt offerings that sometimes appear in loaves and rolls. However, an additional benefit is the impact they have on the texture of the overall product. As WholeSoft Sprouted grains are already hydrated, they feed moisture into the crumb, whereas dried flakes and kibbles draw moisture out. Michael Carr comments, “A high presence of WholeSoft undoubtedly reduces the baker’s requirement for added fat to keep their products moist; the grains do that for them. For a similar reason, consumers don’t need to use so much butter or margarine on bread made using WholeSoft grains.” Edme’s pioneering new ingredients are already being used in breads made for three of the main supermarkets, and are being explored as ingredients for dairy and savory dishes by a number of manufacturers. “They pick up flavours readily so work well as meat analogues,” says Carr. “But applications can vary from yoghurts, smoothies and dips to hot and cold ready meals, with or without meat. The surface has only been scratched!” ANDRITZ Feed & Biofuel A/S Europe, Asia, and South America: [email protected] USA and Canada: [email protected] www.andritz.com/ft Your global technology process supplier for the animal feed industry ANDRITZ is one of the world’s leading suppliers of techno­ logies, systems, and services relating to advanced industri­ al equipment for the animal feed industry. With an in-depth knowledge of each key process, we can supply a compatible and homogeneous solution from raw material intake to finished feed bagging. Milling and Grain - November 2016 | 57 F