Meet the man of Quality

With the Forest Naturals and House of Flavours business growing succesfully our team keeps growing too!

We'd like to introduce you to David Booth. Our new Quality Assurance Technician.

Dave, what is your role and what does it entail? 

I will be dealing with day-to-day customer raw material inquiries and supplier questionnaires, along with other tasks such as managing the company’s quality systems and internal auditing.

      Another part of my role is to manage the storage of quality reports and records and any other duties passed on from the Technical Director Mike Speight.

What are your best skills?

I’m a confident individual which allows me to form relationships quickly. I have excellent communication skills, these skills are drawn upon on a regular basis when motivating and convincing team members at all levels. I lead by example and also have a good sense of humour which Is always a good thing!

What will you bring to House of Flavours going forwards?

House of Flavours is already a successful business and it’s  growing all the time. As part of the technical team I aim to help deliver BRC Accreditation to the business next month. I intend to  help maintain the already high day to day quality standards within the business, and if necessary implement plans to improve on them where warranted.

How are you settling in to your new job?

I’ve settled in to my new role very well, I have been able to draw on the experiences gained during my time within the in the technical team at Ornua ingredients UK .

I am learning new skills relevant to the business on a daily basis which can only will be a benefit to myself and House of Flavours going forward.

What do you think of your collegues ? (shhhh! ...We won't tell!) 

The whole team have been very welcoming and extremely friendly. Everybody gets on with one another which makes for a good working environment.

What is your favourite past time?

I’m a typical lad, I love Football, football, and football with a bit of traveling thrown in (to watch even more football!)…Oh and I enjoy spending time with my wonderful fiancée of course!

What is your favourite food?

Anything Italian, especially pasta or pizza!

Welcome to the team Dave!

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Juicy flavours here to stay

The future for juices and smoothies

Desire for fruit juices has soured in the last few years, with Juice  Bars popping up on high streets, and nifty powerful blenders (priced from £40 to over £400), being used daily by the health conscious in their kitchens.

Far from being a flash in the pan its predicted that juicing has a long way to go before anybody gets tired of it, and we are due to see more varieties hitting the supermarket shelves.

Ruth Walters Crisp from the Let Her Eat Clean Guide says, “Juicing is often associated with hardcore cleanses , but it’s also a brilliant way to eat more fruit and veggies”.

“Juicing definitely had its place at the top of the nutritional charts in 2013 – and it doesn’t seem to be budging from that hot spot.”

 Photo Courtesy of Essential Gourmet.KZ

So where can the “trend” head now?

Juicing isn’t just popular with the health conscious. It also has a pull for those with a hectic lifestyle, which lets face it- seems to be most of us these days! 

Juices and smoothies give the ability to zap our hunger pangs on the move, with minimal time and effort, but still enable us to feel we are looking after our bodies.

House of Flavours prediction for Juicing and Smoothies is that they will continue to become a way of life, rising in popularity with 20-somethings, who whilst wanting something quick, easy and healthy– also need great flavours.

Simple orange and banana or summer fruits may not be enough to satisfy the health desires. How about a drink packed with Kale, Berries and Cucumber, which tastes of Strawberry? Or even one with Spinach, Celery and beetroot which tastes like raspberry ? Im in.

If you have a product which needs some fine tuning with flavouring solutions then contact flavours.co.uk who can help.
www.flavours.co.uk 

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A warning to all in the food industry

You could be in grave danger.

Have you eaten carrots to give you good eyesight, or used Garlic to ward off bad luck?

Food superstitions and myths are sometimes quite handy (if you’re a parent of a child resisting thier veg!), but at other times – well they’re simply nuts.

Here are some of our favourites, which you might want to be aware of...

If you’re ever in China, it might be wise never to poke your chopstick upright in your rice bowl.  It resembles incense sticks at funerals.

 Staying in China, some believe cutting a noodle will render your life shorter. Biting one will too actually, so slurp away!

Did somebody say Slurp? When you’ve finished your tea, take a look at the bottom of your cup. If there is undissolved sugar, somebody is in love with you.

However, if you’re looking for love you might want to drop some cutlery…If you accidently drop a fork, a woman will be coming to visit. If it’s a knife, you will get a visit from a man. But for goodness sake don’t GIVE the knife to the man if you actually like him...

According to ancient traditions you should NEVER give a knife as a present to a friend. It’s a symbolic gesture meaning you will soon cut your ties with them.

Bakers Beware!

Holes in bread are a real no-no. The presence of one when you slice a new loaf was once seen as a sign that somebody you know will die!

Of course youre OK if it’s a Hot Cross Bun. Ancient bakers apparently placed crosses on loaves to prevent the devil from sitting on the loaf and stopping it rising.

All hail the Hot Cross Bun!

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A solution to your taste headache

Funny aftertaste? Off notes? There's ALWAYS a solution.

We all love our own products, but what if they could be improved in ways you hadnt thought of yet?

The good news is that you can always improve the taste, and even the cost price to produce your product  by talking to House of Flavours and Forest Naturals ingredients.

 

 Traditionally bakers turn to the use of inclusions in their products when asked to create innovative product variants. Often these inclusions add significant cost to the product but make little contribution to product taste.

The solution to this problem often lies in the addition of a top note flavouring, which of course can be natural or 90%+ from the named fruit, flavourings developed and selected by HoF have been verified as bake stable so they will withstand the baking process and deliver the taste impact being sought from the fruit inclusions. As a result the level of fruit inclusions can be reduced to a level that provides the desired visual impact. Often the end product will have a reduced cost and will almost certainly have an improved taste profile.

It is often desirable for ingredients to be encapsulated so that they are released at a certain temperature during the baking phase of a product, for example citric acid will inhibit proving as it lowers the pH of the mixture. By encapsulating the citric acid yeast can be protected during the proving stage, the citric acid being released only during baking. HoF has a range of ingredients that can be encapsulated for timed release in baked products, including spices, aspartame, cinnamon and bunspice.

Consumer demands for mainstream bread products with added health benefits are increasing. Adding ingredients that provide these health benefits often results in off notes in product taste. HoF can develop ingredients that counter these off notes providing your innovative product with the desired taste profile.

We have developed solutions for all areas of the food and drink, flavourings industry. If we do not already have the solution for you , then our bespoke ingredient development service will create it for you.

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE .

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Are you poking?!

Pete Breese is, in this weeks  “Baker Pete’s Tip of the Week”.

Every week, we are bringing you some handy baking tips from our in-house Baker, Peter Breese.

This week the tip is…

“To check when dough is ready to go into the oven, touch the side of the dough lightly with two fingers.  If  the imprint remains,  its ready to bake . If not, keep checking .”




Find out more ways in which we can help you to improve the quality or cost, or taste of your products HERE

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What's the most common flavour in the World?

Many people think flavourings are a modern invention, however it seems this is not the case.

People have been adding extra flavourings to their cooking to improve the flavour of their food since the dawn of time.

Originally in the form of locally gathered fresh fruits, herbs and spices, these quickly became an important and lucrative trade.

Most people tend to assume that flavourings are a modern invention, however flavourings in the form of liquid extracts have been around since at least the time of the first cookery books. Some of the earliest recipes known were created in 4^th century Rome.

By the 19^th Century, flavourings appear to be in regular usage (the commonly appear in recipes). Rose Water is most commonly mentioned, and “Orringe Flower Water”, appears from late 17^th Century onwards.

The manufacture of synthetic aroma chemicals began in the mid 1800’s, and by late Victorian period, Citrus, and Spice Oils were commonplace.

So what is the most common flavouring around the world today? It's Vanilla.

ClickHERE to find out if we can help with any of your flavourings issues. or contact us on 01594 822 885.

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