This chipotle spray dry flavoring is crafted from smoked red jalapeño peppers, distilled vinegar and a blend of spices.
“Delivering a multi-dimensional, balanced flavor profile, it is an ideal marinade for poultry, pork or beef,” Hunter says.
Sunsweet Growers Inc., Walnut Creek, California, is rolling out chef-inspired, no-added-sugar industrial sauces that have application in heat-and-eat meat and poultry products, as well as jerky and other protein snacks. Dried plums serve as a key ingredient in these gluten-free sauces that are made with non-GMO ingredients and no artificial ingredients or preservatives.
“The dried plums enhance flavor and sweetness, enabling the sauces to be produced without the addition of sugar and less sodium,” says Kim Kennedy, business development.
This, along with the clean-label formula, may improve the nutrition profile and label of the protein. Varieties include red chili, smoky chipotle pepper and tomatillo lime.
“We have a flavor we call maple mirch,” Lane says. “It’s a sweet and spicy flavor that cashes in on the Indian flavors trend, while also touching on the fusion of sweet and heat. It’s perfect in a wing sauce application because it puts a twist on the classic of chicken and waffles by taking it to a more global flavor profile.
“Going forward, as consumers become more globally connected, I think there will be an even greater emphasis on hyper-regional chilis. There are literally hundreds of different chilis around the world and many of them provide not just heat, but a really interesting bouquet of different flavor notes. Face burning heat is fun, but consumers are more sophisticated and want something else too. These globally inspired chilis fit the bill perfectly.”
Armstrong adds, “More importantly, the combination of flavorful heat paired with complementary cooling from fruit or other sweet flavors presents a two-prong flavor of heat and cool that drives many new flavors.”
He offers the example of spicy mustard with apricot brats. The mustard is a sharp hot flavor that pairs with the cooling apricot.
“Our culinary team recently developed harissa turkey meatballs and chermoula chicken with our Moroccan harissa chili blend,” says Jean Shieh, marketing manager, Sensient Natural Ingredients, Turlock, California. “Harissa is a trendy sauce now in the culinary world because of its complex spicy flavor profile. Our harissa dry chili blend can be added to processed meat formulations without introducing additional moisture.”
One of the best ways to add heat into meat items is through ethnic profiles, according to Dax Schaefer, chief executive chef, Asenzya, Oak Creek, Wisconsin.
He provides the example of sambal oelek, an Indonesian hot sauce that has long been on tables at Vietnamese and Korean restaurants.
“It’s that little jar of chilis and vinegar,” Schaefer says. “It has recently gained a lot of attention with mainstream consumers because of its approachable ethnicity.”
Peri-peri is another. With roots in Portuguese and Northern Africa cuisines, this sauce combines heat with citrus notes. It’s gaining traction as a marinade for chicken and pork.
“Shichimi togarashi is showing signs of being a new hot and spicy player,” says Christopher Warsow, manager of culinary applications, Bell Flavors and Fragrances, Northbrook, Illinois. “It is a Japanese pepper seasoning blend that is a combination of ground red pepper, sansho peppers and roasted orange peel. This gives the blend a delightful heat and tingling from the sansho pepper. It holds up well to frying applications where it is in the breading.
“Yemini S’hug sauce is an interesting newcomer,” he adds. “With the growing popularity of Arab and Mediterranean cuisine, it is showing up on more menus. Think of it as salsa and chimichurri in one. It goes great with all types of grilled meats.”
The trend to spicy is not going away anytime soon. It continues to flourish.
“Rising consumer demand is pushing the industry towards distinct ethnic variations of heat,” McLester says. “In the near future, an array of proteins, from bacon to deli meat to butcher department raw offerings, will all have distinctive, complex and spicy iterations.”
