As the strong demand for gluten-free products continues to grow across Europe, food manufacturers are looking for ways to gain a competitive edge, branching into or expanding free-from ranges.
Producing gluten-free products that meet consumer expectations in terms of sensory qualities can be a challenge, given their altered properties. However, clean-label ingredients producer KRÖNER-STÄRKE, has declared that there doesn’t have to be a conflict between going gluten-free and still being able to enjoy the preferred taste and functional properties that wheat products offer.
Supplying ingredients for the gluten-free market since 1984, the company uses 100% naturally produced wheat starches that have the gluten content washed out, making it possible for food manufacturers to produce gluten-free bakery products, sauces, batter and breadcrumb coatings and pasta.
Fed up of products that easily crumble or feel like cardboard, KRÖNER-STÄRKE has seen a number of food manufacturers turn to its SANOSTAR gluten-free wheat starch, which offers sensory and functional properties that create final products of very high quality. In comparison with corn and tapioca starches, SANOSTAR is able to offer superior baking properties, as well as a taste experience more akin to traditional recipes.
A truly versatile functional ingredient, SANOSTAR also works as an excellent gluten-free binding agent for sauces such as béarnaise or béchamel – making it ideal for use in applications such as ready-meals or jars of ready-made sauce.
Whilst some consumers are moving towards gluten-free diets as a conscious lifestyle choice, for suffers of coeliac disease, a life-long gluten-free diet is non-negotiable. Screening studies suggest that approximately 1 in 100 people across the UK and Europe has the condition, yet only 30% of people with the condition are clinically diagnosed1. As awareness of coeliac and its symptoms increases, demand for a better range of gluten-free products will inevitably keep rising.
Despite this demand, challenges remain, with gluten free alternatives sometimes being thought of as artificial and highly processed in nature. Countering these concerns, KRÖNER-STÄRKE’s ingredients are produced without any additional enzymes or process aids and the gluten is washed out using 100% pure untreated water from the firm’s own spring. A certified partner of Naturland, KRÖNER-STÄRKE has committed to the Association’s Organic Agriculture directives, focusing on transparency and credibility along the entire value chain.
To enable gluten-free baked products to stay fresher for longer without the use of food additives, KRÖNER-STÄRKE has developed SANOGEL, a cold swelling pre-gelatinised starch. It provides bakers with excellent viscosity and texture control as well as helping with the stabilisation of dough. Using this type of starch increases water absorption, aiding dough hydration and thus improving the shelf life of the baked goods.
Apart from the gluten-free starches KRÖNER-STÄRKE has also a wide range of gluten-free instant flours in their portfolio. To enhance water binding properties in bakery products, customers are choosing instant flours based on rice or corn.
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