http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1543261,00.html Hint of chilli hots up the ice cream market Lois Rogers LAVENDER-flavoured custard and ice cream with a hint of green tea or chilli are to be launched later this year by manufacturers trying to entice the palates of bored consumers with unfamiliar foods.
Green tea is being used in a wide variety of products from ice cream and salads to crisps and even breakfast cereal, according to a report. It has been described as having a similar bittersweet taste as a blade of young grass. The move to surprising flavours is partly an attempt by companies to boost the sale of products that consumers are over-familiar with. Previously, unusual flavour combinations, often condemned as gimmicks, have been tried by avant-garde cooks such as Heston Blumenthal, proprietor of the Fat Duck restaurant in Bray, Berkshire. He is known for his bacon and egg ice cream. Now such ideas are destined for the mass market. The report by Mintel, a market research company, finds that "the world is getting spicier". Unilever, the food company, has launched a chilli ice cream. The product, a version of the Magnum chocolate lolly, is on sale in Italy and will come to Britain if successful there. Food developers are confident that British consumers will be able to adapt quickly to tastes once considered bizarre. A few years ago, for example, many people were disgusted by the Japanese taste for raw fish, but now sushi is fashionable. Already, lavender-flavoured creme anglaise — more commonly known as custard in Britain — is selling well in the trendier supermarkets of America's west coast. Food multinationals believe it is only a matter of time before Britons are sprinkling lavender vinaigrette on their salads. Another flavour set for rapid growth, according to Mintel, comes from chipotles — smoked and dried jalape–o peppers. These are being used in mayonnaise, "ranch dressings" and cream sauces. Britain is also in line to experience innovations such as Nestle's apple crumble-filled chocolate bars or Douwe Egberts' sugar lumps flavoured with amaretto, chocolate or "Irish cream". The dried fruit brand Whitworth has launched its Fruit Tempters in this country. These are dried apricots flavoured with peach liqueur, a "real fruit snack with a split personality", according to the packet. Elsewhere there are Wild Snacks, flavoured with the native spices and bush flavours of Australia, and a new Turkish-style pizza, which is being tried out in Holland. The trend towards ever more artificial food comes despite mounting concern over the need to lower consumers' salt and sugar intake. In the past two years, the global market for salty snacks has grown 76%. The trend towards processed food is also reflected in demand for flavoured milks. Although coffee tops the popularity league, food makers have scored big hits by heavily marketing lemon and cherry varieties. The report concedes that food novelties such as green tea-flavoured breakfast cereal may take off better in countries such as Japan than Britain, but it adds that the growth in air travel is likely to increase the acceptability of such foods. -- Cheers, Gabe Menezes. London, England
