Please pass the mayo

A PINCH of salt, a dash of pepper, a sprinkling of herbs or a soup?on of seasoning transforms an ordinary meal into a gastronomical delight. Condiments, sauces, dressings and seasonings have been an integral part of  cooking for a long time. These can be as exotic as bleu cheese or as humble as honey mustard, and still perk up the flavour of foods whilst simultaneously providing a contrasting taste.

The global market for Condiments, Sauces, Dressings and Seasonings* is forecast to reach US$72 billion by the year 2015, spurred by increasing preference for cheaper home-cooked foods in times of global financial crisis.  In addition, hectic consumer lifestyles and the increasing demand for healthy, natural and convenience foods as well as ethnic cuisine will drive  sales for food accompaniments such as condiments, sauces, dressings and seasonings.

A recession-induced change in the eating habits of people world over resulted  in a radical shift away from eating out at restaurants, towards cheaper option of eating home-cooked food. This played a major role in propelling demand for food enhancers such as sauces, dressings, condiments and seasonings. Apart from changing eating habits, the global financial crisis resulted in demand for the more economically priced private label products,  vis-à-vis, heavily priced branded products.

The steadily growing popularity of convenience foods, rising demand for exotic cuisines, and the trend towards innovative and attractive packaging,  continue to drive demand for condiments, sauces and other food accompaniments. Speciality condiments, ethnic, regional, and gourmet, continue to drive major growth in the condiments market.

Furthermore, the globalisation of brands and increasing disposable income of  consumers is pushing demand for the products in developing nations. Products  free from trans fats and low-sodium salad dressings have also grown in popularity over the last one to two years.

Whilst the overall market for dressings and sauces apparently did not experience any adverse recession impact, there was a stiff competition between private labels and established brands during the period. More economically priced private label products emerged as tough competitors for the costlier branded products. In order to save money during times of scarce  finances, consumers' switched preference to store led, private label brands.

Owing to a continuing demand for ready meals and the trends towards cooking  and eating at home, there is consequently demand for stabilising system for sauces and dips. Mayonnaise, for instance, can be made in a wide range of variants - as a fat-reduced or cholesterol-free product or for enhancing frozen foods. Hydrosol offers integrated compounds to meet every requirement.

Super low-fat creams and savoury dips

There is a steadily increasing demand for calorie-reduced foods - but with many delicatessen products, calorie reduction presents a problem in respect  of the macronutrient fat. Since fat is largely responsible for the good  flavour and mouth feel of a product, many low-fat variants are not accepted by consumers. The stabilising systems from the Stabimuls MRH series make it possible to create "light" delicatessen specialities with a pleasant taste and mouth feel.

The integrated compounds can be used to make a delicatessen cream with as little as 5% fat - simply and at low cost, with the classic technology. The  resulting caloriereduced products meet the requirements of both production and marketing.

There is also trend towards light, savoury dips. With theAdidas