Wheat fractions enable cheaper, clean label tomato sauce

26-Feb-2010 - Last updated on 26-Feb-2010 at 11:05 GMT

Kampffmeyer has developed a new clean label binding system for tomato sauce, which it says removes the need for modified starch and reduces the amount of tomato needed.

Tomato sauce plays a small but crucial role in a host of food applications, from pizza topping to pastry and baguette fillings to ready meals like lasagne, Bolognese and ratatouille. But sauces are often made using modified starch (E1400-E1499) to bind them, and rely heavily on tomato paste to give them the expected pulpy texture.

The German miller’s mission was to find a way to create the same pulpy texture without the need for E-numbers, as consumers are increasingly demanding ‘clean label’ – ie, E-number free) products. It also wanted to help companies reduce the amount of tomato paste required, since tomato is a comparatively expensive ingredient.

It developed Purabind Pulp by splitting out wheat flour fractions by hydrothermal and physical means. “Kampffmeyer is able to do this as a miller,” junior product manager Ulrike Thomas told FoodNavigator.com. The Hamburg based firm has roots reaching back to the Middle Ages, but today is positioned as a hi-tech miller developing new applications for milled grain products to meet pressing needs for the food industry.

Thomas explained that sauces made using the ingredient are stable, and can be used in fully-automated dosing systems without becoming waters – a common problem with fresh tomato sauces.

What is more, the ingredient is cold-swelling, which means there is no need to cook the sauce. It looks light and fresh, and keeps its structure even when frozen.

The Purabind Pulp ingredient is used in sauces at levels of between 4 and 7 per cent. A sample recipe would also use vegetable oil, some triple concentrate tomato paste, and water.

What else from wheat?

Kampffmeyer also offers a range of flours called Purafarin, which can be used as stabilisers and thickeners for other food products, like soups and sauces, canned goods, frozen products and baked goods.

Another products that is finding favour with manufacturers seeking to develop meat-free or reduced meat products is WheatMeat, a texturised wheat protein that can be used in burgers.