The Sweet Versatility of Fruit
FRUIT AT THE FOREFRONT
The natural sweetness of fruit lends itself perfectly to unexpected and unforgettable flavour combinations.
Fruit can be paired with spicy, smoky or savory ingredients, tempering extreme flavour notes with just the right amount of balance. And this formula can be applied to sauces, dips, marinades, seasoning blends—the list goes on. Techniques like smoking, roasting, caramelizing and pickling also help to bring out complex flavour notes from any type of fruit.
Foodservice operators are capitalizing on consumer desire for unique flavours, using fruit from all over the world to enhance menu items across categories. Popular steakhouse Vamo in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil has brought fruit into unexpected applications, such as panko-breaded shrimp with passionfruit sauce and a burger with blue cheese and balsamic grilled pears. With the plant-forward trend showing no signs of stopping, Zenith Brunch & Cocktails in Spain has created a vegan brunch toast topped with avocado, tomato, mushrooms, strawberries and mango-pineapple chutney. Even a global burger chain has incorporated fruit into savory items, serving up a spicy fried chicken sandwich with apple slices and black pepper mayo.
3 insights TO discover
3 OUT OF 4
consumers globally recognise that the biggest dietary change followed has been to increase their intake of fruits.
1/3
of German consumers would like to see more fruity flavours (excluding citrus) in savoury packaged food products
75%
of European consumers believe that a portion of fruit is healthy when buying a snack.
Segment snapshot
QSR/FOODSERVICE:
Chefs and operators are using the sweetness of fruit to balance spicy and savory flavours across the menu. Common applications include fruit-forward sauces and fruit purees that can be used as glazes for proteins.
PROTEIN PROCESSORS:
Brands are using fruit ingredients to create sweet-and-savory or sweet-and-spicy flavour combinations for inclusions, glazes and marinades—perfect for adding a hint of freshness and balance to the richness of hearty meats.
QSR/FOODSERVICE: MENUS GO GLOBAL:
Chefs will continue experimenting with fruit on the menu, turning to global fruits that align with consumer desire to explore international cuisines. Expect to see flavours such as dragon fruit, cherimoya, kiwano melon, feijoa (pineapple guava) and sour plum.
FRUIT-FOCUSED CULINARY INSPIRATION
Banana Skin Taco
The dish is a take on pulled “pork” taco using Banana peels, using Custom Culinary® Gold Label Vegetable Fond as a base for a BBQ sauce, drizzled over is a vegan Garlic yogurt sauce.
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This concept also builds upon the need of finding ways of putting back waste on the plate. In this case it turns banana peels into a dish that guests can enjoy, as well as the bonus of being vegan and tasty!
Good for Consumers, Good for the Planet
As new applications of fruit become more popular across foodservice, protein processing and the snacking segments, we can see the potential for fruit-forward innovation making a tremendous impact from a sustainability standpoint. That’s why Griffith Foods is proud to partner with International Agriculture Group, an organization focused on reducing food waste by striving to use the entire crop of peeled green bananas to produce NuBana™ Green Banana Powder.
Green bananas are naturally rich in resistant starch, making NuBana™ Green Banana Powder a great source of insoluble dietary fiber. NuBana™ is also rich in magnesium and potassium—nutrients that are highly beneficial to consumers’ health yet typically under-consumed. With its naturally occurring nutritional benefits and International Agriculture Group’s mission to reduce food waste, NuBana™ Green Banana Powder serves as an ideal flour alternative for the health of consumers and the globe alike.
CHEF TIP
“Before using dried fruit as an ingredient, rehydrate it in a liquid that will add complexity to the finished dish, for twenty or thirty minutes. –Chef Mark Serice, Vice President Global Culinary, Griffith Foods*
culinary inspiration
Get inspired by these on-trend concepts to create innovative offerings using Griffith Foods products.
Spicy Chicken with Apples
McDonald’s in Malaysia launched an LTO spicy chicken sandwich with apple slices to create a sweet, spicy, and savory menu item. To elevate the flavours even further, the sandwich is finished with a black pepper mayo.
Grilled Halloumi Wrap with Mango Ketchup
Leon in the UK brings sweet and tart fruit flavours across many of the fast casual restaurant’s savory dishes such as the Grilled Halloumi Wrap with Aioli, spiced mango ketchup and cherry tomatoes, and the Chili Chicken Box featuring a chargrilled chicken thigh with creamy garlic aioli and smoky chili sauce, topped with a sprinkling of sumac and pomegranate seeds.
Port & Orange Cranberry Sauce
For Christmas 2022, Pret UK added two items with a fruity sauce on the menu: Pret’s Christmas Lunch (Thick slices of British turkey with port & orange cranberry sauce, herby pork stuffing and baby spinach leaves) and Brie & Cranberry Baguette (Slices of French brie with port & orange cranberry sauce, a dab of mayo, roasted pistachio nuts and a handful of peppery rocket on our stone baked baguette).