Sweet-heat surging in dairy innovation
Hot and spicy flavors in combination with some sweetness, like chipotle raspberry and lemongrass wasabi, are trending across all food and beverage categories. There is poblano chicken, habanero ketchup and cayenne kombucha. The more exotic, the more inviting the sweet-heat combination.
Some sweet-heat butter concepts from Kristie Hung, marketing specialist, Sensient Natural Ingredients, Turlock, Calif., include combining green hatch chili with lime for a crisp, bright savory flavor with strong front-end heat.
“Red hatch chili, on the other hand, has a distinct savory flavor with sweet, floral notes and lingering back-end heat,” Ms. Hung said. “When added into honey cinnamon whipped butter, the floral flavors accentuate the sweet notes, making it a perfectly balanced spread for toasts, bagels, pancakes and other baked goods.”
“Raspberry chipotle is a popular flavor combination that delivers the sweetness of raspberries and a hint of heat and smokiness from smoke-dried jalapeño peppers, also known as chipotle,” Ms. Hung said. “The smoky flavor adds depth and layers to this sweet-heat combination.
Ms. Hung’s yogurt ideas include mango habanero, blueberry guajillo and pineapple jalapeño. “You can really never go wrong with mango and habanero as a pair,” Ms. Hung said. “The juicy, fragrant, sweet flavors of mango, when paired with the floral flavors of habanero, produce fruity apricot, pear and apple notes. Guajillo delivers a sweet heat that encompasses green tea and earth flavor notes that gets balanced by blueberries while the juicy, tropical taste of pineapple is refreshing and mixes well with the heat of jalapeño.”