Freeze-Dried Fruit Powders: Adding Fruit Flavor to your Creations in a natural, Calibrated Way

(This article appeared in the Spring 2022 issue of Pastry Arts Magazine)

By Eunice Escobedo

Sponsored by

The process of creating delectable treats requires enhancing the baseline of what is already fantastic. Pastries, ice creams and chocolates are the seeds of happiness, but fresh fruit can blossom your creation into a spectrum of flavor profiles. It’s important, however, to know how to best incorporate that flavor, because fresh fruit of any quantity is more likely to dominate than enhance. Freeze-dried fruit powders offer an immediate solution to this problem. Whether you seek a strong or subtle flavor contour, fruit powders allow you to precisely calibrate the flavor intensity of your dessert, allowing you to achieve a range of flavors from the subtle delicacy of watermelon to the bold character of citrus, and anywhere in between.

In recent years, the interest in using dried and dehydrated fruit products has increased exponentially. Fresh fruit is always a difficult ingredient to manage. Whether it’s not ripe enough or too far gone, procuring, storing, and balancing the peak readiness of fresh fruit is nearly impossible to do efficiently and without waste. By design, freeze-dried fruit powders sustain the flavors and nutrients of fresh fruits. This is a game changer for the pastry and baking world.

Fruit powders allow us to explore a wide variety of flavor options that may otherwise be difficult because of seasonal stock supplies or even supply chain delays. Furthermore, you may be deterred from using a specific fruit flavor because of elevated water content. As referenced, these dynamics challenge the practical efficiencies and time restraints of the modern artisan. Aside from the natural requirements of fresh fruits, purées, pastes, or extracts, fruit powders address many obstacles. The powdered version of fresh fruit can excel as a stand-alone ingredient or can be used to add an extra punch of flavor to any recipe.

When we think of powders or formulated compounds, chemistry and unwanted – and unpronounceable – additives often come to mind. How does fresh fruit attain a higher state of consciousness? Well, through recent developments, we’ve found the best method of making fruit powders includes freeze drying the optimally ripened fruit at icy temperatures. This removes 98 percent of water content, so we can then transition the lifeforce of the fresh fruit into a powder, resulting in a longer shelf life. Equally important, that is how the flavor and nutrition of the original fruit are maintained. The final result is a highly concentrated fruit powder. Remember, a little goes a long way! Only small amounts of powder are needed. Since the fruit has been turned into powder, it contains no additional water or sugar content. Pro tip: to avoid any natural clumping, store in airtight containers to suppress moisture. Your supplier will have desiccant packets that will assist with the storage process.

One of the great benefits of using fruit powders includes the versatility in usage and application they offer. You can mix powders into dry ingredients for things like cookie doughs or cake batters. You can even use it in no-churn ice cream to avoid compromising your recipe with a purée. Likewise, it is just as easy to hydrate fruit powders with any liquid, such as water, juice, butter, oil, etc. Not only do powders provide powerful flavor, but they also deliver beautiful, natural color that is downright spellbinding. Fruit powders likewise do a beautiful job in dessert toppings, glazes, and frostings.

Other powder applications include:

• Dough
• White chocolate
• Cake batter
• Caramel
• Marshmallow
• Ganache
• Dusting

Let your imagination be your guide – freeze-dried fruit powders offer an easy, accessible way to add pure fruit flavor to anything you can conjure up. Visit www.chefrubber.com to learn more about these state-of-the-art products.