Tasty Trend Alert: Sweet and Savory Flavor Combination

The international, savory flavor profile is once more being met with open arms by the distinct, sweet profile that Americans have grown to crave.

The result: A sweet and savory flavor combination that proves the lines are meant to be blurred.

The Sweet and Savory Flavor Combo Is Here to Stay

We see it often with pineapple in pizza or when chefs add mango, brown sugar or maple syrup to a traditionally savory dish. On the flip side, salted chocolate is everyone’s favorite way to inject savory into sweet, but plenty of savory elements like wasabi, bacon and cheese play a supporting role in complementing sweet treats.

Even drinks that typically would favor sweet are getting the savory treatment. Black Ink Martini, anyone? What about a Bacon, Egg and Whiskey?

In fact, it can be argued that the sweet and savory flavor combination has been accepted for so long thanks to cuisines from different regions having been introduced and iterated upon for newer, more experimental generations that it’s less of a trend at this point and more of a fundamental change in how we eat. These global flavors will continue to grow in popularity as consumers seek out rich flavor experiences.

Diverse Flavor Palates Demand More Experimental Products

Per a quote from FoodProcessing.com: “One-dimensional products are out.” Translation: Consumers have a more diverse flavor palate, and it isn’t going away.

Food Business News agrees, as it discusses how savory and sweet has been around for a decade or so. “The first movement was salty snacks. Then it started to expand with bacon everywhere, in ice cream and chocolate. That was when there was a convergence of salty and sweet. You’ve seen bacon maple donuts, and salted caramel flavored products. We’ve also seen things like crème fraiche, which is the savory equivalent of sour cream. That is old school now. It’s ubiquitous to see savory sweet desserts.”

Chefs have set the stage by taking traditionally sweet dishes and creating savory-rich concepts. And now, it dominates products consumers are finding on the shelf.

The Nikken Foods Sweet and Savory Food Project

As more and more companies have begun adding a savory component to their products, the food scientists at Nikken Foods started experimenting with our all-natural powdered ingredients to find the best ways to satisfy this sweet and savory movement.

We took typically sweet items and incorporated some of our popular ingredients to provide a savory mix that propels the flavor and creates the perfect mix.

Here are a few examples from The Nikken Foods Sweet and Savory Project and our special, key ingredients:

Fish sauce caramel: This featured our fish sauce powder – 1620

Soy Sauce Chocolate Gooey Butter Cake: This featured our traditional soy sauce powder – 5305

Mediterranean Granola Bar: This featured our roasted onion extract powder – 2230

Miso Ginger Coffee Creamer: This featured our white miso powder – 6107

Smoky Strawberry Jam: This featured our wheat free soy sauce powder – 5365

Roasted Cabbage Apple Cinnamon Seasoning: This featured our roasted Chinese cabbage extract powder – 2310

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To learn more about these dishes or to discuss more custom ingredient combinations, contact Nikken Foods today and we’ll work together to find the perfect flavor profile for your product.