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nTHREE TIPS FOR FOOD- SERVICE PRODUCE BUYERS
New varietal development, greater availability and value-added fresh berries are all factors foodservice buyers should keep in mind when ordering berries for the menu.
1. Varieties. “Better varieties are producing better flavor, sweetness and sizing,” says Tom Smith, director of foodservice for California Giant Berry Farms, in Watsonville, CA. “Certainly, blueberries and now blackberries and raspberries, too, are being noticed. Consumers have warmed up to these berries over recent years, as a result, and demand these flavors along with strawberries.”
2. Cost and availability. The cost of fresh berries can be a challenge for very tightly budgeted programs such as schools and healthcare, according to Smith. “I recommend utilizing peak season availability of all berry items. When product is most plentiful it is more affordable. Multiple growing regions and year-round availability has made this much less of an issue. If using all four berry items, there’s always one that will be readily avail- able and affordable to all consumers.”
3. Value-added. There are now opportunities for foodservice compa- nies to purchase value-added straw- berries and blueberries in volumes equal in weight to a flat of fresh berries but with the added benefits of being pre-washed, providing 100 percent yield and having an extended shelf life,” says M. Jill Overdorf, director of business development and corpo- rate executive chef for Naturipe Value- Added Fresh, LLC, in Salinas, CA. “We have developed an FDA-approved proprietary wash for blueberries and strawberries that alleviates kitchen labor and provides double the shelf life of fresh fruit; this is a game-changer for busy kitchens and large volume operations like cruise ships and hotels that need both safe and flavorful product.” pb
(according to the Council’s 2017 Consumer Usage & Attitude Study).”
Fresh raspberries were included in two ways on the menu during the 2017 holiday season at Denny’s, a 1,600-unit casual fami- ly-style restaurant chain headquartered in Spartanburg, SC. One was White Chocolate Raspberry Pancakes, which features a pair of buttermilk pancakes with white chocolate chips cooked inside and topped with vanilla ice cream, fresh raspberries and white choc- olate curls. e second was a White Choco- late Raspberry Milk Shake, made with vanilla ice cream blended with fresh raspberries and topped with whipped cream and white choc- olate curls.
“We’re committed to providing our guests with high-quality ingredients,” says Sharon Lykins, senior director of product innovation at Denny’s. erefore, “when we’re planning menu cycles and sourcing for dishes that will include fresh berries, we are mindful of the seasonality of these ingredients. For example, blackberries can carry us through winter, while strawberries are perfect in spring and summer.”
WHAT’S NEW ON THE MENU?
e challenge for foodservice professionals when working with fresh berries is to think beyond the stereotype that berries are only good for breakfast foods and desserts, says Chef Andrew Hunter, consultant for the USHBC and Los Angeles-based research and devel- opment chef, author and the R&D mentor of Lifetime network’s competition series, Super- market Superstar. “Blueberries, for example, have incredibly complex avors. ere are notes of citrus, black pepper, tannins like grapes, accents of tobacco and a dark fruit avor. We do tast- ings with chefs, just as you would do with grapes and wine, to help them identify these avor components to help them innovate.”
Sauces are one of the latest ways fresh blueberries are being used, according to Hunter. Examples include blueberry- avored barbeque sauce and Asian-style Hoisin sauce sweetened with blueberries. Backing this up are results from the USHBC’s 2016 Opportu- nity Assessment/Market Segmentation Analysis, which focus on industry opportunities, and showed 38 percent of foodservice operators think blueberries are a good t in savory mari- nades and sauces, and 1 in 5 think blueberries are a good t for main entrees.
Pickled berries are also being championed by progressive chefs, says M. Jill Overdorf, director of business development and corpo- rate executive chef for Naturipe Value-Added Fresh, LLC, in Salinas, CA. “What started as a
trend at farmers markets is now a commercial opportunity for the pruning and thinning of early plants. Green or unripe strawberries are harvested with a blush of pink, but before any sugar has developed, and then they are often pickled to be served as a unique condiment or addition to a meal. Green blueberries have a slight reddish hue and are similarly treated; they can also be used for mixology, relishes and garnishes depending on their cure.”
Grilled and broiled fresh berries are yet another trend, adds Overdorf. “A standard culinary application is to brûlée, or ‘broil’ strawberries to enhance the sugars and add a depth of avor. is is the same process that is used with a Crème Brûlée or a breakfast grapefruit. Grilled blueberries and blackberries are achieved using a grill screen. Blueberries can be served whole after grilling as a garnish and grilled blackberries are an incredible sauce to nappe over elk, bear, boar or gamebirds.”
Finally, beverages are a fashionable foil for berries. A good example, pointed out by Randy Benko, director of foodservice sales for Watson- ville, CA-based Driscoll’s, is the drink infu- sions at Café Zupas, a 40-plus-unit fast casual soup-salad-sandwich chain based in Provo, UT. e infusions are non-alcoholic, non-carbon- ated water-based beverages made with honey and fresh-squeezed fruit such as raspberries.
“Cross utilization, or using ingredients in more than one place on the menu and in more than one way, is essential for foodservice oper- ators to control shrink and costs,” says Benko. “ is is especially important in the case of highly perishable berries. One way to do this, for example, is using fresh plump berries in applications like salads and desserts, and those that are slightly soft or dehydrated but still good can be used mashed or pureed, chopped or blended in fresh berry sauces, salsas and beverages. It’s a win-win.”
To spur even more creativity, California Giant Berry Farms, Watsonville, CA, launched a national foodservice competition where chefs created a signature recipe using at least two of four berries – strawberries, blueber- ries, raspberries and blackberries – and were selected by the company during preliminary judging. e ve chef nalists then made their creations at a Chef Showdown in July. Chefs participating included those representing foodservice distributors Markon, Performance Food Group, Produce Alliance, Renaissance Food Group, Sysco and US Foods. e winner, Chef Luis Reyes of Sysco Foods, received the title of Top Chef and a trip to the Produce Marketing Association’s Foodservice Confer- ence in July, in Monterey, CA. pb
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