No longer just breakfast items, donuts are gaining popularity as snack indulgences eaten during the day. In fact, Technomic’s latest “Breakfast Consumer Trend Report” found that 48% of consumers agree that they enjoy breakfast at non-traditional times. Whether eaten during the morning or at midnight, donuts should look and taste as if they were freshly made with shiny, not sticky glazes, and tender crumbs.
Just how high are the expectations of packaged donut enthusiasts and aficionados? Ninety percent of consumers consider donut expiration date to be extremely/very important, according to a Corbion study. Eighty-six percent of consumers who expect donuts to stay fresh for 5-7 days would also like an additional 4-6 days of shelf-life. Lastly, 57% of customers would purchase more varieties of donuts if they had longer shelf-lives.
Donut glaze stability is an important aspect of freshness. Over time, the difference in water activities between the glaze and donut can cause moisture migration, making the glaze become sticky. Glaze deterioration negatively impacts consumer eating experience.
TREHA® trehalose can provide a solution for creating stable glazes and managing moisture migration in food. TREHA® suppresses moisture migration, extending the freshness shelf-life of the donuts. A comparison of two yeast raised donuts prepared with glazes using either powdered sugar or powdered TREHA® showed that the trehalose donut exhibited significantly less stickiness after storage for one day at room temperature. Trehalose is an ingredient found in nature in mushrooms, yeast, and honey.
References
Corbion. (2014, November 11). Corbion Caravan Introduces Ultra Fresh Sweet 275: Enhanced Freshness Reduces Waste, Increases Purchases.
Technomic. (2011). Breakfast Consumer Trend Report.