Low-carb foods need taste and texture
reduced-carb baked products that it claims taste as good as the
real thing. A study released this week by the Hartman Group found
the taste and texture of low-carb foods high on the list of
consumer concerns.
"Individuals on low-carb diets want to lose weight, but they don't want to give up a staple food they've grown up with and love," said Lynn Gordon, founder and president of French Meadow Bakery. "Our new Carb Watcher line demonstrates that it is possible to make a reduced carb bread that's not only healthy, but also tastes great."
The bakery's new line of yeast-free, organic, reduced-carb foods contain the nutritional ingredient, phase 2 starch neutralizer, which is used in several weight loss supplements. The range will be marketed under the Carb Watcher label and will include sourdough and multi-grain dinner rolls, bread, and tortilla shells.
"By incorporating phase 2 into a line of reduced carb foods, we will enable consumers to enjoy comfort foods like bread, tortillas and pizza without all the calories," said Kanak Udani, director of the phase 2 foods research program being conducted in conjunction with the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition.
Without the calories, but with all the taste, claims French Meadow Bakery. "Other bakeries have tried to reduce carbs by producing breads that contain more gluten than any other ingredient," said Gordon. "This process has resulted in a less than desirable taste and often rubbery texture."
Allowing consumers to think they are eating "real" comfort foods is all important.
Hartman this week published a survey entitled, The Vanishing Potato: Understanding the World of Low-Carb Dieting from a Consumer Perspective. This report found a marked concern among consumers that low-carb products may be inferior to their regular counterparts, especially with regard to taste and texture.
Only 63 percent of consumers were satisfied with the taste of low-carb foods, while this figure was even lower - 57 percent - for satisfaction with consistency and texture.
The report concluded that many consumers find low-carb products merely tolerable if not unsatisfactory.
Phase 2 is an extract of the white bean, which has been shown to reduce the absorption of starch calories in a pilot study. It has also been shown to reduce weight in two separate human weight control studies. The starch neutralizer is supplied by the New Jersey company Pharmachem laboratories.
