A crispy bread crumb that can be applied to a range of foods and vegetables to create tasty breaded products without frying; and real cheddar cheese that is heat- and freezer-stable and retains its shape on baking, are just some of the innovations created by technology specialist Harley Food Systems.
For healthy snacks, Harley Food Systems has designed its Harley Gourmet Breading System for use in novel Pop-up Toaster products that can be heated in an oven or toaster to create a perfect hand-held snack or mini meal. When combined with Harley’s Butterfly Cheese, the Pop-up Toaster product subsequently becomes a crispy, crunchy cheese snack or mini meal that leaves no oil on fingers and can be eaten straight from the toaster without burning.
“Consumers are demanding more choice in healthier eating products, while producers and consumers are trying to reduce their carbon footprint. The Harley System is great for providing customer favourites, which are natural, low in fat and salt, and with no added artificial colours, flavours or preservatives. The system uses little energy and banishes the need for a deep fat fryer,” explained Fred and Dave Humphrey, the father and son team behind Harley Food Systems.
The coating features a vanishing batter layer and highly consolidated crumb element, leading to minimal loss of coating during handling and cooking. It can be applied to all traditional coated foods, including vegetables.
“When applied to our Harley Butterfly stabilised cheese range, the coating can be used to create totally new snack food offerings,” said Dave, who explained that the Butterfly cheese is around 40% lower in fat than its traditional counterparts, and can be flavoured and shaped. “The result is healthier, lower in calories and fat than its fried rival. It retains its shape without melting or breaking, is dry to the touch, with no greasy residue and is more cost effective to produce.”
Harley’s Butterfly Cheese is real cheddar with 40% fat removed to make it heat stable and perfect for replacing cheese in breaded snacks as well as on pizzas or other applications where cheese is added. It could be used to replace grated or sliced cheese with a logo imprinted brand image.
Using the cheese to brand pizzas is one idea Harley Food Systems has had.
“As Butterfly Cheese retains its shape on heating, pizza trademarking using lettered cheese is just one idea we have had,” said Fred. “Butterfly Cheese can also incorporate any flavour or ingredient for brand identification; it can be shaped into fun hot food or used in sandwiches and salads. There are so many opportunities that open up with the use of Butterfly Cheese, with its beautiful smooth eating qualities and reduced fat, among other benefits.”
UK-based, Harley Food Systems is actively seeking development support from larger players in the industry in order to commercialise its innovations for the snack food and convenience sectors, ready meals or school meals, as well as hospital or catering operations.
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