A long list of performance benefits
Crucially, these savings don’t come at the cost of performance. “As well as aeration and whipping properties, Palsgaard® SA provides great stability and resistance to mechanical treatment,” says Christophe. “It’s unique from that perspective – some bakers tell us that they don’t really trust gels for stability, so they add more egg to be on the safe side.”
Palsgaard® SA can also allow manufacturers to wave goodbye to production headaches. As a free-flowing powdered product, it’s very easy to dose and handle, and disperses quickly during pre-mixing. This means fewer mixing steps, making operators’ lives easier, increasing production efficiency and bringing additional cost savings.
Another major benefit is consistency. “If I buy a cake today, and the same one tomorrow, I expect it to be the same,” says Christophe. “With Palsgaard® SA, you just don’t get the variations between batches that you do with cake gel. We recently had a visitor from a company that had made the switch. We asked if he’d seen any difference and he said ‘Yes, actually. Most of the unexplained problems we had have completely disappeared.’ So, all those mysterious little issues, those readjustments manufacturers have to make, are gone. And as things are running more smoothly, that means less re-work and also fewer product recalls and rejects.”
Palsgaard recently asked a sensory panel to sample a cake made with SA. Despite the egg content having been reduced significantly, none of the panellists reported a loss of flavour. There are other benefits too. Palsgaard® SA has a typical shelf-life of 18 months – longer than cake gels, which are highly temperature-sensitive – and can be kept in stackable pallets, increasing storage capacity.
It also ticks several boxes for consumers. It’s plant-based, allergen-free and GMO-free, and – with only one e-number (compared to four in the typical cake gel) – it’s a great lean-label solution. On top of that, it’s sugar-free and combines well with oil, helping manufacturers swap out saturated fat and create better-for-you recipes.