Make it unicorn ... or mermaid. Freakshake it! Does any of this sound familiar? Just scrolling through social media, it’s evident the fantasy flavor trend is taking the Internet – restaurants, bars, ice cream shops and home kitchens, too – by storm. Having fantastical fun and drink with food doesn’t seem to be disappearing any time soon – and I’m here for it!
As an Applications Scientist for McCormick®, I jumped at the chance to work on a project inspired by the glittery, rainbow-laden, fantasy-forward flavors and foods launching in CPG and restaurant menus all over the world. Thanks to some recent travels where I got to experience these trends first-hand, I was fully prepared to create a “dragon’s beard” chocolate bar.
The dragon’s beard chocolate bar is a hybrid of a Cotton Candy Burrito (inspiration for our bar’s colorful element) found at a county fair in Ohio, and the silky, cotton-candy-like Dragon’s Beard Candy I had in San Francisco’s Chinatown. The surprise inside of our bar – pop rocks – was a direct inspiration pulled from the Dragon’s Beard Candy that is so often filled with nuts, crystallized ginger and other delightful treats.
When it came to flavor, we interpreted dragon’s breath as the light, refreshing flavor of summer fruits – think berries and watermelon. It was applied to our bar through FlavorCaps, a spray dried compound. And although dragon’s breath is considered a “fantasy flavor” it is also considered natural, which means we can list as natural on packaging when used!
Every bite of the bar is layered with visual beauty and an exciting flavor experience – allowing for an escape from the everyday for just a few magical moments. (That’s the beauty of food and flavor after all, isn’t it?)
Besides chocolate, this fantasy flavor is great for other confections, cereals, yogurt, dessert syrups, icings and frostings to up the fantasy factor in presentation and flavor@ The sweet applications are truly endless!
To get incorporate fantasy flavors into your innovation, contact your McCormick account manager or contact us today.
