For the third year in a row Arla appoints the Taste of the Year. This year it is Crispy — or Frasigt in Swedish. Crispy is described as a multisensory taste experience that is both heard and felt in the mouth.
The Taste of the Year 2021 is the result of a trend survey conducted by Arla. This year the survey is based on an analysis of 20,000 Instagram posts from chefs and confectioners around the world. The strongest taste trend of the year, crispy, is an appreciated texture that is of great importance for the taste experience, Arla states in a press release.
– Crispy is a multisensory property that is both heard and felt in the mouth. Crispy balances the creamy and creates harmony between different ingredients. When we eat something crispy, our senses are triggered because we associate crispy with positive experiences such as something fresh, freshly baked or butter-fried, sensory researcher Johan Swahn explains.
With Taste of the Year 2021, Arla wants to draw attention to the importance of different textures and encourage chefs and others to work with crispy to enhance the taste experience. There are different kinds of crispiness and crispy foods usually consist of two different textures.
– In a crispy, freshly baked baguette, there are contrasts between a crispy surface and a soft inside, while fruits such as apple and watermelon have a soft and juicy crispiness that gives an initial chewing resistance that then breaks. The crunchiness of dairy products is not as prominent, but there is a kind of compact, crystalline texture that is perceived as crispy in some well-aged cheeses, such as Svecia, Johan Swahn says.
At Arla’s request Isabella Westergren, Pastry chef of the year 2019, chose to work with apple and coffee (photo) as an example on how to combine tastes and textures.
Read more HERE