Skillet Sensations

By Donna Berry, Contributing Editor

Theres a new category of prepared meals invading retailers already overcrowded freezers. Theyre called skillet meals, and they are putting traditional frozen dinners to shame. Some are marketed as popular chain-restaurant brands such as P.F. Changs and T.G.I. Fridays. Others carry descriptive taglines such as restaurant quality in minutes and chef-inspired dishes to entice consumers.

Demand for high-quality prepared meals is on the upswing as consumers learn they can make a restaurant-quality meal at home using something as simple as a skillet, says Bob Hoopingarner, vice president, sales and marketing, International Dehydrated Foods Inc. (IDF), Springfield, MO. Consumers can now savor great meals developed by culinologists who truly know their way around the pantry and spice cabinet. These frozen meals are sold in the neighborhood grocery store and prepared in the home skillet in 10 to 15 minutes.

Frozen freshness

Frozen is considered the next best thing to fresh, and in some instances, as with vegetables, many argue that individually quick-frozen (IQF) veggies are superior in quality. IQF vegetables are harvested at their peak of ripeness and frozen shortly thereafter, making IQF technology one of the most effective techniques for preserving the natural characteristics of vegetables, including nutritional value. With other foods, including many of the components of skillet-meal kits, IQF technology preserves quality and ensures consistency.

Upscale chain restaurants such as Chipotle and Applebees developed technologies that allowed menu items to be consistent anywhere in the country, says Scott Martling, group leader, International Food Network, Ithaca, NY. These technologies have made their way to retail food production and are contributing to the proliferation of innovative frozen skillet meals.

Bagging it

Because frozen skillet meals have assumed a bag as their preferred package, formulators can use larger, less-uniform pieces during meal-kit assemblage. From the random-shaped pieces of tempura-battered white chicken meat in Wanchai Ferry Spicy Garlic Chicken to the lengthy asparagus spears in Bertolli Garlic Shrimp, Penne and Cherry Tomatoes, the bag allows for meal components that one might expect when cooking from scratch. This non-cookie-cutter approach suggests that the components are less processed, and this homemade image is driving consumer acceptance of frozen skillet meals.

The relative bulkiness of the skillet meal prompts a perceived added value to the product, while a frozen dinner with its thin tray continues to remind us of the dinners in aluminum slotted trays many of us grew up eating in front of the television, says George Tucker, technical sales manager, IDF. Cooking in a skillet also makes the preparer feel more involved in the cooking process, rather than when they simply reheat a frozen meal in the oven or microwave.

For the most part, manufacturers who bag skillet meals source ready-to-package frozen components from numerous suppliers. Because these meals are positioned as premium products, most manufacturers rely on partially cooked (e.g., blanched vegetables or pasta, parboiled rice, etc.) or fully cooked components (e.g., grilled diced chicken, charred flat-iron beef strips, etc.). For safety reasons, the meat or shrimp component is typically fully cooked before it is frozen, says Martling.

And though most components are IQF, there are always exceptions. With skillet-meal kits, the exception is for separately bagged components that might not benefit from or be appropriate for an IQF process, such as sweet and sour sauce or grated cheese topping. Depending upon the item, these components may ship to the skillet-meal packer at ambient, refrigerated or frozen temperature, but they are usually added to the bag in a frozen or semi-frozen state in order to prevent the other frozen components from experiencing any thaw before entering the deep-chill wind tunnel, explains Juan Pellecer, project leader, International Food Network. Adding a warm component to frozen components could allow for some thawing, and this negatively impacts product quality.

Controlling moisture

In frozen products, moisture management is the key to quality. Whenever we are dealing with a frozen application, we need to address organizing and controlling moisture migration, says Joshua Brooks, vice president of sales, Gum Technology Corp., Tucson, AZ. More specifically, in a frozen skillet meal, we are trying to stabilize the frozen meal during the multiple freeze/thaw cycles it will go through from the time it is produced and frozen to the time it ends up on the dining table. The typical frozen meal goes through 8 to 10 freeze/thaw cycles by the time it ends up in the consumers freezer. Furthermore, in the freezer, it is undergoing constant freezing and thawing, as well. Every time it thaws, there is the potential of syneresis, or watering out. During the freeze cycle, the water will form ice crystals, which are organoleptically displeasing to the tongue, as well as being unsightly. This is a typical problem for a frozen skillet-meal manufacturer.

Since hydrocolloids are hydrophilic, or water-loving, they can be a very effective problem solver in that they will hold in or bind up the water during the freeze/thaw cycles, Brooks continues. In a skillet meal, where ingredients might include veggies, meats, meat analogues, sauces or noodles, gums, which are a type of hydrocolloid, can be most effective once incorporated in many of these components. Not only will they bind moisture at very low usage levels, they will also add to, and protect the texture of, many of the ingredients.

Hydrocolloids can be used in almost all skillet-meal components, from injected marinades in precooked chicken strips to orange-glazed carrots. Ultimately, we are talking about solving the manufacturers moisture-migration problems and increasing shelf life in the retail frozen section, Brooks says. For example, in meat analogues, a blend of konjac, carrageenan and gum arabic will add a slight gel structure. This holds the analogue together during skillet heating, while also forming a slight moisture barrier to prevent sogginess.

In noodles, blends of locust bean gum, agar, xanthan and carrageenan can provide enough of a bite and prevent a mushy texture, Brooks continues. In sauces, certain gums, such as xanthan or xanthan combined with gum arabic, can maintain emulsions and allow for cling and a creamy mouthfeel. Even seasoning application can be improved, as gums contribute to cling and prevent seasoning from running off during preparation in the pan.

Bring on the carbs

To keep costs as low as possible, formulators will always include ample pasta, potato or rice in a skillet meal. This meal format also allows for the inclusion of more and varied vegetables.

Food manufacturers are trying to add more vegetables to prepared foods in order to make statements such as includes a full serving of vegetables, explains Mike Rudan, associate director, International Food Network. The bag format allows for this. And, because skillet meal recipes tend to be more complex than the average frozen dinner, we are seeing the use of more sophisticated vegetables, those beyond corn, peas and carrots.

Martling adds: Many vegetables used in skillet meals are fire-roasted prior to freezing. Not only does the process add flavor, it contributes to a premium positioning as it conveys restaurant quality.

IQF potatoes will typically be fully cooked and often fire-roasted prior to freezing. Pasta, on the other hand, starts as either dried pasta that is blanched, or as fresh pasta that is then frozen. Rice is usually a cooked, parboiled variety.

Its all in the sauce

Skillet-meal packers either purchase IQF sauce pucks or pellets, or they create signature sauces at their own facilities. They will have their own nitrogen tanks on site for quick freezing, says Pellecer. Creating a sauce in-house allows for customization and proprietary formulations.

IDF offers a number of ingredients for sauce development, including a new powdered beef broth that debuted at the 2010 Institute of Food Technologists Food Expo. This savory blend of beef extract and select flavorings has a beefy, meaty flavor, says Roger Dake, director of research and development, IDF. This ingredient fills a niche where pure beef extract is not necessary, but some real beef extract is needed for labeling. In some instances, the powdered beef broth can be used to replace or reduce the amount of expensive, hard-to-handle, beef extract.

The company also supplies shelf-stable beef fat and chicken fat as a value-added ingredient for improved product palatability. The ingredients come in liquid shelf-stable form, as well as spray-dried powders. The liquid-fat items work well in sauces that are frozen into pucks or pellets and added to skillet-meal kits, says Hoopingarner. The fat ingredients enhance mouthfeel, creaminess, texture and lubricity, and help to carry some fat-soluble flavors within the finished product.

Tucker notes that such frozen pucks or pellets of sauce allow for the use of fresh seasoning ingredients, which results in a fresher, more-natural flavor in the prepared meal.

Stabilizers are necessary to prevent migration of the sauce into the meal prior to the cooking process if the sauce is directly added to the main package, Tucker adds. If the sauce is pouched, then stabilizers are not as important except for the desired end viscosity of the meal. Keeping the sauce separate from the other components in a pouch is often helpful, as the sauce may partially thaw within the package before the consumer opens the package. This can cause components to start sticking together. Not only is this visually unappealing, it also makes the cooking process a lot slower, as the heat transfer takes longer as the surface area of the block is much less than if the components are separated. Placing most of the free moisture within the sauce packet will help to control the potential for pieces to stick to one another. When reconstituting, the moisture from the sauce can be used to rehydrate the parcooked starches and give the overall meal the desired moisture level.

Sauces are typically customized for specific skillet-meal kits so the available water is sufficient for rehydrating the starches while still creating a smooth sauce that provides ample coverage, notes Glenda Murray, development chef, Sargento Food Ingredients, Plymouth, WI.

Some sauces must be in separate pouches, such as Asian sauces that are high in salt and sugar and never fully freeze, says Murray. Salt and sugar are not friendly to freezing, and we carefully manage the salt and sugar contents of our IQF sauce pellets so that they remain solid in the skillet-meal bag. The IQF pellets are excellent carriers for fresh herbs and seasonings, as well as diced vegetablesmixed bell peppers are a common request. The pellets allow for customization.

Todays consumer is adventurous and is willing to try new foods and new flavors, continues Murray. The skillet-meal format provides formulators with a great deal of freedom regarding use of different components, in particular, flavorful, customized sauces that create a signature dish in the home skillet.

Donna Berry, president of Chicago-based Dairy & Food Communications, Inc., and has been writing about product development and marketing for 13 years. She has a B.S. in food science from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. She can be reached at [email protected].