Food concentrates can make life easier. Today, such products are used quite widely, and they have found application not only in ordinary kitchens. Compactly packaged mixtures that are lightweight and allow you to quickly and easily prepare a full meal, are widely used by tourists, are part of military and rescue packs, delivered as humanitarian supplies to regions that have survived natural disasters, epidemics, and military operations.
Our article will tell about these products, features of their use, storage rules and application in everyday life.
What are food concentrates?
Specialists attribute this category of products to dry canned food. They are mixtures of dried products of natural origin, technologically prepared for quick and easy cooking. The components that make up the concentrated mixtures are first cleaned of the inedible parts, then crushed, subjected to heat treatment and dehydration.
As a result of this treatment, the concentrates are quickly brought to readiness and well absorbed by the body. Cooking time is reduced to a few minutes.
Concentrates contain the maximum amount of nutrients in a relatively small volume. They are stable during storage, tolerate transportation well.
The shelf life of hermetically sealed concentrates, which are properly stored, can reach from several months to several years. Due to these properties, canned food is considered one of the most convenient food product in the field, expeditionary and camp conditions.
In the modern world, the selection of products in this category is huge, ranging from common and inexpensive bouillon cubes to much more complex dishes. Among the presented assortment, supporters of a healthy diet can also find an option for their liking.
History of concentrate preparation
A person became interested in instant products for a long time. The reason was endless skirmishes with neighbors, the development of trade and shipping. In long crossings, especially in the steppe and desert regions, soldiers and merchants always had to eat something in the road bag, because hunting was not always possible.
Nomadic peoples widely used jerky and dried meat. Seafarers of the North ate dried fish and tortillas made from flour, dried in the sun.
At the beginning of the 18th century, pemican - meat powder - became widespread. Along with it was used fishmeal, powdered dried vegetables, herbs, mushrooms. In fact, all these products were also food concentrates. They were designed for long-term transportation and quick preparation of nutritious dishes.
Researchers in the Arctic Amundsen, Piri, Nansen and others used food concentrates to power crews on long expeditions.
World wars gave a huge impetus to the development of manufacturing technologies for canned food and other processed foods. In the early twentieth years, Austria was a leader in this matter, producing more than two and a half dozen names of dry concentrates. During the First World War, the troops of the Austro-Hungarian block were well acquainted with briquetted first and second courses.
After the end of World War I, the States, England, and Japan actively joined in the production of concentrates.
In the USSR, development began in 1932. After 4 years, enterprises in Moscow, Serpukhov, Odessa and other cities produced more than 20 types of lunch dishes and drinks. Currently, this figure has increased by about 15 times.
In Russia, food concentrates are produced not only for civilian purposes. For example, the Adapton vitamin drink and cream powder are part of many army ration rations.
Research is ongoing. New technologies are developing, which means that the range will continue to expand.
Main groups
Currently, experts divide the entire huge assortment of food concentrates into several main groups:
- complex food concentrates for the preparation of first and second courses, drinks, desserts, sauces;
- complex mixtures for diet and children's menus , dairy, vegetable and dairy-free;
- monoconcentrates consisting of one component.
Each group contains several subgroups. Let's consider them in more detail.
Breakfast cereals
A full-fledged tasty and healthy breakfast, for which you just need to mix a couple of ingredients in a plate, has already become a salvation for many people. The popularity of ready-made solutions for morning meals is only growing.
According to nutritionists, breakfast should be rich in carbohydrates and give a boost of energy for the day. That is why cereals are used to prepare this group of concentrates.
Examples include Nesquik and Cosmostar balls, corn flakes, and “exploded” grains.
You can cook breakfast very quickly: you need to pour the concentrate into a plate and pour milk. You can eat cereals and balls and in dry form, as a snack or healthy sweets.
The disadvantages of this group are perhaps the relatively high price of some types of breakfast cereals of foreign production. But the price is justified by the advantages: balanced composition, rich taste, good digestibility. It is also important that such breakfasts are great for menus of schoolchildren and preschoolers.
First meal
Surely, everyone came across such products as Kharcho, Rassolnik, Chicken with Vermicelli, Puree Soup with Mushrooms and Pea Soup in briquettes or small bags. Similar products can be found in any supermarket.
Such dishes are very popular among tourists, because one briquette weighing 150-175 g is enough to prepare several servings of the first dish. Saving time (which means firewood for bonfire and drinking water) is also evident.
In a special group, you can distinguish soups designed for brewing in a cup. One bag - one serving that you don’t even need to cook! A great snack at work or school.
Briquetted soups and some housewives are used, wanting to diversify the menu and save energy on cooking.
Sauces, broths and gravy
Bouillon cubes give an expressive taste to even the simplest first and second courses. In addition, they significantly improve the color of the broth. You can use such semi-finished products for cooking meat and fish sauce.
Ready-made solutions for making sauces are also very common. The composition of such concentrates usually includes flour, animal fats, dried vegetables, herbs, spices. Optionally, the composition may contain mushrooms, eggs, milk powder. Some manufacturers produce sauces with a healthy supplement like kelp.
desserts
With the help of such concentrated mixtures, even a novice hostess can cope with the preparation of pancakes, pancakes, puddings and even cakes. A few years ago, the usual range of mixes was replenished with concentrated bases for the preparation of creams, glazes, ganache, ice cream.
If you plan to use the concentrate for the preparation of dessert, be sure to strictly follow the manufacturer's instructions. Do not experiment with the interchangeability of components, do not try to reduce the time (it is already small), follow the technology. In most cases, you need to pour milk or water into the finished mixture, knead and carry out the necessary processing, depending on the type of product: baking, cooking in a water bath, cooling.
Mixes for making drinks
Not everyone has the opportunity to use fresh fruits and vegetables in cooking. In this case, food pressed concentrates can also be used. For example, using a ready-made briquette, you can easily and quickly boil jelly, compote, a coffee drink with milk, fruit tea.
Forms of release may be different. Concentrates for drinks are available in granules, powder, briquettes. There are liquid forms: gels and syrups.
Oat Diet Products
Hercules oatmeal is a popular breakfast option. Grain is prepared using a special technology, processing it thermally, and then evaporating moisture. Thanks to this, the flakes quickly soak in boiling water, turning into a delicate porridge.
Oatmeal flour - oatmeal - is used not only in cooking. This product is also valued in the beauty industry.
Children's menu
For the menu of children older than a year and a half, a variety of concentrated products can be used, from oatmeal "Hercules" to fruit drinks.
But there is another large group intended for children - milk formulas. They can be a full-fledged alternative to breastfeeding. Along with widespread use mixtures, today special products for children with allergies, intolerance to casein or lactose, and problems with the digestive tract are produced.
Such instant products require careful adherence to technology. It is unacceptable to experiment with mixtures, breeding them, for example, not with water, as recommended by the manufacturer, but with milk or juice. It is absolutely necessary to observe the temperature regime of preparation: some mixtures dissolve in hot water, while others require boiling.
Storage rules
The manufacturer reports on how to store the product correctly, in a simple and accessible language on the package. For example, Nesquik balls can be stored for a year before unpacking, and only a couple of months after.
In all cases, concentrates must not be stored in humid or too hot places. The best place is a shelf in a cool kitchen cabinet or a cell in the refrigerator door.
Specialists believe that with all the advantages of concentrates, one should not get carried away with them. The basis of the diet should be dishes from natural fresh ingredients.