Trend Alert: Create Craveable Confections Inspired by Churros

Looking for ideas to inspire your latest and greatest new product? Churros are a popular street food in Spanish and Latin American cultures, which have been gaining in popularity across America over the past decade. Not only are these sweet treats popping up in food trucks and high-end restaurants, various applications can be found in the confectionery industry. 

Although these crispy and chewy fried pastries, often topped with cinnamon and sugar, aren’t a new development, they are expected to “dominate 2020’s dessert scene,” according to Webstaurant Store’s food trends report earlier this year.

Compartes Churros & Horchata white chocolate bar, Smash Mallow
cinnamon churro marshmallows, and Candy Club churro bites 

Commonly characterized by a very generous coating of cinnamon sugar, you can transform just about any of your favorite confections into a churro-inspired treat. Tip: Add the extra element of crunch by incorporating Cinnamon Toast Crunch^TM Churros cereal.

 Churro Toffee

Abdallah Candies envelopes their buttery toffee in white chocolate before coating it in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. It’s almost too pretty to eat, but we wouldn’t let that stop us!

 

Churro Popcorn

White-chocolate covered popcorn sprinkled with the churro’s signature cinnamon sugar combo, may be just what you need to recreate the crispy, chewy texture that the churro is known for. For extra cinnamon flavor, this recipe coats popcorn in melted cinnamon chips.

Churro Truffles

Nothing quite beats rolling all the goodness that makes a churro into a decadent truffle. Check out this recipe for churro truffles from Peter’s Chocolate.

Here’s just a few ideas to put your own spin on churros as part of your confectionery line-up, but don’t stop here! Imagine how you could transform your signature caramel recipe or scratch-made marshmallows to capture the flavors and textures of the churro? Tell us all about your ideas in the comments below.

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Throwback Tip #50: Swab Test for Cleanliness

Most candy makers would probably agree it’s easier to keep a super-clean facility when the bows and boxes aren’t flying during the holiday season. However, we all know food safety is just as important during your off season as it is during the peak of the holidays.

One way to stay on top of this anytime of the year is to regularly swab test the cleanliness of your facility. We don’t mean a visual test where you look to see if the area appears clean, but an actual scientific test for allergens, sanitation and etc.

Sample test kits are available to perform on-site tests of a variety of areas in your production zone. Neogen Corporation is an example of a member-recommended company that supplies sample test kits. Using their food allergen tests you can do on-site tests to detect a target allergen (see list of allergens here) in ingredients, liquids, clean-in-place rinses, finished foods and on environmental surfaces. They also have sanitation tests to detect the amount of food residue and other organic matter, such as bacteria, yeast and mold, that may remain after cleaning.

Neogen is just one example of the many organizations that offer this type of product, however, through more online research you may find another source that better suits your needs. Another option would be to send swabs to a lab to be more thoroughly tested. Along with many others that provide this service Merieux NutriSciences, formerly Silliker Labs who presented at a past RCI conference, provides food testing and sanitation information for confectioners and food facilities.

Ensuring the treats created at your facility are not only delicious, but also safe for consumption is an essential part of good manufacturing processes. RCI Members: Access additional materials on Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) by logging in to the member side of the RCI website. 

Do you have other tips for maintaining a clean food facility in the midst of your busiest production schedules? Please share with our blog community in the comments below!

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