2023 is upon us. And whilst we are busily preparing for the year ahead, and of course looking forward to the ICA show in February, we are still battling with the challenges that 2022 brought us, namely the cost of living crisis.
As we await 2023’s much anticipated industry trends that will inevitably be revealed during February’s show, I would always recommend making the most of the ingredients you have left on your shelf at the start of the year – namely those festive ingredients that you may have otherwise thrown away.
Festive to fresh recipes
Now you may be asking yourself, how can you possibly make renowned Christmas flavours into something fresh and original for the New Year? Well anything is possible with the right flavour combinations!
So, stop right there before you throw away your leftover figs, cinnamon, Baileys or other festive flavours (or indeed leave them to deteriorate until next Christmas), we can repurpose them into an innovative new recipe and ultimately save you some money. Take a look below…
Cinnamon
We typically use cinnamon within our Orange Speculoos, Christmas Pudding or Mince Pie flavours over the Christmas period. But cinnamon has a place in many recipes for your cabinet year-round.
A favourite of mine is the cinnamon swirl. This can be made using cinnamon paste at 20g per kilo (or 3g per kilo using cinnamon powder), with biscuit paste at 20g per kilo and some cheesecake powder at 10g per kilo. To add that extra special touch, I like to ripple through Caramelised Cookie or biscoff and white chocolate sauces to create the iconic swirl.
Fig
Figgy pudding is an iconic Christmas flavour that we’d typically replicate using fig variegato. By rippling this ingredient through a mascarpone base (that again you may have used in your Christmas tiramisu recipe), you will create a lovely warming flavour. For the technical bit, use 100g of fresh mascarpone per litre (30g per kilo if using mascarpone powder).
Bonus points for using actual figs in your recipe to attract those looking a for a more health conscious treat this year.
Whisky
Good old whisky (and of course Baileys) are staples of both our festive drinks cabinet and of course our ice cream cabinet. Whilst notably a ‘winter’ flavour, we can take our recipes away from their Christmas connotations with just a few ingredient swaps.
Whilst in Italy with my colleagues towards the end of last year, I found a delicious whisky gelato with an apple ripple, that created a beautiful flavour, perfect for the colder months.
White mint
We couldn’t talk about favourite festive flavours without mentioning white mint, used in consumer favourite Candy Cane or After Eight gelato.
To use up any leftovers, you can use your white mint and add green colouring to create a traditional mint flavour. Or you could really go for it and mix this with chocolate to create a Mint Aero style gelato.
Custard
We often see clients with custard paste left over from their delicious English Trifle recipes. And whilst we love a trifle year-round, you will really attract the masses by using this paste to double as a Crème Egg gelato.
Of course, this is a hugely popular chocolate in the lead up to Easter, so you will really be getting ahead of the trend by introducing the flavour into your cabinet early on.
Coffee
The coffee paste from your tiramisu flavour gelato can be used to create a latte-style ice cream. Try using coffee paste at half its usual dosage to create that iconic latte flavour in a gelato.
Offering out of the ordinary products
Of course, it’s not just about using leftover products and saving money. Ultimately, we want to repurpose these ingredients and entice customers to your ice cream, not just with old favourites (although some will most certainly be looking for these) but with new and innovative flavours that make it that extra special indulgence for consumers looking to treat themselves.
Market your innovative flavours as ‘specials’ to convey that your product is a real treat that they may only be able to taste for a limited time; all the while utilising these key seasonal spare ingredients.
So, there you have it, making the most out of your leftover stock! If you have any questions on how you can utilise spare ingredients or for recipe information, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
See you next time for the latest scoop!
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