Center for Pecan Innovation Partners on New Products

18 Aug 2014 --- A graduate student with a personal interest in pecan innovation is on a team of University of Georgia food science researchers that’s cooking up new and tasty ways to use pecans—America’s nut—in collaboration with the Georgia Pecan Commission’s Center for Pecan Innovation.

The recently established Center for Pecan Innovation authorized UGA researchers led by Dr. William L. Kerr, professor and coordinator for the UGA Food Processing Research & Development Laboratory, to create two products with consumer-appeal using heart-healthy pecans, an important American crop. Eighty percent of the world’s pecan crop is produced in the U.S., and Georgia produces more pecans than any other state—an estimated 100 million pounds annually.

Team member Emily Wagener, who is working on her master’s degree in food science at UGA, was diagnosed with celiac disease, an autoimmune response to gluten that damages the small intestine, several years ago. She jumped at the opportunity to create a pecan health bar using gluten-free pecan meal.

“Pecan pie and butter pecan ice cream are two of my favorite desserts, and I really liked the idea of creating a health bar that can be enjoyed by people who share my condition,” says Wagener, who is from South Carolina.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune digestive disease triggered by consumption of the gluten protein found in wheat, barley and rye. Celiac disease does more than produce uncomfortable effects; it also damages the villi of the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food.

One of the team’s goals was to use pecan flour as a replacement for wheat flour in order to produce a gluten-free product to meet market need. The latest edition of the report "Gluten-Free Products Market by Type,” released in July 2014, values the gluten-free product market at $6.2 billion, increasing to an estimated $10.2 billion by 2018.

“We have been experimenting to see if we can totally eliminate the wheat flour in different products,” says Kerr. “We have tested various ratios of wheat to pecan flour, and we are investigating replacing wheat with rice flour or some other kind of flour. Being gluten-free is an asset in today’s health-conscious market.”

But Wagener produced a health bar with oats, rice and pecans that has much more than just gluten-free appeal.

“I wanted to create a bar that will appeal to the average consumer,” she says. She tested various configurations of the bar’s ingredients to determine the right ratio of sweet and salty, of crunch and softness. She checked for texture, so it’s not too gooey or mushy. “I didn’t want it to stick to the roof of your mouth.”

Wagener also likes the many health benefits of pecans, which contain naturally occurring antioxidants that contribute to heart well-being and disease prevention, according to a 2011 study at Loma Linda University.  Too many times people only think of nuts in terms of fat and calories instead of the fiber, vitamins and antioxidants found in pecans, she says.

One thing Wagener made sure to include in her recipe is one ounce of pecans in each bar:  “In order to take advantage of the health benefits of pecans, we want to include a full serving of nuts in every bar.”

Pecans and other nuts have been in the news recently with studies that show how healthy they are. A 30-year study by Harvard University found that regular nut eaters were less likely to die of cancer, heart disease or any other health-related cause. Researchers tracked 119,000 men and women and found that the risk of dying from heart disease dropped 29 percent and the risk of dying of cancer fell 11 percent among those who had nuts seven or more times a week compared with people who never ate them.

“With the Harvard University study proving the health benefits of nuts, we realized that we needed to let consumers know that there are many, many more uses for pecans than just in pies, as much as we love them,” says John Robison, chairman of the Georgia Pecan Commission and a pecan grower in Ailey, Ga. “Pecans have the highest antioxidant content of any nut, making them heart-healthy. Pecans are a healthy snack, and we wanted to promote their use in a well-rounded diet by helping develop new and exciting new products.”

Much of what Kerr and his UGA team do—measuring, stirring, baking and tasting—looks like what you do in your own kitchen. But the UGA approach blends research, chemistry and physics to create foods that not only taste good but also can meet the demands of mass production, storage, transportation and shelf life.

“We start out by researching what’s on the market,” Kerr says. “In addition to taste, we have to consider mouth-feel, likability, chewiness, consistency in production, breakage, etc.”

In addition to the health bar, the UGA team developed a cookie stick, a popular snack that consumers can dip in chocolate or other flavorings.

“For the cookie stick, replacement of some of the flour with pecan meal worked well but not as a total replacement,” says Kerr. “So we made more traditional biscuit sticks with flour and coated them with chocolate and pecan pieces.”

The health bar and the cookie stick took several months to develop and field test. The team also makes recommendations on packaging and storage, which make a difference in the freshness of food products.

Often pecans are considered a seasonal product that’s primarily available in the fall, after harvest. Another misconception is that pecans are regional and that only people in the South like them. But thanks to cold storage, pecans are available year-round, and people around the globe are discovering the health benefits of delicious pecans. One of the largest markets for Georgia pecan growers is China, where pecans are referred to as the “longevity nut,” and are often sold roasted after being infused with flavors such as teriyaki or wasabi.

“We think there are lots of opportunities for pecans,” says Kerr. “What we are developing in conjunction with the Center for Pecan Innovation will be prototype products to show large food manufacturing companies what is possible with pecans.”

These two healthy snack products are just the beginning for the Center for Pecan Innovation, whose mission is to do for pecans what George Washington Carver did for peanuts.

“Our initial focus will be new food products made from pecans for the American market,” says Robison. “We plan to coordinate with food companies who are interested in developing new uses for pecan pieces, oil and meal. We love pecan pies, but there is much more to pecans than just pie.”