Ingredients of the future

The benefits of spirulina, quinoa and kale have been widely known for some time now. But what are the ingredients of the future, and how will they transform the way we eat?

With the rise in popularity of health and fitness has come a flood of fad diets and self-proclaimed “super-foods”. The merits of spirulina, quinoa and kale have been exhaustively covered, but the foodstuffs of tomorrow need to offer more than health benefits; they must help tackle global issues from poverty to climate change. Current trends show a consumer shift away from processed food, lab-made ingredients and extensive meat farming towards clean labelling and veganism, but will this last? And is there more to them than simple fashion?

Green banana flour: the long-lasting gluten-free flour which helps reduce waste

Approximately one third of all food produced for human consumption is wasted. This amounts to almost 1.3 billion tonnes. Such a flagrant disregard for the world’s resources is unsustainable, making it imperative that the ingredients of the future help to combat waste levels.

Currently, bananas make up a significant portion of this discarded food, with millions wasted globally every day. Expanding the ways in which bananas can be used helps significantly cut this wastage.

Enter green banana flour, the gluten-free alternative which combines the properties of starch with the nutritional benefits of bananas. Freshly harvested green bananas are rich in resistant starch, an insoluble dietary fibre which promotes good gut health and has the potential to reduce the risk of diabetes and colon cancer.

When ground into flour, it has a different starch structure to that of traditional flours, meaning it won’t absorb water and clump when stored. Rich in magnesium and potassium, it can replace high-glycemic gluten-free flours, such as potato or rice flour, and help lower blood sugar levels.

Also reducing waste: coffee cherries, the waste fruit produced by the coffee industry