Garlic and onion are essential ingredients in many savoury food formulations – from soups and gravies, to stew mixes, stock cubes and dehydrated meal mixes. This is illustrated by the continued growth of both the garlic and onion extract market. The garlic extract market is expected to reach approximately $15.30 billion by 2024 with the onion powder market tracking to be valued at $11,32 billion by 2027.
Garlic extracts come in different forms: granulated garlic, garlic powder and garlic salt. We take a look at the differences between these products, and which is best suited to what products.
Granulated Garlic
Granulated garlic is dried garlic that has been coarsely ground to a course sand-like consistency. It’s made by drying fresh garlic cloves in an oven, then grinding the cloves into garlic granules with a grinder. Granulated garlic is commonly used as a seasoning for sauces and dry rubs because as it distributes the garlic flavour without adding moisture.
Garlic Powder
Garlic powder is also made from dehydrated garlic cloves that have been dried but garlic powder is ground far more finely to a flour-like consistency. Commercially garlic powder is used in most spice mixes. Garlic powder blends and incorporates easily into formulations. Due to its small granule size, garlic powder offers the most concentrated and pungent garlic flavour versus the other garlic product varieties. When it comes to product formulations garlic powder is useful as it adds flavour without impacting the texture. The differentiating factor between garlic powder and granulated garlic is essentially the granule size. Due to the difference in size, garlic powder is more potent than granulated garlic thanks to the surface area of the garlic that is exposed to oxygen, which helps to release more of the sulphur compound.
Chemgrit Food is a supplier of granulated garlic and garlic powder. Contact Lucinda for more information.
Onion Powder
Much like granulated and garlic powder, onion powder is manufactured from dehydrated onions and is used in a range of savoury food products including soups, sauces, pizzas, canned food, sea food, salads, meat and other snack products.
Commercially, the demand for onion powder has increased due to the growing popularity of read-made and read-to-eat food and snacks like noodles, pasta and food sauces, pizzas etc.
Interestingly there is also growing awareness of the health benefits of dehydrated onions and onion powder such as their high calcium and magnesium content. It also contributes to better bone health, immunity, blood pressure management, muscle and neuron function.
Chemgrit Food is a supplier of onion powder. Contact Margaret for more information.
MSG
When it comes to savoury foods, monosodium glutamate or MSG is another common additive mainly due to the fact that it is a flavour enhancer. It is found in thousands of processed foods, from fast food, to chips, to soup. It is often used in conjunction with garlic and onion powder to bring out these flavours even more.
It is well know that the flavour-enhancing effects of MSG are due to its umami taste, which, according to Healthline, induces salivary secretion. In other words, umami flavours make your mouth water, which subsequently improves the taste of food. Studies have even shown that umami substances can lower the desire to salt foods, reducing sodium intake.
Chemgrit Food is a supplier of granulated garlic and garlic powder. Contact Lucinda for more information.
