‘Colour and the appeal of various foods is closely related. Just the sight of food fires neurons in the hypothalamus. For the sighted, the eyes are the first place that must be convinced before a food is even tried. This means that some food products fail in the marketplace not because of bad taste, texture, or smell but because the consumer never got that far.’ (Gary Blumenthal International Food Strategies)

No surprise then that food manufacturers are looking to add an appealing color to their product. The flame on a merengue, the brown edge on a slice of ham, the golden shine on a salmon filet are all examples of surface coloring that make our mouths water.

But how exactly does this coloring work? 

True you can add color to the product but what if you want to get a natural color on the product?  Well it all starts with the right temperature on the surface of the product.

From a temperature of around 160°C we see the surface of the product changing.  And the bigger the difference in temperature between the heat source and the product itself, the smoother the coloring.

So, we could think of heating up our product to very high temperatures to achieve the nicest results.  Only one catch: the longer time your technology takes to reach this temperature the more heat you are putting into your product and that might not be the result you were looking for.

Ideally what you would be looking for is a technology that reaches these high temperatures very fast so that the inside of your product does not get affected.  Electrical infrared offers exactly this as it is the only heat source that can generate temperatures up to about 2300 C° (golf length of 1.1 µm) in no time!

As a comparison: traditional heater systems like hot air and gas infrared can, eventually, reach temperatures up to about 1200 C°. 

It is, however, the capability of reaching these high temperatures in a few seconds which distinguishes electrical infrared from others.

This unique property allows you to only touch the surface and:

Add color to precooked products (like boiled sausages, steamed chicken products, microwaved bacon slices…).

Add color to products which will then be cooked sous vide, without the risk of losing the necessary moist and product qualities.

Or even fully cook and color at the same time.

Looking to give your product that attractive appeal? Check out our application sheets and find your product.  No similar products found?  No problem, Infrabaker Int. offers you the possibility to test your product at our production facility in Overpelt.  Fill in the contact form and we’ll make sure we have a test unit available.