Last week was broccoli, and today is the trend towards bulbous kale-powdered vegetables that are affecting Australian farmers, who see it as a future direction and a way to reduce waste.
After decades as a vegetable grower, Quentin Brand (Quentin Bland) felt it was time to try something different.
"A few years ago, I went to a health food store to see all these powder products, and I thought, "Why don't we do this? '", he said.
Quentin still grows broccoli, cauliflower and kale on his farm, but now, instead of selling vegetables to supermarkets, he ground them into powder.
Quentin and his wife, Leslie (Lesley), built a production shed in Kirkconnell, central New York.
They grow and crush vegetables on farms, turn them into powder and pack them. They believe that organic farms like this are the first in the world.
"the market needs high-quality vegetables, but there is always a lot of waste in the industry, so we decided that we could try to find another way out for the waste," he said.
"the stems and leaves on broccoli, for example, are rich in nutrients, but they are often thrown away."
Take advantage of Super Food Trends
Given the growing consumer demand for broccoli, the Brands see it as a perfect starting point.
"as broccoli becomes a new 'super food', why not dehydrate it and turn it into powder?" Quentin said.
They bought a low-temperature dehydrator and crushed vegetables took 14 hours to turn into powder.
"most vegetables have a moisture content of about 90%, and dehydration removes water while preserving nutritional value."
Some people now add cauliflower powder to coffee, and (CSIRO), the federal scientific and industrial research organization, is currently experimenting with cauliflower powder as an alternative source of nutrition.
"it can be added to ice cream, with extra protein and energy, and it can be put into spaghetti sauce for kids, and we're trying to put it in homemade bread," Lesley said.
"my favorite way is to put it in miso soup-great nutrition!"
The Brands said diversifying their agricultural operations would also encourage their three sons to consider moving back from the city to take over one day.
"We didn't think about it at all five years ago," Quentin said. "but if things go well, we expect to turn as much as 90 percent of our vegetables into powder."
Nutritional value of vegetable Powde
While CSIRO scientists are interested in the potential use of vegetable powder, some nutritionists caution about dehydration.
Aroisa Hurrigan, an Australian nutritionist, said: "freeze-drying is an effective way to process foods that maintain good nutritional value, but it also causes a small loss of some water-soluble vitamins, such as vitamin C."
"that said, a teaspoon of cauliflower powder can only provide you with 1/8 of your vegetable intake."
But does powdered vegetables help boost nutritional intake-especially for children who are picky?
"it's only half right," she said.
"maybe it can boost nutritional intake, but children may not have a chance to understand and experience real food."
"if parents use this as a 'way' to allow their children to eat enough vegetables, their chances of chewing vegetables will be reduced-and this is important for the development of teeth, jaw and tongue muscles, and language."
Export opportunity
The New State Industry Office believes that Australian vegetable powder has a market overseas.
The department's export consultant, Brent? "it's a very new process: building low-temperature organic processing plants on farms to keep vegetables nutritious," said Bannister (Brent Bannister).
"of course, this will arouse interest in a lot of export markets."
Government around the world is fighting the obesity epidemic by encouraging a healthy diet.
"Australia is regarded as a clean and green place in the world, and Australian products are very popular."