New Quebec food products to be honoured
Entries showcased at SIAL trade show
Duckling parts, frozen and ready-to-cook, maple sugar varied with the addition of natural flavourings, and miniature croissants made with unbleached flour and unsalted butter, sold frozen, are among the 10 new products being honoured at the Salon International de l’Alimentation, which takes place from Wednesday until Friday at the Palais des congrès.
Seven of the newcomers are from Canadian companies, four of them Quebecbased. Two products are from the U.S. and one is from the U.K. Many are already selling in Montreal supermarkets.
Oh! Canard is the name of the new line of cut-up, readyto-cook duckling parts, sold frozen by the Knowlton company Brome Lake Ducks. The products range from chops, tournedos, legs, thighs and boneless breasts to a half duck. Some are seasoned, some ready for the home cook’s variations. Maple sugar has been flavoured with natural additions by the Boucherville company Y Olive Inc. The croissants are from the Première Moisson bakery and come in three versions, each ready to bake and serve in 30 minutes — plain croissants, a chocolate-filled version, and raisin brioche.
Asian influences are evident among the products, which were selected from more than 50 entries by a jury of Montreal chefs, grocery sales personnel, a gastronomy professor, a package designer, a nutritionist and a market researcher. Four O’Clock Pink Lemonade Herbal Tea from Trans-Herbe of St-Bruno-de-Montarville is flavoured with herbs and spices and may be served hot or cold. Haiku Green Tea Asian Style Noodles, imported by I-D Foods of Laval, are ready to eat in three minutes. Basilur Blood Orange Fruit Infusions is imported from Sri Lanka by Basilur Tea Canada of Toronto.
A pure blueberry purée made more nutritious by a new method of processing wild blueberries along with their skins has been used by PEI Berries of Montague, P.E.I. The product contains no sugar or preservatives.
The British product, already in Montreal supermarkets, is a refrigerated pudding by the name Gü Desserts. Available in several flavours, the SIAL judges chose the chocolate and vanilla cheesecake. It’s sold in individual-size servings, two glass jars to a package. The two American entries are Southern Art Hot Sauce, a natural, gluten-free product from Atlanta, and German-style sweet pickled beets from Mt. Clemens, Mich.
The winning product from the 10 finalists will be announced during the SIAL food trade show, which is open only to food and beverage manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers. It alternates annually between Montreal and Toronto.