By Ariel Grossman, NoCamels -
Startup infuses alcohol into creams for a smoother taste.
For those who like the effects of alcohol, but can’t stand the taste, an Israeli startup has an edible answer.
It’s developed a unique way to infuse booze into a cream you can eat as a pudding, spread on a pastry or even use as a doughnut filling.
And it’s removed the astringency – or sting – so that the alcohol tastes much smoother.
Combining alcohol with creams and confectioneries has, until now, been impossible in the food industry.
The molecular structure causes it to separate itself from food products. In fact, alcohol has been used in the past to separate protein from milk.
CreamCol uses a patented method to combine any alcohol – vodka, whiskey, even liqueur – with whey (milk) protein and water to create creamy, pudding-like products. The secret process varies with each type of alcohol it uses, but involves specific temperatures and methods of combination.
“It all started from the problem that I didn’t like any type of alcohol, but I still wanted to be able to enjoy it when I went out with my friends,” says Irena Geller, Founder and CEO of CreamCol.
“We offer a new way of enjoying alcohol. Until now, all the innovation in the alcohol space involved improving the taste of beer or wine.”
No other company has been able to make alcoholic creams. The closest has been Tipsy Scoop, a New York City company that infuses up to 5 per cent liquor in ice cream.
CreamCol doesn’t use any chemicals or other products to stabilize the combination – its process makes it so that alcohol is the stabilizer itself between it, the protein, and the water.
“After combining the three ingredients, we add sugar, milk, or anything else to make it tasty and sweet.”
Geller, who has a background in food technology and biotechnological engineering, initially wanted to create ice cream with a high percentage of alcohol. Her husband Tomer, who worked out at the time, suggested a high-protein ice cream.
To her surprise, she saw that her mixture did not melt at room temperature. She carried on experimenting and found that the more alcohol she added to the specific amount of protein, the more viscous her products turned out.
CreamCol can infuse up to 40 per cent alcohol into its products, although the first line of creams it’s bringing to market will have between nine and 12 per cent.
“The texture remains uniform and stable for months, with a longer shelf life and built-in protection against microbial spoilage because the alcohol is locked in,” says Jonathan Henen, Technical Director of CreamCol.
Geller says that the creams can be sold as standalone alcoholic puddings, alcoholic spreads, and infused in many different pastries and desserts like chocolates, eclairs and custard-filled doughnuts.
“The products we can produce with our technology are endless,” she says.
The process won’t work with all types of protein, but CreamCol is working on a line of creamy alcohols based on soy-protein, for vegans and people who are lactose intolerant.
“The consumer doesn’t need to like alcohol at all, because we’ve changed the texture, taste, flavor, and mouthfeel of alcohol. For people who don’t like it, they get a much smoother experience that is a lot easier on the throat,” Henen tells NoCamels.
“You don’t have the astringency you have when drinking vodka, whiskey, or high-alcohol products. It just makes it into a fun product to eat and consume.”
CreamCol envisages bars, hotels, cruise lines, airlines, and other places of entertainment serving it as chasers. And consumers can take it on the dance floor, too, because it won’t spill.
“We see people eating alcohol, just like they drink it, at pubs and clubs, or at home with friends and family. It’s difficult, because we need to change and educate market consumption patterns,” says Geller.
CreamCol envisions its products being eaten with friends, at pubs, and being taken to the dance floor, where it won’t spill on anyone. Courtesy Maurício Mascaro at Pexels
“But I think from the feedback we’ve received, we see that people want to enjoy alcohol in another way. They want something new.”
Alcoholic cream is absorbed more slowly into the bloodstream than liquid alcohol, but the end result is the same, says Henen.
The startup, which is based in Afula, Northern Israel, is collaborating with a big European dessert company based in Italy, which is looking to infuse its creams into its desserts. It is also planning to infuse a well-known German brand of alcohol into its creams.
CreamCol hopes to market its first line of original creams on its website within the next six months.
Recently, CreamCol’s cream also helped an Israeli chef win a cooking competition to mark 70 years of Israeli-Japan relations. Chef Ronit Brand used the startup’s product in her matcha dessert.
CreamCol is currently holding events at Israeli university campuses and will use the feedback to decide which flavors are most popular.
Caption: CreamCol uses a patented method to combine any alcohol with whey (milk) protein and water to create creamy, pudding-like products.
Credit: Courtesy.
