CATEGORY

Bread Crumbs

2009 CHEFSBEST® AWARD FOR BEST TASTE WINNER

4C Foods Corporation

What Makes Great Bread Crumbs?

In addition to topping soups, breadcrumbs have a number of uses in the kitchen. Whether used to bread fish fillets, chicken or eggplant parmigiana, breadcrumbs bring a satisfying crispness to any dish. You can also sprinkle them on top of casseroles and other hot dishes to add a nice crunch, mix them in to boost the texture of meatloaf, or use them to make a great stuffing. Save valuable preparation time by keeping packaged breadcrumbs in the pantry.

Our chefs define high-quality breadcrumbs as having a vibrant, toasted, golden color that is never dull or gray. The coarseness of the grind may vary, but it should not be as fine as semolina or as coarse as polenta. The moderate aroma intensity should have a complex character featuring toasty, yeasty, wheat, sour, caraway, garlic and onion notes. For Italian breadcrumbs, additional herb notes may be detected. There should be no aroma off notes including stale or cardboard notes.

Plain breadcrumbs are in taste balance when sweetness is the leading basic taste. This sweetness should be natural, not enhanced. Saltiness and sourness should have comparable intensities, following sweetness at discernible levels. Italian breadcrumbs are in taste balance when bold saltiness is the leading basic taste. Sweetness should be much lower than saltiness, and sourness should closely follow sweetness. Bitterness, if present, should be minimal for both types of breadcrumbs.

Plain breadcrumbs will have moderate flavor intensity with a complex character. In the flavor profile for Italian breadcrumbs, seasoning will be the leading flavor with bread flavor following at low to moderate levels. However, the seasoning should not mask the bread flavor. Both types of breadcrumbs should have a complex flavor character that reflects their aroma’s toasty, yeasty, wheat, sour, caraway, garlic and onion notes. Neither product should be simple or one-dimensional like white bread, and there should be no off notes detracting from the overall flavor.

When used to bread chicken, breadcrumbs should not fall off the chicken during baking. Breadcrumbs should also absorb some moisture from the meat, but not so much that they become soggy; they are expected to provide some golden color and crunch. Their texture should never be dry, dusty or powdery, and the chicken should remain moist while still having a crisp outer texture. The chicken and breadcrumbs should dissolve at the same moderate rate, neither flavor lingering for too long on the palate. Chicken and breadcrumbs should also work well when used together in a recipe. Though Italian breadcrumbs are expected to have more flavor than the chicken they coat, they should not dominate the overall flavor.

Product Category Definition

The category judged was defined as breadcrumbs for the consumer market, not including coating or breading products. This judging included plain and Italian dry bread crumbs.

Other Leading Brands:

Progresso