Glazing agents to increase visual appeal and margins
Baked goods and snacks need to look their best to attract consumers’ attention and command a premium price. This is where glazing agents help, by adding an appealing, shiny surface. But traditional egg wash, dairy-based glazes and other liquid glazes bring problems too – allergenic labeling, extra drying time, excessive tack and potential microbial contamination. And sometimes, they are just not glossy enough.
Versatile Versa-Sheen
National Starch Food Innovation offers a solution. Its versatile glazing agent Versa-Sheen® allows flexibility in the degree of gloss on a product. This enhances the appearance of a wide range of baked goods. As it can be used pre- or post-bake, it’s suitable for industrial bakers, foodservice and in-store bakery applications:
- from snacks, crackers and croissants
- to pastries, pies, breads, bagels and biscuits.
Going for gloss
Versa-Sheen delivers an unparalleled level of sheen compared to commonly-used products on the market.
It outperforms egg wash by more than 3 times and other commercial liquid products by up to 10 times. For maximum flexibility, the precise level of surface sheen can be tailored to suit your specific requirements.
Making baking easier
A free-flowing powder, Versa-Sheen easily dissolves and has a low viscosity even at high solids concentrations. This means it can be sprayed at solid levels up to 60%, making it easy to handle and with little drying time required. As a result, factories and in-store bakeries can achieve higher throughputs and improve productivity. Versa-Sheen has little browning effect, reducing the risk of burning on pre-bake applications. So, it helps reduce waste and benefits bakers’ bottom line.
Versa-Sheen is easy to apply – simply brush or spray onto your product of choice before or after baking and allow to dry. Before it dries, Versa-Sheen provides strong adhesion, enabling seeds, spices, herbs, flavours, etc to be added to the surface of your products. This prevents wastage of these expensive ingredients.
As it is freeze/thaw stable, Versa-Sheen is ideal for pre-baked frozen pastry and bake-off applications. Uniquely versatile and easy to use, Versa-Sheen creates new opportunities for industrial and in-store bakeries, snack food producers and foodservice outlets.
Consumer-friendly flavour
With a neutral colour and flavour, Versa-Sheen does not affect consumers’ enjoyment of the end product. Colour and gloss levels can also be fine-tuned to ensure end products meet the exact specifications required. For example, if you want less sheen and some browning to mimic the gloss of egg wash, combine Versa-Sheen with National Starch Food Innovation’s Crystal Tex 626.

|
Egg wash |
Versa-Sheen |
|
Limited gloss levels |
Customised gloss levels |
|
Short shelf life |
Long shelf life |
|
High in fat and cholesterol |
Cholesterol-free |
|
Careful handling required |
Easy to store and apply |
|
Risk of microbial growth |
Low microbial risk |
|
Slow drying |
Quick drying |
|
Prone to burning |
Reduces risk of burning |
Pluses for packaging
The non-sticky formula of Versa-Sheen equates to maximum convenience for consumers. Plus, baked goods finished with Versa-Sheen do not stick to packaging, ensuring optimum visual appeal from production to consumption. With a clean, simple, glucose syrup label declaration, Versa-Sheen offers bakers consumer-winning additive-free options.
To find out how easy it is to use Versa-Sheen, contact one of our bakery experts by clicking 'Request Information' or visit our website: www.foodinnovation.com
The National Starch Food Innovation logos and VERSA-SHEEN are trademarks of National Starch.
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