Product Optimization for Tigernut Milk

George Brown College’s Food Innovation and Research Studio (FIRSt) is collaborating with The Chufa Nut Co., (Chufa Nut) on product development for their Tiger Nut beverage. Andrea Orazi, founder of Chufa Nut, has developed five Tiger Nut beverages and is looking to optimize for organoleptic and visual attributes. Chufa Nut is looking to optimize their current products by ensuring the quality of raw materials, preventing or limiting the separation of the current product during storage, validating and refining the original product design assumptions, and improving the extraction and cooking processing methodologies to improve the finished product quality.

Chufa Nut requires assistance from FIRSt to optimize their current formulation and improve the product appearance and texture. Principal Investigator Robert McCurdy, M.Sc., Senior Research Food Scientist, FIRSt, will use his extensive industry experience to complete this project, while working with a student researcher from George Brown College’s Culinary Arts program. Work plan: analyze the current recipe and implement recipe and process optimization activities to ultimately achieve three gold standard prototypes; conduct sensory evaluation to validate the overall acceptability of the product; provide final documentation to Chufa Nut for deliverable sign off and project completion. Upon completion of the project, Chufa Nut will have a range of three (3) sensory approved product prototypes what will have superior visual and organoleptic properties compared to current products.