MatM an Washing Solutions Ltd knows Crate Washing Contact us today for all your crate washing needs FT011 www.foodtechnology.co.nz 33 Global technology NHP Electrical Engineering Products NZ LTD 0800 NHP NHP | nhp-nz.com | local people • Automation • Power Distribution • Industrial Control • Services FT201 102 x 67 format.indd 2 6/07/2016 3:39 PM • Hire • Sales & service • Contract washing • Mobile units available www.matmanwashing.co.nz e: matman.cratewashing@xtra.co.nz m: +64 27 288 8299 t: +64 7 825 9190 9410 Matman advert 105 x 74.25 DRAFT.indd 1 8/05/12 11:50 AM Raised by French parents who own an organic sweet factory, she developed pre-diabetes whilst having her daughter Emma in New Zealand in 2013, and had to make major amendments to her diet. Switching to a wholefood diet with minimal processed food, no refined sugar and more nourishing grains and flours, she set up www.sweetashoney.co to share her ‘rewritten’ recipes with followers. Claudepierre has recently released her first recipe collection – Clean Bakery Cookbook (Bateman, $59.99) and here, she talks to New Zealand Food Technology about her background and what she sees for food development in New Zealand: Carine, what is your background in scientific research? I graduated in 2008 with a Masters in Material Science and with a Research Masters in Nanotechnology. My two main research theses have been focused on the extraction and encapsulation of fish aroma for the food industry (France 2004) and the development of DNA biochips for medical application (Australia 2008). I worked three years in industry and laboratories in France before moving to New Zealand. I always thought that developing recipes in my kitchen was very similar to my past work in laboratories… with more fun as now I can really taste the result of my experimentation! Why did you decide to ‘rewrite’ the recipes of traditional food so they are healthier? I have always been a baking lover, baking every week my favourite French tarts, cake or cookies. When I discovered that I had pre-diabetes, I realised how much I would miss all those recipes I grew up with. I couldn’t spend the rest of my life without the flavour and texture I loved the most, so I had to find a solution without compromising my health. I cleaned my pantry of forbidden ingredients and fuelled up with wholesome fibre-loaded ingredients, screening every single food label to create a safe pantry. I started to experiment with things in my kitchen until I achieved the taste and texture I was looking for, but I had lots of failures before coming up with the book. Now ‘clean baking’ is easy and natural…it’s like learning a new language. Your childhood was spent at a sweet factory…how has that influenced your life pathway? My parents own an organic sweet factory in France and I spent all my after-school time at the factory. When I grew up, I worked there during the summer school holidays to finance my university fees. It is definitely where my sweet tooth and passion for baking come from. As an immigrant, how do you regard the Kiwi diet? What I love about New Zealanders is how they are open to trying new things, and how they raise the awareness about sugar and healthy eating. During the past few years, lots of ‘clean eating’ cafés have opened all around the country, and even well-known café brands have started to provide low sugar baked goods or raw balls. The healthy food revolution is on, and I’m sure that the upcoming Kiwi generations will be more health conscious than we were around sugar. As a scientist, what do you think food technology in New Zealand should be concentrating on in terms of developing new ingredients and products? I believe that the future of food technology is about developing new and effective processes and products to provide nutritious food at very affordable cost. We should focus on how to improve agricultural processes, because they play a valuable role in our everyday lives, providing food and maintaining a strong economy. Also, a focus on storing products for longer periods is necessary to face penuries on high demand products like avocados, or optimising the quantity of product consumption on food production lines to deliver healthy affordable products. How has that decision to develop your own ‘clean kitchen’ changed your life? I reversed my pre-diabetes in only six months and I got my energy back even more than before! I started to run and even managed to complete my first half marathon in Auckland last year. The most ‘difficult’ part is relearning how to cook differently to appreciate new ingredients. All my family eat ‘clean’ 80% of the time, but we still go out for a burger or fish and chips sometimes. It’s all about balance. What do you see in the future of food technology and how we eat? People will be more and more conscious of the impact of food on their body’s energy levels, general health and life expectancy. Food technologists will work closer with biotechnologists to cross-match their skills in human genome and product development to create tailored functional products. I believe that in the next decade food science will formulate products with the best nutritional profile for each segment of the population. It will not only be product that claims health benefits (like protein bars, happy tea, sleeping tea etc) but also tailored food for women, men and the elderly. Supermarkets aisles will be ordered by population segment and food will be customised for each of us. AUTHOR'S PROFILE Q&A Congratulations to Linda Holmes, who has won a copy of this book The most ‘difficult’ part is relearning how to cook differently to appreciate new ingredients.
FT-Nov16
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