Cremolì's father speaks: he will replace palm oil in Nutella

2023 Author: Cody Thornton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-24 11:20

Cremolì, the innovative olive oil-based product patented by Mida +, a startup from Perugia, to be used instead of palm oil but also butter or margarine in the production of biscuits, baked goods, pastry, creams, ice cream and chocolate stole the show.

When we first talked about it, you overwhelmed us with questions and perplexities, including some technical aspects of the matter. The reaction convinced us to contact Eraldo Rossi, a food technologist specialized in industrial chemistry, as well as Cremolì's father, whose ingredients are: extra virgin olive oil (or olive oil depending on the version chosen), cocoa butter, water, sunflower lecithin.

As you know, we have been talking for a long time about the problems caused by the consumption of Palm oil, in particular after the ruling of EFSA, the European food safety agency, which indicated that tropical fat is a harmful product for human health.

But replacing it is far from easy, the food industry makes widespread use of palm oil for a series of advantages: it is cheap, has a high yield per hectare of cultivation and a strong resistance to alterations, moreover it falls within the solid fats, such as butter, make foods creamy without interfering in flavors, thus effectively eliminating the harmful hydrogenation process of fats.

And the inventor of Cremolì, who is a candidate to be the healthy alternative to the use of palm oil, how does he respond to this series of undeniable qualities?

We see.

We were very impressed by the story of the Perugian startup which, through innovation, invents the replacement for palm oil. Was this your goal?

Actually no. It all started with an idea from the president of Mida +, Filippo Pompili Ferrari, owner of a farm that produces extra virgin olive oil. We started with olives, a cornerstone of the Italian and Mediterranean diet, to create a perfect fat for pastry and cooking (it is always good to distinguish between fats and oils since the former at room temperature are solid, the latter liquids).

The speech of the palm oil substitute came accordingly.

The researcher and scientific popularizer Dario Bressanini intervened on the Facebook page of Dissapore to say that we must not be afraid to call things by their name: according to him, Cremolì is simply a margarine. Is that so?

Frankly, we do not bother to give Cremolì a very precise classification. The margarine is also made with other oils, often tropical; certainly not with extra virgin olive oil.

Let's get to the point: Cremolì emphasizes nutritional properties (high presence of unsaturated fats and polyphenols, vitamin E), but it can really replace palm oil, which, net of the problems created for human health and the environment, has a series of undeniable advantages?

Being a crystallized fat (and not an emulsion, that is the combination of fat and water as some think), Cremolì resists cooking and agglomerates well with the dough, giving baked products a greater friability than any other oil..

Furthermore, the oils tend to oxidize earlier and the shelf-life of foods (the time in which the product maintains its qualitative characteristics) is shortened.

And let's face it, the many companies that are replacing palm oil with olive oil know very well that they cannot achieve the same taste as before (Colussi Granturchese is no longer the Granturchese it used to be, for example): wink at the consumer.

So our product could turn out not only to be an environmentally friendly substitute for palm oil, but also a "good" substitute from an organoleptic point of view.

And we have another advantage: the melting temperature at 26 degrees (occurs at 36 degrees in palm oil).

That is, if the palm oil in the mouth does not melt, kneading the palate and inhibiting the taste buds, Cremolì immediately melts, allowing you to perceive all the other flavors.

And for the same reason it is more digestible.

Okay, but on costs and production potential it is difficult to keep up with the comparison …

Of course: we use noble materials such as cocoa butter and olive oil, but the technological result, the ability to be perfectly incorporated into the dough, is such that 10-20% less product can be used to obtain the same. result. On an industrial level, Cremolì costs between 4 and 5 euros per kilo, but for individuals the price will be different.

Coming to our production capacity: it took us two years to develop a plant that can satisfy small and medium-sized enterprises, but we have one ten times bigger in the drawer, we are just waiting to find interested companies, which are able to support us in a similar investment.

In short, we have the technology and a patent: I say that in 7-10 months, with the necessary funding, Cremolì could become the replacement for palm oil in Nutella.

Why should a normal consumer buy Cremolì, and when will we find it in supermarkets?

Among the consumers who buy palm oil-based products are lactose intolerant, who cannot use butter, and people with problems related to cholesterol (of which Cremolì is free).

Then there is the environmental issue, which should not be underestimated: after all, palm oil is a vegetable, but I do not think it is the most loved product by vegans.

I do not know yet when we will be ready for large-scale distribution, but it is possible that at the end of the summer private individuals will be able to purchase the version in 600 gram buckets through an e-commerce. We are experimenting with Cremolì and for now the answers are enthusiastic. There are those who made the Dove at home.