Before diving into how to use citrus fiber in foods, let us review why you need to use Citri-Fi in the first place. Citri-Fi citrus fiber uses a process free from chemical modifications. The mechanical process opens up the fiber to provide high water holding and emulsification properties. As a result, when used at low levels (<1%), citrus fiber contributes multiple benefits to a variety of food products such as meats, bakery, beverages, sauces, dairy and frozen foods. Also, this natural ingredient improves hot trending products like dairy and meat alternatives. In the end, Citri-Fi citrus fiber should be your "go-to" natural ingredient to improve stability while cleaning up labels and enhancing nutrition.

Depending on the product, this healthy food ingredient provides various benefits. For instance, this food emulsifier binds water and oil which improves the stability of dairy, beverages, sauces, dressings and dairy alternatives. Additionally, Citri-Fi holds onto water to increase yields and improve juiciness and texture of meats and meat substitution products. Because this natural citrus fiber provides multiple functionalities, it replaces ingredients like starches, gums and other stabilizers to clean up food product labels.

Now that you joined the loyal citrus fiber club, let us talk about how to use it in food products successfully. Although your first urge will be to sprinkle Citri-Fi like pixie dust, proper hydration is key! In the end, properly hydrating Citri-Fi activates the full functionality of this citrus fiber.

How to Use Citri-Fi Citrus Fiber in Foods 

There are four main ways to use this natural hydrocolloid in foods to prevent clumping or "fish eyes".

1. Pre-mixed in Dry Ingredients

One option includes pre-mixing Citri-Fi citrus fiber with dry ingredients such as sugar, salt, flour, etc. depending on the food product. The dry ingredients should be approximately 10 times the weight of Citri-Fi. Moreover, foods that benefit include bakery items, seasoning mixes and processed meats.

2. Dispersed in Oil 

Another way to incorporate this natural food emulsifier is in oil. For instance, Citri-Fi can be mixed into an oil before being added to the food product or liquid. On the other hand, this natural emulsifier when mixed with a certain ratio of oil turns liquids into free-flowing powders As a result, this plated citrus fiber improves the handling and usability of the product. And as a bonus, when added to water or other food products, this plated material provides additional functionalities. For example, plated Citri-Fi provides stability and mouthfeel in beverages.

3. Dispersed into Syrups

Also, Citri-Fi can be added into syrups like sugar or glucose.

4. Prehydrated Directly in Water

Though we recommend adding Citri-Fi to dry ingredients before hydrating in water, you do have the option to prehydrate directly in water. However, in order to use this method, you need to add Citri-Fi in 3% or less solutions. In addition, this natural food ingredient needs to be added using strong agitation to avoid clumping and "fish eyes". Some recommended agitation options include blender, rotor stator homogenizer, mechanical mixer or a magnetic stirrer.