High street chains have been stocking up in anticipation of the new series
Will be a baking trend of the show which will also feature edible flowers
The fruit powders have caught on with top chefs like Heston Blumenthal
The Great British Bake Off returns to our screens this week and promises to get cooks up and down the country splashing out on a raft of new exotic ingredients.
We’ve had the ‘Delia effect’ with her cranberries, prunes and North Wales sea salt, the ‘Nigella effect’ on goose fat, maple syrup and semolina and last year Mary Berry herself sent sales of lemon curd surging after she used some on her TV series.
Now the ‘GBBO effect’ is expected to see freeze-dried raspberry and strawberry powders flying off the shelves after they feature in the series, which begins on Wednesday on BBC1.
High street chains have been stocking up on the little-known ingredients in anticipation of them becoming bestsellers.
A spokeswoman for the show told The Mail on Sunday they would be one of the baking trends of the show, which will also feature edible flowers and paneer cheese.
The fruit powders, traditionally used in chocolate making and patisserie on the Continent, have caught on in Britain with top chefs such as Heston Blumenthal.
The powders are punchily concentrated. It takes 2.2lb of fresh berries to make every 3.5oz of berry powder.
Bake Off star Mary Berry revealed last week that she had only recently discovered the powders. She told Radio Times: ‘Last year I learnt about freeze-dried raspberry powder. Because I don’t research my recipes on the internet, I knew nothing about it. Then I went home and tried it.’
She was inspired by Kimberley Wilson, one of last year’s finalists, who used it to decorate her chocolate truffles on the first programme of the series.
Kimberley, 30, said: ‘I saw it being used by professional chefs on cooking programmes and ordered some online.
You get a fabulous, dense flavour. Fresh raspberries can be too moist. I was surprised Mary didn’t know about the powder. She’s been cooking for so long I thought it would be old-hat to her.’
Tina Manahai-Mahai, of Healthy Supplies, an online specialist ingredients site which sells 100g berry powders for £5.99, said: ‘Sales of freeze-dried raspberry powder went up 97 per cent after the end of the last Bake Off series. If they feature more this time, they’ll fly off the shelves.’
The powders are also on sale at Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Asda.
Edible flowers, praline paste and paneer cheese are also to feature in the new Bake Off series.
