Three ways. One raw material.
Cold, fresh spirulina stays what it is: colour, function, vitamin B12. Frozen, it keeps its colour and portions become predictable. Hot, it turns from a colouring ingredient into a flavouring one: roasted aroma instead of turquoise.
Colour, function, B12
Cold
The benchmark: cold processing preserves colour and native function as well as possible. In addition, there is foaming and emulsifying potential, depending on the recipe.
Examples: Sauce, bowl, drink, espuma
Note for product development
Add after the last heating step; the colour is largely stable up to about 45 °C. Keep colour-intensive products protected from light. Whether to add it cold is decided by your HACCP plan.
Colour, creaminess, predictable portions
Frozen
The cold protects the colour – stable in ice cream for more than six months in studies.
Examples: Ice cream, frozen dessert
Note for product development
Work in cold, then freeze promptly – the cold protects the colour. Freezing is not a substitute for a microbial reduction step.
Roasted aroma, umami, texture
Hot
Baked, fried or roasted, the colour turns olive to brown – and roasted and umami notes can develop.
Examples: Bread, bites, snacks
Note for product development
Work in before baking, frying or roasting. The colour turns olive to brown, but roasted and umami notes can develop in return.
Colour and function cold. Aroma hot.
Matrix, process and dosage determine the shade. Fresh spirulina is not just green.
Matrix
Light, high-fat, cold matrix
Ice cream, ganache, oat or rice base
Matrix
Aqueous, neutral matrix
Drinks, dips, dressings
Matrix
Acidic, baked or cooked
Bread, pasta, fruit shots
Matrix
Fried, roasted, extruded
Roasted aromas instead of colour
Easy to use. Important in the detail.
- pH 6–7
- Natural pH of the raw material. Can be used in recipes from pH 4 to 8; the more acidic, the greener the colour.
- SPIRULINA INTENSE
- The paste form: homogeneous, smooth, easy to dose. Viscosity approx. 5,000 mPa·s.
- SP!RA Essence
- The liquid form for beverages and shots. 4 g of SP!RA Essence corresponds to 1 g of SPIRULINA INTENSE.
Whether to add it cold is decided by your HACCP plan. Freezing is not a substitute for a microbial reduction step. Keep colour-intensive products protected from light.
Request samples and specification.
Tell us what your product needs to do – we will send you samples with specification and support your development from Hub Dresden.
What you get from us
- Samples with specification and product data sheet
- Recipe suggestions from the ALGENWERK recipe lab
- Kitchen induction or a pilot-plant session at Hub Dresden
- Cost and nutrition calculation for your end product
- Development support – with chefs & professionals from our network, if you wish
