Reduce the environmental impact and improve the nutritional profile of your curry with this reformulation

The curry is a key dish on British menus, not only in traditional curry houses, but also in pubs and restaurants across the UK. A recent survey found that 22% of Britons eat a curry every week, with just under a quarter (24%) stating that they eat hotter curries now than when first tasted Indian food(1).?

In the latest of our recipe reformulation series, we look at how a few changes to a slow cooked lamb curry can make a big difference when it comes to the dishes’ environmental impact and water usage.?

Here’s what we changed in our slow cooked lamb curry:

Our team changed the recipe to improve nutrient profile and environmental impact, whilst still ensuring it hit the mark from a taste perspective. The final recipe aligns with industry portion size standards and is consistent with published tested recipes.

• The amount of lamb was reduced from 240g to 60g per serving and 160g of butternut squash and 40g of peas were added.
• The Maggi bouillon cube was replaced with reduced salt bouillon powder and the quantity was reduced from 50g to 20g.
• White rice was replaced with Wholegrain Brown Rice, and the quantity was reduced by more than half.?
• The onion content was reduced from 240g to 120g
• The amount of curly kale increased from 20g to 60g.

What impact did this have on the recipes’ environmental footprint??

Greenhouse gas emissions reduced from 1.05kg to 0.33kg C02 equivalent per serving, which changed the Foodprint carbon sustainability score from a D to a B.?

On top of this, the water saved per serving dropped from 602L to 326L.

And what about the nutritional profile?

The energy was reduced by half through reformulation, with the original recipe changing from 277 kcal per 100g to 56 kcal per 100g in the reformulated version. The amount of salt reduced from 3.9g to 1.2g. The fat also fell from 10g to 1.5g. As you can see on the nutrition panel above, the colours moved to mainly green in the reformulated dish!

Do I need to reformulate my recipes?

The example above highlights how small tweaks can be impactful when it comes to the environmental footprint of your menu while improving the nutrient profile, and often the taste! Of course, it will be up to individual operators where any changes are implemented, considering the local consumer demands for sustainable options, taste perceptions around dishes and your business objectives.?

A good starting point for many therefore is to review the carbon and water usage for your entire menu, so you can clearly identify which dishes are heavily contributing to your footprint – and this is where software such as Foodprint from Nutritics can help.?

If you’d like to find out more about Foodprint from Nutritics, you can contact the team on [email protected] or visit https://www.nutritics.com/en/food/carbon-footprint-scoring.?

References

(1) Foodhub, 2020