What the facility does
Specializes in bench-top food and beverage product development, characterization of new food ingredients, and recipe development with a focus on flavour first
Areas of expertise
NAIT’s Centre for Culinary Innovation has expertise in new food and beverage product development that blends culinary creativity with food science principles to create foods that taste amazing and scale-up from bench top. The Centre has a focus on the utilization of crops grown in Alberta and specializes in plant-based foods.
The Centre has a multi-functional Research Kitchen, Meat Laboratory and Cheese Laboratory that allow food businesses to access expertise, equipment and infrastructure.
Research services
- Food and beverage concept ideation
- Bench-top food product development
- Food ingredient evaluation and characterization
- Taste panel evaluations
- Food product demonstrations
- Project management
- Literature reviews
- Rental of space and equipment
- Reverse engineering of food products
- Nutrition facts panel generation
- Technical training/interactive workshops
- Sample analysis and testing
- Equipment demonstrations
Sectors of application
- Agriculture, animal science and food
- Education
- Manufacturing and processing
Specialized labs and equipment
| Specialized lab | Equipment | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Research Kitchen | Freeze Dryer | |
| Rational combi oven | ||
| Meat grinder | ||
| Pasta extruder | ||
| Marble confectioners’ surface | ||
| Ice cream machine | ||
| Vacuum sealer | ||
| Food dehydrator | ||
| Thermocirculator (sous-vide) | ||
| Vacuum tumbler | ||
| Dough sheeter | ||
| Retail Meat Laboratory | Vacuum stuffer | |
| Smokehouse | ||
| Bandsaw | ||
| Silent cutter/bowl chopper | ||
| Vemag stuffer | ||
| Vacuum tumbler | ||
| Fermentation chambers | For fermented meat products | |
| Cheese Lab | Raw milk receiving equipment | |
| Cheese vat | Up to 200 L |
Additional information
| Title | URL |
|---|---|
| What plant-based milk alternative is right for you? | https://techlifetoday.ca/articles/2022/plant-based-milk-alternatives-pros-and-cons |
| Plant Protein Alliance of Alberta: Cooking plant-protein burgers |
|
| Diet resolutions: 6 things to know about eating less meat and more plant-based foods | https://theconversation.com/diet-resolutions-6-things-to-know-about-eating-less-meat-and-more-plant-based-foods-148871 |
| Development of novel line of gluten-free ready meal products from Alberta based pulses | https://albertapulse.com/research/development-of-novel-line-of-gluten-free-ready-meal-products-from-alberta-based-pulses/ |
| NAIT Research Chef passionate about creating new products with prairie crops | https://ppaa.ca/nait-research-chef-passionate-about-creating-new-products-with-prairie-crops/ |
| Against the grain: How researchers are transforming Alberta oats into tasty, innovative products | https://www.techlifetoday.ca/articles/2019/research-explores-new-ways-to-transform-oats |