Country Park Foods was keen to add some pizzazz to its run-of-the-mill Christmas turkey selection, so it worked with ingredients supplier Dera Food Technology UK to create the new Marble-in-Meat range.Instead of making the standard turkey fillet with stuffing running through its centre, Country Park Foods wanted to create veins of flavour threaded through the meat, to give it an unusual marbled effect.

Mark Rigby, development chef at the firm, says: “Christmas is a busy time of year with every consumer looking for something that’s a bit special. This concept offers not only that, but a delicious healthy option that is low in fat and salt and high in protein. They are an ideal option for sandwich producers who are looking for new Christmas lines, or for caterers who want to offer some interest to either their Christmas meals or buffets.”

Dera Food Technology created a blend of functional ingredients, natural colours and flavours to be added to the meat at the end of the regular tumbling process. Marketing manager Christine Stevens explained that the reason for not adding it at the beginning is that the colouring would cause the entire product to turn green! “We used a building block approach,” says Stevens. “We already had the basic ingredients system, Idrobin F6, and spent two months developing a flavour system, before combining the two.”

The product comes in three flavours: Christmas spice, Sage & onion and Redcurrant jelly.