A team of three food science students from Utah State University took first place at the Idaho Milk Processors Association’s Food Product Development Competition. Teams including students from Brigham Young University and Washington State University/University of Idaho met in Sun Valley, Idaho, for the annual competition.
USU team leader Jonathon Solorio and members Xiaoxi Wang and Kari Olsen won for the development of Instant Sour, a product used to make sourdough bread. Initial development of Instant Sour began with Solorio in the fall of 2013 when he became interested in finding new uses for acid whey from Greek yogurt. The team continued to refine the product over the next year with the mentorship of Carl Brotherson, associate director of the Western Dairy Center, and associate professor of food science, Marie Walsh. As part of the competition, the team submitted a written report explaining the steps in making Instant Sour and presented the product to competition judges and attendees. This year’s award comes on the heels of last year’s first place prize for Dipeese, a
low-fat cottage cheese dip and 2010’s top award for Yogannaise. The USU team was awarded $10,000 for their product. The three students will share $5,000 of the award, with the remaining going to support the work of next year’s team which will take on a new product challenge.