Food Trends
Week 4
What’s In Store for 2020? A New Decade, A New Trend!
This week I took some time to look into some trends that are forecast for the coming year 2020 and dove into some of the more exotic ones listed. Below is a list of what I found:
Plant Based Protein (No surprise here!)
Cauliflower (Continuing from last years search of meat substitutes)
Ube (Not the same as a purple Sweet Potato but still delicious!)
Alt-Milk (Everyone’s into oatmilk nowadays, fun fact - I once worked on a project to recreate Oatly)
Seed-Butters (There’s more things seeds than you can image that can be turned into butter)
Kombucha or Water Kefir (In particular boozy variants of this refreshing carbonated drink)
Low ABV/Non-Alcoholic Beers (Same great taste but now appropriate to drink at work!)
Lab Grown Meats (With the ever growing list of science discoveries, this is becoming cheaper and cheaper)
Ghost Kitchens (With the increase of food delivery services comes the increase of these)
Meat & Plant Blends (A step towards plant based foods without going all the way in, adds some interesting flavors)
Family Style Tasting Menus (With the decrease in leisure time, more people want to have group eating when their out)
Vegan/Gluten Free Menu Items (Increase in plant based items means restaurants need to adapt to dietary needs more)
Local Chef Appreciation (Consumers want to be connected with their local cuisine more than before)
Mexican/Korean/Middle Eastern/West African/etc. (More people want to talk authentic cuisine that’s new to them)
Insects (Protein alternatives that are more sustainable are on the rise as people move away from traditional meat)
Packaged Goods Transparency (Minimizing Ingredient Lists, Reducing Sugar, Easy Label Tracking)
Sliders (Quick, Simple, and Delicious. I don’t need to say anything else)
Zero-Waste (Finding new ways to re-purpose our trash into something useful)
Hydroponics (Locally grown crops are on the rise as people want fresher produce)
Open Kitchens (Bridging the gap between Cooks and Guests, a modern approach to design)
Kale (A healthier option that’s not just regular lettuce)
Spice-Blends (Foreign cuisine has some of the most amazing spice blends)
Smaller Portions (Health conscious consumers are watching what they eat more than ever)
Spicy Snacks (Spicy flavors excite peoples taste buds just like salt, this is only the beginning)
Coconut (Alternative to things like butter and tradition oil while providing a subtle flavor enhancement)
Ginger (Used heavily for it’s health benefits, its flavor compliments to many other ingredients)
Sour Beers (Hard to find, even harder to get a good tasting one due to regulations in the United States)
CBD (With the rise of legalization, comes the rise of infusions in public food options)
Fermented Foods (Things like Koji, Kimchi, and more are surprising people with their dynamic flavors)
Yogurt (Useful in so many recipes, it adds a creamy tang that can’t be found in many other versitile ingredients)
Here’s some more exotic ones I’ve never heard so I did a little more research into them.
Sahawiq(Zhug) which is a a traditional Yemen condiment that is made from peppers(hot) and garlic that is stone ground, coriander is also commonly added as well. Additional spices can be added like caraway and cumin. In Israel this condiment is called Skhug which has the addition of tomato paste to it. Usually paired with hummus, falafel, or shawarma to name a few.
Kabocha which is a Japanese variety of winter squash. It’s a very versatile squash, similar to butternut or acorn squash and can be stewed, fried, roasted, etc. It’s sweeter than butternut squash and can have a russet potato or chestnut flavor to them.
Avocado Blossoms which are simply just the flowers of avocados trees. It was only a matter of time before this was to be common use considering most avocado trees drop millions of these a season. Much like other blossoms, these can be used for salads, garnish, infusions, etc.
Huitlacoche, hard to pronounce but interesting to say the least. It’s a fungus that grows on corn and was thought to be a crop plague for hundreds of years by some cultures. Other cultures however capitalized on it and sold it as a delicacy. Usually sauted or roasted to kill the fungus, it can be used as a topping, a paste, or even served alone. With such a dynamic flavor it punches you in the face a combination of umami and savory flavors.
Halloumi which is a dense low moisture cheese from Cyprus made from goat’'s milk and sheep’s milk. It’s become popular as a meat alternative because of it’s high melting temp which allows it to be fried and seared without melting. The closest thing to compare it to is firm tofu, but as a cheese.
Overall Look at 2020…
Appears that the health trends will continue for the years to come with consumers wanting to have a more hands on approach to what they are putting in their bodies. Taking an almost holistic approach to their lifestyle, reducing stresses and impurities while boosting moods and productivity. This approach appears to include the experimentation with more exotic foods and techniques to creating those while focusing on better the world and themselves. 2020 Looks to be a year of surprises and rapid growth in the Food Industry. Happy New Years and I hope your year ends up as good as these trends are.
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