More Food Trends For 2018
It’s that time of year when food companies polish their crystal balls and predict the hot food trends for the coming year. Meat supplier Danish Crown has aggregated food trends reports from Waitrose, Whole Foods, Mintel, NatCen, and Supermarket News and predicted the Top 10 trends for 2018. Here are some of the foods to look out for this year:
Meet The Middle East
Having embraced Middle Eastern influences in our food for many years, it seems we’re ready to delve deeper into the cuisine for 2018. Hummus, pita bread and falafel are welcome staples in our Middle Eastern diets, but during the coming year we’ll be burrowing much deeper into the cuisine’s roots, exploring classic ingredients and regional nuances of places like Persia, Morocco, Israel, Lebanon and Syria. The success of restaurants like Comptoir Libanais have really paved the way for this trend, bringing traditional, often unfamiliar Middle Eastern dishes to the forefront of their menus. Expect to see more aubergines, pomegranates, dried fruits and jams, and spices such as za’atar and cardamom across menus.
Taco Takeover
The taco trend isn’t one that’s new for 2018, but it’s definitely one that’s growing rapidly. Last year saw the famed Latin American street food take hold of the nation, but this year’s tacos are well advanced from their predecessors. We’re talking breakfast tacos, lunch tacos, dinner tacos, and dessert tacos. We will also see tacos losing their traditional corn shells and being replaced by all kinds of wrappers, perhaps most notably seaweed nori shells. Fillings are also no stranger to change, from poke-style fillings to sweet treats. Classic tacos will always have a place in the nation’s heart and on authentic menus, but they’ll need to make some room for their experimental counterparts.
Shrooms
Mushrooms of all shapes and sizes can already be found in the fruit and veg aisle, but 2018 will see a rise in mushrooms of a functional variety. Fungi such as chaga and reishi, that can often be found in wellness products, will be starting to pop up in hot beverages such as coffees and teas, in place of herbal remedies. You will also find mushrooms in less likely products, like your hand and body soaps!
Hispanic Cheese
Over the past four years, Hispanic-style cheese has had a place on chefs’ menus. From the salty, crumbling firm cheeses like Cotija, to the creamy, melty Queso Quesadilla cheese that you’ve most likely come across in just about any Mexican eatery you’ve ever stepped inside, the market has seen an increased spend across the board. Interestingly, roughly a third of these Hispanic-style cheeses are now produced in Wisconsin, where cheesemakers are maximising on the growing trend.
More Maple
After the pumpkin spice craze took hold of the nation (which shows no signs of slowing), it’s no surprise that something equally sweet and seasonal would step into the limelight. Make room for maple! Maple certainly isn’t a new or unfamiliar flavour, but we’re now starting to see popularity for products such as maple water and maple flavoured nut butters. Maple water is the byproduct of the process of making maple syrup, which can be up to 97% of the yield of the maple harvest. This maple water has been bottled with a slight carbonation, and is officially the only water that is certified organic by the USDA. And with the boom of breakfast foods over the past year, this trend couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time!
Dumpling Paradise
A trend that hits home with the Millennials and Gen Z customers is the authentic Asian dumpling. A well-loved favourite but there’s room to get experimental, with a variety of fillings that don’t stop at an Asian flavour profile. These are a popular snack, both meat filled and vegetarian.