Since everyone and their mother has been posting what they can expect from the food world in 2014, I thought I would add my own little list of things I expect to see rise and/or fall in the following year:
The fall of quinoa – Other than pumpkin spiced everything (yes I know it is seasonal), pretzel bread, and sriracha, quinoa has been taking over restaurant and retail outlets in the US…which also means as the demand increase, so does the price. Consumers are going to find there there is a whole list of ancient grains they can incorporate into their diet which rival the nutritional value of quinoa, such as kaniwa, amaranth, buckwheat, bulghur, farro, freekeh, grano, millit, oat groats, spelt, sorghum, and teff, not to mention all of the non-processed rice varieties. Hurry up and buy in bulk before these other options become ‘the next big thing’ and the price increases on those as well.
Hipster Sweets – Think of all the old school desserts which the hipster crowd is ready to reinvent. One that I am hoping for is salted butterscotch, (salted caramel knockoff)! With the boom of specialty beverages as well, we are going to see updated versions of bananas foster, cherries jubilee, baked Alaska, mangos diablo, and peches louis…half of which the hipsters never even heard of.
Turmeric-Shakur – Indian, middle-eastern, and mid-asian cuisine is becoming more and more accepted in the US. One ingredient in particular climbing the ladder is turmeric. It has a bright color and has been used in curries for years, as well as a coloring agent for multiple purposes. It also contains curcumin which potentially can treat a whole list of illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, arthritis, and allergies. Not of these claims have been definitively concluded yet, except for turmeric being a tasty addition to your spice cabinet.
Hot Chile Time Machine – Jalapeños, chipotle, cayenne, and habanero are only four of the hundreds of varieties of chiles out there. It is time to bring in the specialty varieties like aleppo, aji amarillo, calabrian, puya, wiri wiri, mulato, and scorpion to increase heat, build eccentric flavor, and add variety to your menu. Consumers are accepting heat in their foods more than ever before…thanks fast food! Sriracha will have some more time at the top, then harissa will take over…
PB&Hey, That’s Not Normal – First, we had peanut butter, and it was good. Then the alternate nut butters came along, and they were also good. Now it’s time to raise the bar and flavorize all these tasty spreads. Due to the fact that the US now wants to add fat back into their diets, we will see an increase of nut and nut butter consumption, but lets take it a step further. Pumpkin spiced walnut butter?!?!?! Maple and black pepper pecan butter?!?!?! Salted agave peanut butter?!?!?! Why not throw in some sriracha bacon rhubarb jam in the mix? (Maybe TOO trendy?)
American Comfort Story – We are going to continue seeing a rise in the American comfort food arena in the upcoming year. Chicken & waffles made 1000 ways, mac & cheese with artisan locally sourced cheese, meatloaf with specialty game meats, pies with strange crusts, weird fruits, unfamiliar seasonings, salted red velvet cronut cake-pop cupcakes…!!!!!!!!! How many desserts can we mash together???
What are some of your predictions for 2014? Your guess is as good as mine!
yeah, i’m with you on most of these. i totally agree with the quinoa prediction. honestly, i’m super confused why buckwheat hasn’t become super popular already. weird how markets shape what we eat. someone proclaims something a super food, and all the sudden the whole world can’t live without it.
honestly, this year i see pork making a come back in a huge way. supply has diminished and price as gone up, plus (like you said) the us is suddenly excited about eating fat again. artisan bacons and sausages might start to usurp traditional high-end classics like filet mignon or chicken cordon bleu.
I think people have a bad stigma on buckwheat simply because it says WHEAT in the name, and most people associate it with dry pancakes hahaha.
I also agree about the pork…and that makes me happy since I love the swine!
MH
Buckwheat?! Have you ever had a buckwheat pancake? The first food item I’ve ever thrown in the garbage after one bike…and the whole rest of the bag of mix went in the can right after. That will never become the next big thing.
Well when I make buckwheat pancakes, they turn out light and fluffy like the regular kind…you have to learn how to control the beast hahaha
Oh they LOOKED awesome, light and fluffy and fabulous… The problem was they tasted like butt. LOL… 😉
hahahah that will happen sometimes lol
I’ve already made sriracha peanut butter, and trendy though it may be, it was every bit as awesome as expected.
That sound delightful!!!!! I will have to whip it up!
MH
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Nailed it with the ancient grains. Maybe bulgar but not buckwheat. I’m down for anything salted and butterscotch would stand up perfect.
definitely with you on the dessert mash up – and the uk can’t get enough of american comfort food. we’re seeing a huge rise in hot dogs while pulled pork is dieing quietly!
OOHHH how I miss living in Virginia Waters, Surrey and eating up all the sticky toffee pudding 😦
I’ve never had good quinoa except in a Peruvian restaurant, and my attempts to cook it have tanked. So I won’t be sorry to see it go. I am hoping to see rapini as the next supergreen, so that it will become available in my local grocery (instead it seems that kale and kale chips are taking over).
I am a big fan of rapini as well!
MH
ahaa, you should tell us next year how accurate these turned out 😉
Hahahahah I will make sure to do a follow up next year!
MH
Great post – So funny.
Looking forward to reading more.
Thank you very much!!! I am glad you enjoyed.
MH
I think you need a new “superfood” on your list! Acai is sooooo over, but what’s next? Personally, I’d love a 2014 filled with constant promotion of spirulina…
Look out for Yum berries and Goji berries! Thank you very much for the comments, and I think spirulina has maybe health benefits!
OOpps…I ment *MANY
I could not resist commenting. Perfectly written!
You’ve forgotten Queen of Puddings, plus the little chillies you get here in North Cyprus blow your head off! I get fed up with foodie fads, running around like lemmings looking for the next big taste “sensation”. The best meals I’ve had were the simplest but the tastiest.
Enjoyed your post, Very entertaining. I am personally spearheading a buckwheat revival here in Australia. (Of course, it’s difficult to revive something that never existed.) I use buckwheat flour in a lot of the coeliac baking I do, often mixing it with other gluten free flours. (Quinoa flour is totally gack…just in case anyone was interested.)
Very nice…thank you for the comments! Quinoa flour can boost some of the protein content in a GF flour blend, but is not very tasty by itself.
MH
Food predictions? hmmm. I think “Paleo” will go more mainstream with restaurants offering “Paleo Friendly” options on their menus.
Love the flavored nut butter ideas. Maybe some ghost pepper almond butter.
That sounds like a good idea to me!!!
MH
Dishes made with beer. Craft beer has exploded so cooking into bread and other dishes is the only logically follow up. I’d like some porter pumpernickel with that sriracha peanut butter.
That sounds good to me!
MH
LOVE the site. I love this list. I’m hoping you’re wrong about hipster sweets. BLEH. Cake, pie and cookies FTW.
Spot on with this write-up, I honestly think this site needs a great deal more attention.
I’ll probably be returning to read more, thanks for the information!
Thank you very much for the comments! Come back anytime.
MH
Howdy! I could have sworn I’ve been to this web
site before but after going through a few of the articles I realized it’s new to me.
Anyways, I’m certainly pleased I stumbled upon it and I’ll be book-marking
it and checking back often!
Nailed it with the ancient grains. Maybe bulgar but not buckwheat. I’m down for anything salted and butterscotch would stand up perfect.