A panel of San Francisco trend spotters has identified the newest fashions in food. If the trends hold, you could find yourself pickling carrots and drinking coconut water by Christmas (or the Mayan apocalypse – whichever comes first).
During the Winter Fancy Food Show, judges were able to sample from a variety of new dishes, observe the industry’s focus in its campaigns, and make predictions about their success in the coming year. It’s the largest show of its kind on the West Coast, with some 80,000 products on display from 1,300 exhibitors and 35 countries.
Standouts were selected in a number of categories, and five of the hottest trends were chosen as winners. They are:
Nutty Drinks
Get excited about nut-flavored water with Victoria’s Kitchen Almond Water, and indulge your sweet tooth with Simpli’s Chocolate Oat Shake. Enjoy flavor, fiber, and fun in a bottle.
The New Pickling
It’s not just for your cool grandma anymore. Pickling’s going mainstream and getting a facelift along the way, with novelties like pickled carrots from Unbound Pickling and wholesome treats like Boat Street Pickles’ Pickled Golden Raisins giving the enterprise a new pizzazz.
The New Gluten-Free
It might be a fad that’s here to stay – which means it was never really a fad after all. But no matter, Stonewall Kitchen’s gluten-free herbed pizza crusts should finally make true believers of the skeptics. And if you cross over, you’ll probably end up needing some of Thomas Keller’s gluten-free flour blend.
Grains So Old They’re Ancient
The rarified world of ancient grains are getting more complicated than ever with mouth-watering unpronounceables like Origen Chilean Gourmet’s Quinoa Puffs and colorful more-is-mores like Culinary Collective Zocalo Heritage Grains’ Pink Amaranth.
Go Coconuts!
If you’re going to buy Ginger Cookie Caramel Coconut Ice Cream, wouldn’t you want to buy it from Luna and Larry? They sound like they have just the right combination of whimsy and practicality. Try their Coconut Bliss, or Hey Boo’s Coconut Jam, and you may end up proving the trendsetters right.
