As our readers know, The Food Channel spends a lot of time tracking food trends throughout the year. If you missed it, be sure and see our Top Ten Food Trends for 2024. So, what’s happened since we did that report?
- TikTok continues to be a prime food influencer, introducing new recipes and recipe hacks to a new generation that doesn’t always use traditional cooking methods. What we’re noticing, though, is that Gen Z is surprising us with its interest in heritage recipes. The game changer, though, is that their grandparents are at the most from the 1950s, so heritage is taking on a new meaning.
- After years of bread being a dirty word, new recipes for homemade bread and sourdough starter are showing up. There are new bakeries and new online bread and pastry companies that are killing it in the digital space. Apparently the keto world and the gluten-free world and the “give me all the carbs” world have found ways to live in harmony.
- Global flavors are having an island moment, with a lot of attention given to Caribbean and other flavors that naturally incorporate a lot of antioxidants and anti-inflammatories. More and more recipes call for turmeric, ginger, and cinnamon. We see more beans, peppers, and coconut. Fish is almost an indoctrination—lots of fish and seafood recipes are trending, so that even if we aren’t making them at home, we’re more likely to order them when dining out.
- The term “Girl Dinner” isn’t what you think—it’s not like a girl’s night out, or a girl’s weekend. It’s meant as a way to describe the snacking style that makes dinner prep easy and yet elevated—so, think a charcuterie board with your favorite things. While people of all genders may be asking for meat and potatoes, a girl dinner is more experimental tidbits and exciting flavors. This is what we meant when we talked about “everything charcuterie” in our earlier story. You can do a butter board, a cheese board, a small bites board…and you can eat it alone or with a group. Yes, you can even send yourself flowers.
- Fancy has its place, but people still make peanut butter sandwiches and consider it a meal. We’re seeing upscale and unusual ingredients being talked about (including sea urchin, which we consider an acquired taste), but when push comes to shove, people are still taking home fried chicken and ordering pizza. After all, dragonfruit makes something look really special, but the taste isn’t always what people expect. We think some of this will shake out and that there is room for ALL the flavors and textures–they just need to settle into position outside of find dining.
These are just a few of the things we see moving around when it comes to food. The open discussions and sharing are the healthiest we’ve seen in a while, without rancor or one-upmanship. Let us know if you see something we should be tracking!