10 Current Food Trends We're Totally Over & 10 We'd Like To See More Of
What's The Deal With Yuzu?
The food industry is a constantly changing organism. Ingredients, diets, and dishes come in and go out of fashion more often than clothes in a store. Once something catches on in a top restaurant, copycats pop up everywhere until it feels like you can't escape it at any restaurant. Here are some of our least favorite food fads we wish would taper out already and some we want to keep going forever.
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1. Adding Activated Charcoal To Things
Since it was first used as an ice cream flavor in Toronto in 2017, restaurants can't seem to get enough of this ingredient. Sure, it colors food a striking black, but other than a slightly burnt flavor, it doesn't taste like much and we're sick of seeing it.
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2. Cookie Croissant
The cookie croissant is like an almond croissant but with cookie dough instead of almond cream. A plain croissant already has so much butter and sugar so it's no wonder this amalgamation is far too heavy and sweet for our taste.
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3. Tapas-Style Everything
Gone is the era when you can just go to a nice restaurant and order a proper plate of food. We like small plates as much as the next person, but it's just annoying when every single restaurant serves food like this.
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4. Savoury Waffles & French Toast
This may be an unpopular opinion but we think waffles and French toast should only be served sweet. This trend has made it hard to find these plates without a hunk of meat on top.
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5. Yuzu
A yuzu is basically a Japanese lemon. It's used in the same way as citrus fruits and we're pretty sure chefs just like to put them on the many because it sounds fancy.
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6. Anise
A lot of people don't like anise, or the herb that black licorice is made from so, quite frankly, it's surprising to see it used in so many dishes and cocktails these days. Maybe it's one of those love it or hate it kind of things.
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7. Gluten Free
It's weird that this diet trend has stuck around as long as it has. Gluten is just the protein found in wheat and some other grains. It's not actually bad for you unless you have an allergy but somehow, so many people have hopped on the annoying gluten free bandwagon.
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8. Lower Alcohol Wines & Beers
We get the no alcohol trend and we get why people like drinking alcohol from time-to-time too, but the low alcohol products are head-scratchers. It's not one or the other, it's a (usually) watery middle ground that pleases no one.
9. Salted Chocolate
Salt on chocolate can be good. However, it's gotten out of hand. You can't walk into a bakery nowadays and get a simple cholocate chip cookie without it adorning some flakes of fleur de sel.
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10. Kale Caesar Salads
We know kale is super healthy, just leave it out of our caesar salads. It's often far too overpoweringly bitter and fibrous for such a salad.
Now that we've talked about the food trends we hate, let's go over some of the positive ones that should stick around.
1. Black Garlic
Black garlic has been aged in a controlled environment. It became a super trendy menu item used in everything from chocolate to sauces and soups. The aging process discolors, softens, and changes the flavor to be sweeter and less pungent, kind of like roasted garlic but better.
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2. Reducetarian Eating
Reducetarian eating is the practice of eating less meat. We like it because it's healthy for our diets and the environment without being overly restrictive. It also makes way for innovative vegetable-forward dishes allowing chefs to push themselves creatively as opposed to always relying on tired old fare like steak frites.
3. Fermented Foods
Restaurants like Noma in Denmark brought fermentation to a whole new level when they insisted on using hyper-local ingredients, even through the harsh nordic winters. If ten years previously you would only see pickled onions and kimchi on high-end restaurant menus, now chefs are really pushing the envelope, fermenting anything they can imagine and we are totally on board!
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4. Butter Boards
A new genius trend in 2024 that makes humble butter the star is the butter board. Decoratively smear a cutting board with butter and add flavorings like spices, lemon zest, and edible flowers. Serve it with a good quality loaf of sourdough bread for a tasty and eye-catching appetizer.
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5. Lightly Sweetened Beverages
It's nice to see cocktails like tequila sunrise and sex on the beach finally go out of style. People are opting for far less sugar in their drinks and more "adult flavors" like herbs and tart citrus fruits.
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6. Orange Wines
If you haven't tried an orange wine, don't walk, run and buy one. Orange wines are made from white grapes but in the style of red wine, meaning the grape skins are kept intact. They have a more robust, sour, and funky flavor than other wines and we're obsessed.
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7. Funky Mushrooms
It's nice to see people getting creative with mushrooms. Every time you go to a restaurant these days there seems to be at least one dish with fungi as the star, and it's not just shiitake: they often use varieties you've never even heard of before.
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9. Passionfruit
Passionfruit has long been a popular flavor in South American and Asian cuisine but we're just ecstatic that it's making itself more known in North American restaurants. Its juice is very tart and refreshing with a striking bright orange color. It works great in cocktails and desserts like mousse cake and sorbet.
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10. Eco-Conscious Foods & Packaging
Last but definitely not least, nothing in the food world makes us happier than seeing all the efforts to minimize food waste, use biodegradable packaging, and source ingredients more responsibly. The food industry is one of the largest in the world so minimizing its footprint could make a big impact.
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