I love trying new foods so I am always interested in what the new food crazes are forecast to be each year. Many are so contrived I wouldn’t dream of trying them, but others are re-workings of old favorites, new innovations, or discoveries from other countries and all can be delicious! Here are some I found appealing in this year’s predicted food trends.
Ramen is no longer only dorm food. There are ramen shops in NYC and San Francisco and many more to come in cities around the U.S. Restaurants will be featuring custom bowls (DIY ramen) with your choice of vegetables, cooked in a wok or steamer, or on a grill and seasoned with spices you choose. Asian noodles in general will become wildly popular and not just the wheat versions. Non-wheat noodles will be the 2015 trend. Soba, cellophane and rice noodles are examples.
What a perfect comfort food for a cold winter night!
Image from http://blog.getfoodgenius.com
Cauliflower will be the new kale. It will still be used as a side but also as the primary ingredient in main courses. It is a versatile vegetable that can be roasted, fried, baked, sautéed, grilled steamed and even made into pizza crust. As a vegetarian option, chefs will use cauliflower like steak. Many found kale bitter and I like this cauliflower trend because as a bland-tasting food, it can take on any flavor it is cooked with.
Image from http://blogs.kcrw.com
Insects (see our earlier article) will be ground up and used as important protein-packed ingredients. JetBlue is rumored to start serving energy bars made with ground cricket powder on some of its flights this year.
Move over soy, here come the peas. Peas are high in protein, fiber, folate, potassium, iron and magnesium. And, they taste good! Look for food enhanced with pea protein like cereals, bars and health drinks. Try these delicious freeze-dried peas as snacks. They are delectable!
Bing Bread (also known as shaobing) is a Chinese flaky flatbread usually eaten at breakfast or brunch. It is a favorite 2015 trend of Bon Appetit and can be creatively prepared. At one restaurant in Chicago, it is made with baked potato and stuffed with scallions and bacon and topped with sour cream butter.
Gyros, those delicious Greek sandwiches made with pita bread wrapped around spit-roasted meat and lathered with tzatziki are taking center stage. Tzatziki is a Greek sauce served with grilled meats and made from strained yogurt mixed with cucumbers, garlic, salt and olive oil. Just delicious!
Note: The traditional Greek way of serving a gyro is with French fries inside the rolled pita!
Image from www.oasisde.com
Savory Yogurt like Butternut Squash yogurt from Blue Hill and Chobani will be heavily marketed, capitalizing on the push for people to consume more vegetables. Blue Hill also offers tomato, beet and carrot yogurt. Chobani offers spinach and garlic dip yogurt, cucumber yogurt and mint leaves yogurt. There will be yogurt topped with hummus, chickpeas and olive oil. For those who secretly love baby food, maybe these are a good replacement?
Kolache is a hybrid pastry made from Czech fruit-filled dough pockets and Texas-influenced fillings like sausage, jalapeño and cheese, or smoked beef with cheddar. There is a restaurant in Brooklyn called King Kolache that offers twenty varieties.
Image from www.popsugar.com
Smoked Foods are going to become very popular in 2015 according to the food experts. We just met a nifty hand-held food smoking gadget called The Smoking Gun. I’m not sure how I’ve lived without it for so long! It easily infuses foods with natural smoke from applewood or hickory without the heat from extra cooking. It adds a smoky flavor either before or after cooking.
Other top 2015 food trends are predicted to be oysters, pistachios, anything fermented and sour, and kalettes (kale sprouts).
