2016 was about seaweed, churros, cactus water, seeds and grains, veggan diets… Now it’s the time of year when the foodie trends are predicted, and 2017 has thrown out some suggestions you need to know now.
1/ Polynesian food
Hawaiian poke – a raw fish salad marinated with lime, soy and sesame, and often served with rice – looks likely to be next year’s go-to snack, just like sushi. It’s healthy – just ensure the raw fish is refrigerated appropriately.
2/ Foodie meal kits
Meal kits with premeasured, prepped ingredients and a recipe are having a moment right now. These are popular with the health conscious that enjoy good quality of food but are time poor
3/ Lighter eating
The lighter, fresher the ingredients the better. Swap heavy cream sauces, for example, for vegetable purées. This trend appears to relate to calorie and nutritional awareness. Puree is much lighter, tastier alternative, providing extra nutrients and bioactives.
4/ Vegetable yogurt
In the US, they’re infusing the flavours of carrot, beetroot, sweet potato and tomato into yogurt for a savoury accompaniment to all sorts of food. The present trend is to encourage our palates to appreciate savory as well as sweeter flavours.
5/ Perfume-inspired cocktails
Pick your favourite scent and then sip on the corresponding cocktail – sounds bazaar enough? Floral cocktails appear to be hitting some high end bars in London, based on some of the best-loved fragrances.
6/ Watermelon water
Coconut water has been a huge success in 2016 whilst watermelon could be the next big thing, for this to health trend to be sustained, we need solid science showing just why drinking this may be beneficial to health.
7/ Occasional extreme indulgence never goes wrong!
This Australian invention of milkshake piled high with brownies, cream, cookie dough and marshmallows, is currently all over social media. These freakshakes appear to be a social trend where you can go out and indulge with friends, and then tweet the pic.