Time flies. They tell you as you get older it will go faster and they were right as it is now 2010, and the beginning of a new decade. So what’s on the horizon this year? I looked at a few different websites to find that out. There are many opinions and a few commonalities.
It seems consumers are finally speaking up and voicing their concerns and demands. With the introduction of the Food Network came new learning’s hidden talent and the now the foodie is not a person who is a food snob, but a person who likes and appreciates food. Learning about food is easier than ever. It is hard NOT to be a foodie!
Allergens, or going without them is becoming more standard on menus. The number of people looking for food free of allergens ranges from eggs to soy to dairy. Of the up and coming allergens, gluten seems to be leading the contest in causing health issues. Now personally I am very partial to gluten but there are some who have no choice. I’ve found that cookies and cakes can be almost as good and if necessary a pretty darn good alternative.
Another popular trend is the demand for clean labels. Ingredients consumers aren’t familiar with are now reason not to purchase familiar items. Clean labels are a huge push for 2010. The disconcerting consumer has taken an interest in avoiding anything “artificial”.
As I was researching, functional food and healthy eating kept popping up. It seems high fiber and high protein is a new diet trend. Super foods are still hot items for the nutrients they provide and the new buzzword is bioavailability which means how quickly something is available for use in the body after being absorbed or digested. Eating meals of a more vegetarian variety will be part of this movement which means more beans and whole grains.
And the last hot trend worth mentioning is in the dessert category. One of the new hot desserts this year will be whoppie pies. Nostalgia! The sandwich or pie crust of the whoppie pie is made with thin cakes and the filling is anything from cream cheese frosting, to whipped cream to buttercream. I’ve seen strawberry whoppie pies, chocolate, pumpkin, vanilla and lemon. Another dessert trend for this year is butterscotch. All I’ll say about that is blondies…macadamia nuts, some bittersweet chocolate and loads of butterscotch chips. This is just a few off the top, the few that stand out and I am seeing in my professional and personal life. Let me know if you see others worth mentioning, have tried anything new and great or new and well…less great. I’d love to hear!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
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