Whether it’s a new way to eat bread and butter, a baking hack that’s gone viral on social media, or an innovative dish from an exciting, new upcoming chef, it’s always great fun following the latest food trends.
New food trends are popping up every week, so it can sometimes be challenging to keep track of all of them, including the good ones. Many die off quickly, but some are retained in menus, party plans, recipes, and food circles for a long time. Such are the trends this article explores; those which took hold in 2022 and are bound to influence how people do food in 2023 significantly.
Sustainable Food Supremacy
Sustainably sourced food items are something the modern-day consumer considers a hot topic. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, more and more people have been searching for sustainable goods in the last couple of years. Consumers are more aware of sustainable goods.
Sustainable products and foodstuffs will come in all textures, tastes, shapes, and sizes. You will have access to many sustainable food options when you visit the supermarket, with many products having different eco-friendly packaging.
Furthermore, with more apps now allowing you to track brands’ sustainability, 2023 will see more and more people starting to opt for sustainable food options.
Mood Food
Mood food is basically ordinary food that has cannabis. Content on mood food has been very popular on social media platforms for quite some time. It includes interesting marijuana-friendly recipes and channels on YouTube that specifically concentrate on creating cannabis-infused desserts, entrees, and even drinks and cocktails.
What started with gummies and brownies has become an entirely new realm of weed in the culinary space. Chefs and cooks across the globe are infusing cannabis into stocks, churning weed with butter, and roasting it with greens and veggies. There are even cannabis-infused beverage products and ice cream, so this trend is bound to hit new heights in 2023.
Super Seafood
In 2023, seafood is bound to become one of the most in-demand superfoods out there. Besides being a long-standing staple in most Asian cuisines, seafood is becoming increasingly popular among millennials and generation x thanks to its briny yet sweet and savory flavors and incredible health benefits.
However, when considering seafood trends in 2023, don’t think of fish or crustaceans; think of plant-based seafood. Everything from seaweed snacks to nori and green algae is gaining popularity among these two groups, and more people are finding out about their rich nutrient density. Because they have so many much-needed health benefits, nutritionists and healthy-eating activists are bound to recommend plant-based seafood a lot more in 2023. Diners and eateries are sure to follow suit, whipping up innovative seafood dishes that will capture the masses.
Low Alcohol Beverages and Mocktails
The year 2021 saw the rise of the sober-curious movement. The following year, functional or non-alcoholic beverages started making waves and featuring at the forefront of bars and retail stores alike. Gen X will further drive up this trend, demanding all low-alcohol beverage and mocktail options.
Yes, mocktails have always been there, the most famous being the Shirley Temple. So why the sudden interest, right? After surviving the covid pandemic lockdown mentality, people started thinking about the long-term health issues associated with some of the collective bad habits they picked up during that time. Many decided to drop alcohol altogether.
Tinned Fish
The tinned fish movement was popularized by the #HotGirlFood for summer hashtag on TikTok in 2022, and the trend has not yet gone away ever since. Tinned fish is loaded with Omega-3s, making it a tasty and nutrient-dense snack. You can expect to see more “seacuterie boards” at the party, tinned fish-of-the-month groups/clubs, and tinned fish cookbooks in 2023.
You can expect a continued rise in popularity of shareable, creative tinned fish spreads this year because it’s healthy and helps expand taste buds and horizons. That said, tinned fish will also start featuring in many home-cooked dishes. For instance, sardines are beginning to appear in tartines, pates, flatbreads, and even shakshuka.
“Swicy” Food
Swicy food is basically the combination of the sweet and spicy elements of certain foodstuffs. It is bringing together the sweet and spicy features in a single side, entrée, or dessert. Some examples of swicy foods include chili-dark chocolate products, hot honey, and even some kinds of hot chicken.
South Koreans have many swicy food options in their cuisine, including fried chicken covered in a blend of strawberry jam and hot sauce (Gochujang sauce). And thanks to the meteoric rise in popularity of Korean cuisine, this type of food doesn’t look to be going anywhere anytime soon.
Instead of glazing your ribs with normal caramel sauce, consider adding some fish sauce to the caramel sauce to add the swice element. Or you can blend your miso into your buttercream to use a cookie topper. These are some of the swicy combinations you’ll find in 2023.
Ube
This purple yam comes from the Philippines and is said to have a vanilla-adjacent, warm flavor. It’s a great seasonal ingredient in both savory entrees and desserts. There’s been growing interest in Ube from desert shops, bakeries, and even gastropubs for a long time. The best way to eat ube, according to most Filipinos and Hawaiians, is to eat it with spam. In fact, this combination is considered a go-to cultural food in parts of the Philippines and Hawaii.
Ube can be seen as a food fad-wise successor to the taro root. However, you shouldn’t confuse them because they’re two very different food items, with the main difference being the toxin in raw taro that you should avoid at all costs.
Takeaway
Many new food trends are set to pop up in 2023, but there are also many that’ll just jump over from the previous year. Either way, you can look forward to a very delicious year ahead. Hopefully, you know now what you need to keep an eye out for. Which trend excites you the most?
