There are big changes coming to the way people will eat
in the new year. Are you ready for what 2023 will be serving?
If you haven't noticed already, there's been an increase in ways to preserve the earth
for future generations. In other words, it's what the EPA calls sustainability.
According to Active Sustainability, there are three pillars that need to be addressed on a
global scale: environmental, social, and economic. But getting everyone on the same page is kind of
a feat in itself. Environmental sustainability entails conservation, using renewable resources,
eating zero-waste foods, and being thoughtful about sustainable architecture and travel.
Social sustainability means all cultures have access to good healthcare, education,
and quality of life. Economic sustainability means that the above sustainable practices generate a
profit for all individuals. All types of sustainability are on the rise for 2023.
How does this affect food trends? One example is that the 2021-2022 fishing season for red king
crab was canceled, as noted on Seafood Source. The reason? Dwindling biomass, or rather,
not enough mature females and too many mature males. This number has apparently been on a
steady decline since 2019. If you purchase sustainable seafood — or meat products in
general — you're helping maintain the population and also aiding in ecosystem preservation.
Thanks to inflation, plant-based meat sales have seen a decline over the past few months,
as noted by the Food Institute. But that doesn't mean faux meat is disappearing anytime soon. While
it's true that the market is saturated with a plethora of different refrigerated veggie-meat
brands, what customers are showing interest in is sustainable, affordable,
and flavorful plant-based seafood options. In the past, offerings were limited. While companies like
Gardein have been in circulation with f'shless fillets and cr'b cakes, more and more convincing
faux seafood companies are catching a ride on the sustainable plant-based seafood wave.
"Until I know who the real Mr. Krabs is, nobody moves, nobody gets hurt."
In addition to more seafood-friendly faux-fish options, consumers of veggie meats
and plant-based products are also demanding more transparency when it comes to listing ingredients,
according to Supermarket Perimeter. Customers are looking for what is commonly referred to as
"clean labeling," writes the Institute of Food Technologies. Unfortunately,
there's not an officially designated definition for what makes a clean label a clean label. But
the folks at Grande Custom Ingredients Group break it down nicely, stating that such food
items should contain minimal ingredients, which are free from additives, chemicals, or synthetic
nastiness. Taking it one step further, ingredient transparency tells consumers where the ingredients
came from, if they were ethically sourced, the company's environmental impact, and so on.
According to Forbes, consuming alcohol-free drinks is trending on an upward swing. Over the pandemic,
society as a whole became more aware of how food and drinks truly affect the body,
and abstaining from alcohol was one of those main topics.
But what are you supposed to do if you want to engage in some social drinking but don't want to
possibly overindulge? That's where nootropics come in. When broken down, the word "noos" pertains
to "mind," while "tropein" means "to monitor." Also called cognitive enhancers, as noted by the
Alcohol and Drug Foundation, these synthetic substances are both prescription-based and
available over the counter. Ginkgo, B12, 5-HTP, L-Theanine, and even caffeine are all considered
to be nootropics, and they are all being added to different drinkable concoctions. Not only are
they a viable substitute for alcoholic beverages, but nootropic drinks are believed to help improve
memory and reduce stress. Grand Market Research reports that the nootropics market, in general, is
expected to reach over $29 billion by 2028, with drinkable cognitive helpers leading the trend.
These unassuming legumes are known for being the main ingredient in hummus. They're also pretty
neutral when it comes to flavor and color and are gluten-free, low fat, high in protein, and
fairly inexpensive. Their wide availability makes them a great source for individuals following a
plant-based diet. Chickpeas are also high in fiber, zinc, choline, magnesium, and folate.
On the sustainability front, chickpeas are a favored crop by farmers. This is
because these little legumes excel at returning nitrogen back to the soil,
which means bigger, better, healthier crops. Because they are so good at making soil happy,
they're often used as rotational crops, according to Vegconomist. But their usefulness doesn't stop
there. The liquid found in canned chickpeas is called aquafaba. This rather flavorless brine
can actually be used as an egg substitute in baked goods, which can even be whipped up for meringues.
First, there was regular dairy cow milk. Then, there was nut milk. Next, came milk made from
grains, which was then followed by seed milk. It's only natural that we'd progress to potato milk,
right? While some of you might not be dying to try this starchy vegetable-based beverage, those
of you ready to hop on the potato milk express will have to wait. According to Business Insider,
this product is only available in China, the U.K., and Sweden. Unfortunately, potato milk
is not available in the United States ... yet. But that could easily change in the near future.
So why potatoes? It actually makes a lot of sense, especially in terms of sustainability. DUG,
the company responsible for potato milk, states that potatoes truly are a humble and fuss-free
crop. Not only can they grow almost anywhere, but they're also space smart compared to other
crops like oats or rice. When it comes to water, the independent research blog HEALabel reports
that it takes 34 gallons of water to produce a pound of potatoes and 451 gallons to produce 1
pound of soy milk. In comparison, 1 pound of shelled almonds uses 1,929 gallons of water.
According to Mushroom Appreciation, there are over 10,000 different types of mushrooms we know about,
and many more that we don't. They're classified into four subtypes, which dictate how they feed:
saprotrophs, mycorrhizae, parasites, and endophytes. Saprotrophs live off of decaying
matter and help break things down. Morels, buttons, shiitakes, and cremini are a few
that fall under this category. Mycorrhizae — truffles, porcini, and chanterelles — like to
hang out with other plants and trees and help them grow bigger and stronger, while their
foliage friends feed them sugars and nutrients. Parasites are what the name suggests. They prefer
a one-sided relationship, which isn't very nice, but they still taste delicious. Endophytes are
strange fungi that share characteristics with other types but remain rather mysterious.
Mushrooms are being used in everything from textiles to food to packaging and even water
capturing, says Engineering & Technology. They're also being utilized as the main ingredient for
a lot of plant-based seafood. HEALabel notes that mushrooms have almost no carbon footprint,
and Lacademie writes that they could even be beneficial for treating depression.
"As long as the dude has the lost mushroom, he's too powerful."
2023 is going to be the year of complex, layered, and unfamiliar flavors,
as Strategy Online writes. At least, flavors that are unfamiliar to most people living in
the United States. You might've seen a lot of vibrant purple desserts,
or you may have heard about baked goods made from something called ube. According to Kapwa Gardens,
this purple yam has been part of the Filipino foodie culture for over 400 years. Ube is a
tuber that's high in vitamins A, C, and E and is a great source of potassium and fiber. According
to research published in 2019 by MDPI, it could even carry cancer fighting properties.
Yuzu is another food that you might have seen gracing the shelves at your
local Whole Foods or Trader Joe's. This small Japanese citrus fruit looks like
a mandarin orange but tastes a bit like a grapefruit. Yuzu is high in vitamin C,
but unlike limes or lemons, it doesn't contain much juice ... and the seeds are
pretty big. It works well with sparkling water or in mocktails and cocktails.
If you've had the pleasure of eating lychee, you'll never forget the taste or texture.
Though 2020 wasn't the best year for lychee farmers, according to Mordor Intelligence,
this floral-tasting fruit is seeing demand across Europe.
Have you heard of a butter board? It's like a charcuterie board, but not really.
"Wait wait wait wait wait a minute…"
"What what what?"
"Do I have to ask?"
A butter board has three basic needs: a wooden serving or cutting board,
a dizzying amount of butter, and something for dipping, like crostini, pita, or breadsticks.
Once you've acquired these three items, the remaining ingredients are up to you.
According to The New York Times, the butter board trend originated on TikTok and quickly
escalated. Moreover, Forbes reports that there are a few health hazards associated
with this trend. If the board you're using hasn't been sealed or has any cracks,
it could be a breeding ground for bacteria, which may cause food poisoning. If you're
hosting a party and have one of these on display, you'll have to watch out for double dippers and
flying foes like bugs or pet fur. Plus, that's just really a lot of butter to eat.
People love simple flavors that complement one
another. We also enjoy creating our own linguistics, which, if trendy enough,
can eventually end up in Merriam-Webster's lexicon. As of this video, the adjective
"swicy" — a combination of sweet and spicy — has yet to be added to the global glossary.
Swicy foods have seen a surge of interest over the past few years,
and just like the slow and lingering burn of a ghost chili, that captivation isn't showing
any sign of letting up. In particular, spice blends like chaat masala and mangonada are being
fanned by the flames of trending flavors. Mangonada is almost like a Mexican sorbet,
incorporating blended mango, chili lime salt, chamoy sauce, lime juice, and sugar.
Fermented foods have long been coveted for their probiotic and overall health
benefits. And according to SpoonShot, they are seeing another upswing in popularity.
But although these funkalicious foods have already experienced a rise and
fall in interest over the past decade or so, this time around, they're not necessarily
showing up in their true form. They're also arriving with a compatible flavor partner.
Like swicy flavors, there's another trending taste combination on the rise that will purportedly be
a fusion of sweet combined with funky fermentation flavors known as umami.
When we talk about fermented foods, you might automatically think of sauerkraut
or some sort of pickled vegetable. But foods like miso are projected to hit it big in 2023.
A 2018 release by The Fermentation Association projected that fermented foods and flavors were
expected to rise from over $635 billion to upwards of $888 billion by 2023. McCormick
Flavor Solutions has even put out a line of blended seasonings that combine rich,
sweet, and decadent with the salty, umami-forward miso.
Perhaps you've heard of the word "locavore." This term was first
grown back in 2005 and was essentially a challenge to see if San Franciscans could
only eat foods that were sourced within 100 miles of their city,
as noted on Holiable. A locavore engages in seasonal eating and prefers to eat ingredients
that have been grown within their city or county limits. This also keeps money circulating back
into the local economy and reduces carbon emissions from long-distance food travel.
Hyper-local food is grown or cultivated incredibly close to where it's being consumed, according to
Eco & Beyond. By "incredibly close," we're talking inside the city limits. The locations where the
fruits, veggies, and herbs are grown, however, aren't your typical plots of land. You can expect
to find these ingredients hydroponically grown in basements, vertically grown on the
sides of walls, or even flourishing on top of multi-level skyscrapers or hotels. Generally,
the amount of produce that's grown is only enough to sustain a few restaurants, which
means hyper-local produce is incredibly small scale. Small scale also means easier to oversee,
which means there's no need for pesticides or preservatives. Additionally, there's less
unnecessary spoilage, meaning less greenhouse gas from rotting food waste in landfills.
The ancient Greeks knew a thing or two about eating and drinking. You might've heard of
Hippocrates, otherwise known as the father of modern medicine. This is the guy who supposedly
coined "let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food," or something like that,
adds Science Direct. Well, Hippocrates lived over 2,400 years ago, so you'd think that we
would've taken his advice by now. Instead, we're over there mowing down on processed lunch meats,
deep-fried Twinkies, and, well, you get the idea.
"Deep-fried twinkie?"
"'fraid so."
But at least we are finally beginning to understand that food is medicine, right? While
we live in a culture that's rather obsessed with all sorts of wacky diets, you can expect that 2023
will be the major turning point for using foods to help heal the body and improve overall health and
wellness. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, there was, and continues to be, a surge of interest
in functional foods, which Healthline defines as foods that not only feed you but also heal
you. This trend doesn't show any signs of slowing down, so, as Flavor Sum predicts, also be on the
lookout for food and beverages that are infused with adaptogens, like ashwagandha, and even CBD.