Our food contributor, Christine from
Gastronomic Misadventures, scoped out the latest in the food industry in the foodie haven, Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco last January. Find out what the food trends to watch out for are in 2020:
1. Traditional foods reinvented
An ingredient that is a regular staple in your kitchen has been amped up by numerous food suppliers. Some of which have mixed them with other major ingredients or have cooked them in another technique, resulting into a different flavor. A few of those who embraced this trend are
Unio's cava wine vinegar from Spain, which is perfect for pickled vegetables, and
Anya's Apothekere's fermented honey sauce that is great for meats.
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| Cava wine vinegar from Spain. Sweet with a warm tingly sensation. |
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| Fermented honey sauce on chicken wings. |
2. Under-the-radar superfoods
The superfood trend is not going to wane any time soon since there are so many that have yet to make it to the mainstream Western market. This year's Winter Fancy Food Show suggests that the next superfoods that are under the Western radar are coming mostly from Asia, beginning with
Ashapops' popped water lily seeds, an LA-based company which traces their roots in India,
Pocasville's dragon fruit chips, and
Matoh's cassava chips. The latter two's main ingredient are common in Southeast Asia.
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| Lily pods, anyone? |
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| Another kale chips in the making- dragon fruit chips! |
3. New packaging that makes food easier to procure and store
With some fresh ingredients difficult and sometimes expensive to procure, a few companies have created new alternatives to make certain ingredients easier to travel with and store for a longer shelf life. Whether it is
air dried kaffir lime leaves or a toothpaste-like
lavender paste from Taylor & Colledge, these items are packed with intense flavor.
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| Kaffir lime and banana blossom are both hard to find in the US. |
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| A pea-size of the lavender, for instance, will go a long way. |
4. Health and wellness elixirs
For tea addicts, there is another reason to add one or more flavors to your tea collection. Tea infusions, such as
Republic of Tea's Clean Beauty with
sea buckthorn berry, aloe vera, hibiscus, rose hip and milk thistle, combine multiple healthy ingredients to target concerns, specifically anti-aging, while wellness shots, such as
Haymaker's elderberry, strengthen the immune system.
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| Another one to stock up for your anti-aging regimen. |
5. Upcycling
Sustainability has been a hot topic in recent years not only in the food industry but also in beauty, retail, and others. Oakland-based
Renewal Mill takes food sustainability to heart with its upcycled products, which is generated from recycling food manufacturing byproducts, such as their chocolate chip cookie made with okara, a byproduct of soymilk production, flour.
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| Renewal Mill's okara flour |
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