What’s On YOUR Plate? 2022 Food Trends
By Chris Astrala
Remember when kale was the new lettuce, quinoa the new rice and cauliflower the new mashed potato? We are constantly looking for that latest thing to tickle our taste buds and savor the next new thing to please our culinary whims. We’ve run down the most anticipated Food Trends for 2022 that will stand to shape how, why, and what we will be eating this year and perhaps beyond.
Potato milk
Could potato milk be the next big thing to disrupt the vegan milk alternatives sector? With alternative-milks like oat milk and almond milk continuing to penetrate the diary market, there is good reason to believe the hype that plant-based milk will continue to grow in popularity.
Globally Inspired Hot Flavors
Spicy flavors are getting even hotter in 2022. A spicy flavor profile with notes of sweetness is expected to become even more popular. Especially spicy and sweet heat inspired by global cuisines like Korean gochujang, Mexican tajin, Japanese furikake, or Indonesian sambal. All these hot sauces will be trending even more next year.
Ultra-Urban Farming and Indoor Gardening
Urban farming has nowhere to go but up. It has gone from hydroponics and aquaponics to mushrooms grown above grocery aisles.
With constant advances in technology and focus on sustainability and the environment, this trend is here to stay. Even more so, we absolutely should join this sustainability and locality movement and contribute to it as individuals. Did you know that it is very easy for perennial herbs to grow indoors? Even if you can’t cultivate a small garden, you can always investigate indoor gardening and have fresh herbs ready for your cooking!
CBD
The CBD market has seen an explosion of interest in recent years, thanks to the growing demand for healthy foods and CBD’s claimed benefits for mental health and wellness. Increasingly, however, CBD products are moving away from the health food shops and into drinks and food products, so it is certainly an area worth exploring for fine food retailers.
The Reducetarian Movement: Moderation and Acceptance
There are so many trendy dietary restrictions based on personal convictions these days… A lot of those are rather exclusive and extreme. We believe that the future is all about moderation and acceptance. You might have heard about flexitarians – a combination of the words “flexible” and “vegetarian.” It’s a cross between going full vegan or vegetarian with the ability to enjoy meat and dairy every so often. Believe it or not, most of us are already unconsciously members of this movement for different reasons, be it environmental awareness or being committed to improving one’s health. So, what does being a reducetarian mean, and how do you become a “reducetarian”? Suppose you aren’t ready to go completely vegetarian or vegan but still want to reduce your animal products consumption to help the planet or improve your health. In that case, the reducetarian movement is for you.
Many reducetarians also prioritize eating high-quality grass-fed meat and pasture-raised eggs when they choose to have animal products. The Reducetarian movement’s goal is to improve human health, protect the environment, and spare farm animals from cruelty by reducing societal consumption of animal products. Want to try the trend?
Moringa
The new superfood moringa is also known as drumstick tree, horseradish tree, or “miracle leaf,” and it’s all the rage right now. Moringa leaves are incredibly nutritious and have seven times more vitamin C than oranges and fifteen times more potassium than bananas. Even the World Health Organization hails this healthy green leaf for its ability to fight malnutrition. Moringa is now emerging as a powder (same as matcha once did) you can add to healthy smoothies, sauces, or desserts. It can be found as a health supplement, and you will be seeing moringa in many grocery products like grain blends, protein bars, chocolate, and frozen desserts.
Functional Sparkling Fizz
Functional foods have been trending for a few years by now. Sparkling beverages are already doing double duty because of the ever-so-popular healthy lifestyle craze. Kombucha is no longer the only healthy bubbly drink. Get ready to see more probiotic sodas, prebiotic tonic waters, and other sparkling functional beverages appearing in 2022 as one of the major food trends.
Turmeric
Turmeric is more than just an ingredient in curry. It has long been known as a dietary supplement with anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting properties. No surprise that this famed golden spice with additional benefits is becoming even more popular in the coming year. Turmeric, also known as Curcuma or saffron, is becoming a common ingredient in cereal and granola, salads, sauerkraut, bread, and even ice cream. Turmeric has a very distinct earthy taste, with mild notes of ginger and peppery spice. Mix it with cumin, ginger, cinnamon, paprika, or coriander and add more flavor to stews, soups, rice, or even smoothies, homemade functional fizz, and coffee.
Hibiscus
Hibiscus has been long known by tea consumers, famous for its high Vitamin C content. It’s a beautiful flower grown on almost every continent. There are over 200 varieties of hibiscus, and it is also commonly known as roselle, Jamaican sorrel, or Florida cranberry.
Get ready to find hibiscus-flavored functional sodas, fruit spreads, yogurts, and more. The pleasant mild tartness with notes of florals and fruits mixes well with ground spices like cloves, cardamom, anise, ginger, and cinnamon. You can easily incorporate hibiscus into many sweet treats, like this Strawberry Hibiscus Syrup or this Hibiscus Ginger Morning Smoothie.
Yuzu Fruit
Yuzu is a citrus fruit mainly cultivated in Japan, Korea, and China. Yuzu fruit can’t be enjoyed as is because of its potent flavor. It is very sour and tart and amazingly fragrant. Currently, yuzu fruit is taking the culinary world by storm. Yuzu’s zest and juice are great flavoring agents used in vinaigrettes, mayo, hard seltzer, and more. Many chefs incorporate it into cakes, soups, noodles, vegetable, and fish dishes. The yuzu fruit is bound to be a star of 2022 fruit grocery aisles.
Childhood Favorites
Nostalgia and retro flavor follow us into 2022. This is a countertrend to the health-focused and experience-driven trends dominating our list.
We all have a strong connection between flavors, smells, and good memories. Old-fashioned dishes remind us of a comfortable and carefree time. This food fad is here to stay for years to come. It is about simplicity and full flavors instead of complicated diets and the newest superfoods. Nostalgic throwback recipes like Classic Macaroni and Cheese, Apple Cinnamon Pop-Tarts, Homemade Sloppy Joes, and Nutella Chocolate will continue trending in the future.
Tropical Getaway
We are looking to escape from the stressful realities by adding more tropical flavors into our foods. Most culinary experts agree that tropical fruit flavors and islands cuisines will rise in popularity next year. Think the Caribbean guava, tropical mango, coconut curry, and more culinary escapes to the tropics.
Non-Alcoholic Beverages
We aren’t just talking about an uninspired mocktail (we are looking at your vodka soda, minus the vodka), but delicious drinks that were fully designed to have no ABV. Loads of people are abstaining from alcohol permanently or just trying it on for weekdays, and 2022 is the year for them. People are spending less time drinking and more time searching for an alternative.
Smaller Menus
Because of supply chain issues and just general pandemic madness, we’ve seen restaurants really pare down their menus, and we think the trend this is here to stay for a while longer. Honestly, we love when a restaurant’s menu has fewer options that are done well. Give me less choices, and better food!
More Robots Servers
2021 brought the dawn of robot servers, bus bots, delivery drivers, and butchers, but we think soon enough, robots could be cooking your eggs and waffles at the hotel breakfast bar. Robots bring automation to the dining experience, which could result in a faster and more consistent product… so it’s not all spooky and sci-fi!
Mushrooms
As noted with the plant-based trend, more people are looking for healthy meat replacements that taste delicious. Long-standing vegetarians and vegans have this to say: Have you considered mushrooms? The hearty texture and absorbent quality of mushrooms imitate that meatiness we sometimes crave so much. In 2022, we expect to see an uptick in recipes that call on mushrooms to replace meats.
Normalizing Plant-Based Menu Options
While exclusively vegan and vegetarian restaurants and online resources solely dedicated to vegan and vegetarian recipes and lifestyles are not new, we believe that 2022 will take normalizing plant-based meals to the next level. We’ve already seen Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat infiltrate the menus of fast-food chains. Recently, some brands have made serious strides in creating seafood made of plants, too. We even saw Gordon Ramsey make vegan bacon on TikTok. 2022 should bring even more plant-based “meat” and “seafood” products to life (so to speak), making a vegetarian diet ever more attainable and exciting. Adding a new lineup of vegetarian and vegan-friendly options offering food that works for everyone will become a common practice.
