The top five food trends for 2011 were picked by a panel of trendspotters at the 57th Summer Fancy Food Show, held July 10-12 in Washington, D.C. The three-day event is the largest marketplace for specialty foods and beverages in North America. The exhibit halls at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center were filled to capacity with as many as 180,000 products, including the latest in single-origin chocolate, artisanal cheese, olive oil, salsas, snacks, teas and spice blends.
Identified trends were:
Booze-Infused Foods
- Chili Lime Tequila Tortilla Brittle, Anette’s Chocolates
- Happy Goat Scotch Caramel Sauce, Happy Goat Caramels
- Roasted Peach Whiskey Sauce, Stonewall Kitchen
Give-it-a Try Kits
- Grow Your Own Mushroom Garden, Back to the Roots
- Mozzarella Cheese Making Kit, Roaring Brook Dairy
- Warm Belgian Chocolate Soufflé Kit, My Cup of Cake
Popped Food
- Black Truffle & White Cheddar Popcorn, 479 Degrees Popcorn
- Bourbon Infused All Natural Popcorn, Metropolitan Bakery
- Air-Popped Sorghum Grain, Mini Pops
Japanese-Inspired Eats
- Yuzu Gummy Pandas, Bissinger’s Handcrafted Chocolatier
- Tonton Hibachi Japanese Steak and Barbecue Sauce with Sake, Argo Century, Inc.
- Matcha and Sencha Teas, Rishi Tea
Cherries
- Bada Bing Cherries, Tillen Farms
- Spiced Sour Cherry Spread, The Gracious Gourmet
- CocoNova Cherry Cacao, Honest Tea
Other trends identified at the Summer Fancy Food Show included coconut in food and beverages, salts from around the globe and innovative dairy products such as goat milk yogurt.
The trendspotters were Kara Nielsen, The Center for Culinary Development, Rachel Mount, O, The Oprah Magazine; Denise Purcell, Specialty Food Media/foodspring.com; Joe Yonan, The Washington Post; Nancy Wall Hopkins, Better Homes & Gardens; Nycci Nellis, The List Are You On It, Foodie and the Beast Radio; Bonnie Benwick, The Washington Post; Miri Rotkovitz, About.com; Joan Nathan; author and contributor to The New York Times; Diane Welland, food and nutrition writer.
Source: NASFT
