Asian foods, ugly fruits amongst trends for 2015

Sterling-Rice Group’s (SRG) Culinary Team, led by Culinary director Kara Nielsen, names the 10 culinary trends to hit restaurant menus and expand onto grocery shelves, across the U.S. next year.

Food preferences will be driven by a continued interest in global cuisines, balanced nutrition, community connections, and a desire for adventurous eating experiences.

1.             Advanced Asian: From Filipino food to a new generation of Thai, a host of more complex and true-to-region Asian foods will dominate.

2.             Matcha Madness: The Japanese matcha, a nutrient powerhouse green tea, will come in convenient formats like lattes, sodas, and ready-to-drink cans.

3.             Cannabis Cuisine: Edible marijuana come to states where the substance is legal. New, sophisticated options from gluten-free baked goods and confections to bottled cold-brewed coffee and flavored syrups.

4.             Hop-Free Suds: Craft brewers are making unhopped beers with herbs, spices, and bitter plants yielding unique and intriguing flavors instead of hoppy bitterness.

5.             Incendiary Charcoal: Look for more excitement around Asian styles of super-hot burning charcoal as well as charcoal colouring and enhancing breads, crackers, and even cosmetics.

6.             The Local Grain Network: Products made from freshly milled flour are making their way to consumers thanks to the growing network of farmers, bakers, and chefs committed to local grain production.

7.             Coconut Sugar Sweetness: Boasting a lower glycemic index than white sugar makes coconut sugar popular among consumers—from natural food fans to sweets-loving Paleos to Southeast Asian food lovers—looking for better-for-you foods.

8.             Farm to Table Kosher: With keeping kosher on the rise, kosher food businesses address consumer demand to eat in more sustainable, conscious, and cultural ways.

9.             The Hunger Games—Restaurant Edition: Dining concept incubators create lively experiences where curious diners test experimental eateries and vote with their forks in revolving pop-up settings or hip dining parks.

10.          The Ugly Fruit & Vegetable Movement: Misshapen and funny-looking produce will no longer get picked over as food resourcefulness and efforts to combat hunger come into sharper focus.

The company’s proprietary research is based on key societal shifts affecting consumer behaviour around food, the predictions provide insight for food industry companies to better develop, position, market, and sell food products.