More“Veggies have long been saddled with second-class citizen status, suffering from overcooking, oversaucing and lack of inspiration,” says the report. “Those days are finally over, thanks to the enthusiasm of chefs, the quality of seasonal produce and the unstoppable growth of fresh markets.”
New vegetable combinations that will catch consumers’ eyes this year include eggplant with honey and harissa, a hot chili sauce originating from Tunisia.
Chefs will embrace traditional cuisines while consumers will continue questing for innovative textures and innovative flavor combinations in the foods they buy, says the report.
In the recently released Landmark Global Flavor Forecast, the Sparks, Md.-based company finds that chefs around the world plan to embrace traditional cuisines and techniques, experimenting with new flavor profiles, incorporating vegetables and keeping preparations simple this year.
Heirloom flavors are emerging alongside heirloom grains like freekeh and farro. McCormick chose to highlight offerings such as Sofrito, the aromatic base for many Latin dishes, as one of the hot dishes this year. Korean pepper paste also took center stage in the report.
These heirloom flavors bases transition well into the next trend, the quest for the ultimate. In the report, McCormick finds that foodies and average consumers alike will seek out innovative texture and flavor combinations like dill with mint, melon and cucumber.
Despite the sudden interest in new “old” foods and new flavor profiles, chefs have moved away from offering consumers complex dishes and are now offering simpler preparations like ginger with coconut, according to the report.
A PDF of the report is available at http://bit.ly/xxi5vx.
