Looking at the food trends that might make it big this year, first up on the menu of possibilities is seaweed. There was a time when most people’s experience of seaweed was on the beach; in sushi; or being served up fried cabbage in a Chinese restaurant with the side-dish described as ‘seaweed’); or perhaps using agar plates in a laboratory.
Nowadays, seaweed based foods are increasingly found in supermarkets. The next step with the seaweed twist is organic seaweed spaghetti and in the U.K. retail giant Tesco are set to offer the marine-inspired foodstuff on shelves. Some industry analysts predict that seaweed will become the ‘superfood’ of 2017, to replace kale. Seaweed is a rare example of a non-animal product that is rich in vitamin B12 and the algae generally contains a lot of calcium and iron.
Move over coconut water, welcome to cactus water. Cactus water made from prickly pear cactus and it is apparently high in antioxidants (taurine), together with some vitamins, and minerals. In terms of safety, cactus water should always be purchased from a reputable source. The water needs to be heat treated prior to consumer sale, otherwise there is a risk of becoming sick. As to the taste, it is described as “fruit like” by Elle magazine.
With general food trends, The Guardian predicts Hawaiian raw fish salad and American-style vegetable yogurts will be a popular food, with people washing down the culinary delights with liberal quantities of watermelon juice. A cheese-themed trend is smorging, which hails from Scandinavia., and involves the use of a smörgasbord. The idea is to assemble a range of different cheeses together – sweet, sour salty – together with pickles and other assortments, and to indulge the tasting experience with friends. Smørrebrød (open sandwiches) are then created from the different components. The video below explains more.
As well as Matcha, butter, beets, botanicals, according to Forbes, edible cannabis is expected to grow in the U.S. market. This follows an expected $22 billion in sales by 2020 with nine states approving cannabis for recreational use and another 21 for medicinal use. In several establishments cannabis brownies have started to appear on menus in some U.S. cities.
