Culinary Connection
Foods of Good Fortune
Around the world people consume certain foods after midnight to bring good health, wealth and happiness. Here are a few tasty traditions from other cultures.
Japan – Long noodles are eaten on New Year's Day in order to bring a long life.
One catch: You can't break the noodle before it is all in your mouth.
Southern US – Black-eyed peas are thought to bring prosperity, especially when
served with collard greens.
Italy – Lentils are thought to resemble coins and are eaten for good fortune in the
New Year.
Turkey & the Mediterranean – Pomegranates associated with abundance and
fertility are consumed.
Spain – Twelve grapes one for each month, the goal is to swallow all the grapes
before the last stroke of midnight.
Greece – Vasilopita cake contains a hidden coin or trinket, which blesses the
receiver with good luck.
France – Champagne. Of course!
For Every Season…
Seasonal feature flavors & fragrances are more than just a fun addition; they are a necessity for success… Consumers are looking for more variety year round. Seasonal programs are expanding to include ice cream, personal care, bakery, home fragrance and alcoholic beverages. Traditionally, seasonal offerings were focused on the fall and holidays, now companies are introducing seasonal flavors & fragrances for the winter, spring and summer.
Tea as the Hot New Flavor
Tea is not just for drinking anymore; it is showing up in some non-traditional places. Pastry chefs are churning out gourmet creations like Earl Grey Madeleine’s, chocolate mousse and crème brulee. Intrigue Chocolates Co. in Seattle has an entire line of tea infused truffles; examples include Awesome Assam and Jasmine Green. For a change of pace ice cream manufacturers are introducing flavors like Chai tea ice cream or raspberry hibiscus sorbet. Chefs are incorporating tea into spice rubs and using tea leaves to smoke meats and fish. When it comes to tea, think outside the cup!
Adding a Little Bling to Food with Edible Spray Paint
Want to impress your guests at a dinner party? Food Finish edible spray paint is great for that. The paint is packaged in a spray paint can to produce more even results when coating foods with a smooth texture. Why not create a chrome trout or gold-plated asparagus tips. It is completely harmless and tasteless to eat, to bring new luster to culinary creations. The product is available in Europe for now, due to shipping restrictions.
Source: The Daily News 11/7/11 via Trendland Magazine
Futuristic Chocolate
Chocolatiers continue to push the envelope with unique textures and savory flavor combinations. With the help of unconventional ingredients like chilis, pop rocks and even wasabi; Chocolatiers are able to create confections like hazelnut praline with pop rocks or dark chocolate infused with pasilla chile, cayenne pepper and cinnamon.
Make It a Diet-tini, Please
Hello, profit margins! Americans’ ever-present desire to indulge with fewer calories has hit liquor sales—increasing income for restaurateurs and distilleries alike. It started with low-calorie alcoholic drink menus at popular chain restaurants. The secret ingredient in these skinny cocktails is less alcohol, which means less calories for the consumer and less cost for the vendor. But the pricing is equivalent to full-calorie drinks. Sweet.
Ready to help bartenders push the low-cal libations is Slim Spirits, which began selling its Slim line of vodka, gin, tequila, whiskey, and rum in its home state of California. This summer it went national, with what the company calls an out-of-the-box diet cocktail program. Bottoms up!
Hot Fruit & Dessert trends
According to the December issue of Nation’s Restaurant News- Coconut and Pomegranate were trendy fruits in 2010 while miniature desserts, ice pops and Red Velvet Cake became dessert sensations for the year. Predicted to be the top dessert trend for restaurants in 2011 are sweet and savory pies in a variety of innovative formats to satisfy both old-fashioned tastes and today’s creative culinary expectations.
Fancy Food experts name top 5 Specialty Food Trends
From the January Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco, a panel of food experts have identified their top five specialty food trends for 2011. Trends include: chocolate for breakfast, foods for healing, new noodle varieties (yam, kelp, farro, spelt), heat with flavor and creative chips such as naan and pinto bean.
Unconventional dining experiences
As seen in the December issue of the Culinary Institute of America’s alumni magazine, fine dining can sometimes be found in unusual, extraordinary places. Ithaa on Rangali Island in the Maldives offers the world’s first all glass underwater dining with 180 degree panoramic views of the Indian Ocean. The Snow Castle of Kemi by the Gulf of Bothnia in Finland maintains a 23 degree temperature to sustain its locally designed architectural snow. Volterra, Italy is home to 500 year old Fortezza Medicea setting its dining experience inside a top security prison with criminals on staff, armed prison guards on watch and plastic tableware! Dining inside a treehouse restaurant is possible in New Zealand by way of a 33x40 foot wide architectural marvel situated on the edge of a forest above an open meadow and babbling stream. Dinner in the Sky, from a Belgium-based company, secures guests to their seats with multiple harnesses from 164 feet in the air while meals are prepared by chefs from an island at the table’s center.
2011 Top Trends for Flavor & Menu Development
According to Flavor & the Menu the following 10 trends are hot influences for the coming year:
- Top Ethno-Cuisine Trend: The New Urban Asian
(Pan-Asian style redefined as casual for broader appeal)
- Top Sandwich Trend: Grilled Cheese
(Classic comfort food nostalgia with creative culinary fillings)
- Top Technique Trend: Minding the Grind
(Customizing burgers to create unique, gourmet taste experiences)
- Top Ingredient Trend: Beans in the Limelight
(Besides abundant menu possibilities, beans providing nutrition & value)
- Top Culinary Trend: Sides Take the Lead
(With a continued health focus, vegetables are taking center stage)
- Top Grab & Go Trend: Savory Pastries
(Portable global/regional cuisine with untraditional filling options)
- Top Sauce Trend: The New Nimble Sauce
( Aioli, romesco and pesto – for dip, spread and topping customization)
- Top Comeback Trend: Mid-Century Modern
(Cuisine inspired by 1950’s and 1960’s classics)
- Top Dessert Trend: Ice Cream Innovations
(The perfect combination of classic nostalgia with grown-up flavor appeal)
- Top Beverage Trend: Mindful Mixology
(Better-for-you ingredients & flavors creating healthy beverage options)
Interactive Sake drinking bowls
Specifically designed for opaque liquids associated with unfiltered sake or Korean rice wine, Moon Bowls create a whole new interactive drinking experience. The cups are uniquely designed with an interior crescent shape that fills to a full moon and sips down to a crescent sliver.
2011 Food Forecasting Predictions
From leading restaurant consultant Andrew Freeman & Co., a sampling of food and restaurant predictions for what will be hot in 2011 as seen in Nation’s Restaurant News:
- Pies as the new cupcakes
- Mom & Pop financed restaurants
- One ingredient restaurants with menu themes built on one idea
- Mini portions providing a little of everything
- Minimal menus with simplified descriptions