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Top 8 Food and Beverage Predictions for 2018

By Reid Hubick posted Wed February 14,2018 11:25 AM

  

 

Mushroom coffee. Cannabis snacks. And super powders. These are just a few of the culinary delights that might just be on the menu this year.

Now that we're full swing into 2018, we can expect to see some new culinary experimentations coming out of the kitchen.

Below are 8 predications for what’s to start trending in 2018.

Clean Cocktails

The idea behind clean cocktails isn’t that they’re alcohol-free. Rather, they’re about cocktails that have healthy ingredients, in addition to the booze. Think: turmeric, cold-pressed juices, kombucha.

The trend has been building momentum for the past couple of years, but is really hitting its stride this year as mainstream magazines, newspapers and publishers pay attention to it.

Want to know more? Watch for the new book, Clean Cocktails: Righteous Recipes for the Modern Mixologist, by Beth Ritter Nydick and Tara Roscioli.

Or, best, do some on-the-ground research at your favourite cocktail bar.

Super Powders

If you hang out at a health food store, you’ve probably already seen a few of these powders, made from unusual ingredients sourced around the world. Maca, baobab, acai, and cacao are just a few of these ingredients, and they’re popping up in smoothies and baked goods everywhere.

All have different health-giving characteristics, however. Some are high in fibre. Others are high in anti-oxidants. Some taste sweet, but are low in carbohydrates and sugars.

Plant-based Eating

That’s how many vegetarians and vegans refer to their choice of foods these days. Either way, magazines are picking up on the trend, and so are cookbook authors, offering a range of recipes for hardcore vegetarians as well as those who recognize the benefits of eating a plant-based diet but only want to follow the lifestyle occasionally, not all the time.

The benefits: Plant-based proteins such as lentils and chickpeas are less-expensive than meat, easy to prepare, and high in fibre and protein.

Cannabis Snacks

As Canada makes marijuana legal in 2018, expect to see dozens of pot snacks popping up in the market, as some analysts have pegged the market’s potential value at $22 billion.

One new example? Calgary-based chef John MacNeil is behind reTreat Edibles, baking mixes designed to be mixed “with your preferred cannabis oil,” according to a news release from the company.

Middle Eastern Foods

Donair, hummus, pita and souvlaki have been popular in Canada for decades, but now Canadians are looking beyond those familiar favourites.

Try harissa, a hot pepper condiment that’s delicious served with lamb or eggs. Then there’s grilled halloumi, a type of Lebanese cheese that’s even sold at Real Canadian Superstore these days. And shakshuka sounds exotic but is relatively easy to make, a dish of eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce filled with onions, chilis and cumin.

Activated Charcoal

Sometimes labeled binchotan charcoal, it’s in everything these days, from skincare products to washcloths (I’m serious) to food.

Yes, food. Activated charcoal is popping up in cakes, pancakes, ice cream, chocolate, pasta, cocktails (apparently it helps prevent hangovers) and cold-press juices.

Some examples: Jusu Juice sells a Dirty Lemonade with activated charcoal, which it claims “is particularly useful for lowering blood lipid (fat) and balancing your pH levels, giving your immunity a boost.”

Toronto’s Cutie Pie Cupcakes offers ice cream cones dipped in a charcoal-berry sauce. Also in Toronto, Masseria makes a Carbone pizza with vegetable carbon in the dough.

New Plant-based Sugar Alternatives

We’ve been looking for a good one for years, something that lets us stay away from artificial sweeteners and corn sugars.

There’s stevia, of course, but it often leaves an aftertaste. Instead, look for monk fruit sugar, which has minimal calories and no weird aftertaste. Date sugar is also an up-and-coming alternative to traditional sugars, but it isn’t low in calories.

Mushrooms

The team at Whole Foods is billing mushrooms as one of the top food trends for 2018. They’re saying we’ll be seeing mushroom-infused coffee and mushroom-infused chocolate this year. Why? Mushrooms are known to have immune-boosting capabilities, and coffee and chocolate are known to contain antioxidants. Think of the combo as yet another way of boosting your health, naturally.

Trivia: the company behind one of the best-known mushroom coffees is Four Sigmatic. Based in Finland, one of the world’s happiest countries, the Four Sigmatic team credits their health and happiness to growing up eating diets rich in mushrooms.

And yes, the coffee is available in those perennially popular pods. Some trends never seem to go away.

 

Post by: Shelley Boettcher

Shelley Boettcher is an award-winning food, wine and travel writer based in Calgary, Canada. The author of three books about wine, she writes for magazines and newspapers around the world, including The Guardian, The Globe and Mail, Westjet and Vivir El Vino magazine; she is also the national weekend wine columnist for CBC Radio. Find out more about her at drinkwithme.com or follow her on Twitter @shelley_wine.

 

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