What Will We Be Eating in 2012?

Online and hard copy food trend predictions are everywhere, but Shelf Life Advice wouldn’t dare try to forecast your dining table future.  Instead, we’ll let you in on what others are guessing.  Some of these prognostications are based upon surveys, and some are based upon on a look at new cookbooks bound to be influential.  Others are, we suspect, wishful thinking.  For example, one online commentator declares that her favorite dish, which she hopes and anticipates will be more readily available, is free food.  (Tell us where.) Meanwhile, let’s find out what else might be on the burner for the coming year. 

According to the “Good Eating” section of the Chicago Tribune:

-A new fruit:  Pluerry is a hybrid of plum and cherry.  It’s supposed to be less drippy than the traditional plum, and it may be in stores this year.

-Label-reading: A survey by allrecipes.com revealed that 57% of consumers read labels more carefully in 2011, so it’s not very risky to predict that this trend will continue.  It’s a good guess to suspect that they’re looking for healthier, less fattening, and/or less processed edibles.

-Southern cooking: Biscuits and many other Southern treats will be on the menu.  Paula Deen’s Southern Cooking Bible has become a best-seller. 

-Baby Boomers’ influence:  This group is expected to be the most influential in setting food trends.  What do they want?  Healthy food has high priority. 

According to “Eat Like a Man,” a new blog by Esquire magazine’s food critic, John Mariani:

Mariani tells us that, according to the James Beard Foundation, the following are going to be very popular in 2012:  doughnuts, Thai food, and Nordic food.  Other trends he found on the Food Channel: better college food (meaning more healthful?), and Peruvian cuisine.  But he’s not putting his money on these trends.  Here are a few of his own forecasts:

-A sluggish economy will keep people eating at home more and spending less when they do dine out.

-Pizza will appear on 99% of all American menus, but the craze for crazy toppings such as truffle oil and sushi will disappear.

-The hot new food of the year will be Asian dumplings. (ed. comment: Is that  new?)

-“Peruvian food has no chance of becoming a trend for the simple reason that beyond ceviches—already ubiquitous—there’s not a helluva lot more to Peruvian food.”  (ed. note:  Ceviche is a seafood dish made with raw fish marinated in lemon or lime juice and spices.)

According to Cindi Avila, a TV chef and spokesperson for Lightlife (a vegetarian and vegan line of food):

Her predictions are that more of us will be eating like she does.  Here's her list of 2012 food trends, from myfoxny.com.

-Resveratrol (a red wine nutrient)

-Korean food

-Omega-3 infused food

-Vegetarian awareness

-Raw cleanses, short-term diet plans that claim to clear the digestive tract of harmful substances and detoxify the body. This diet is limited to unprocessed organic foods and no meat, dairy, or fatty foods.  (Yuk!  I think I’d prefer the healthy pet food.)

According to foxnews.com:

Prepare to eat the following:

-Round finger-foods: such as arancini, little fried balls of rice, either plain or filled with cheese or prosciutto

-exotic  fish: Because of concern about overfishing of traditionally eaten varieties, your local supermarket may be offering consumers less-known fish, wild and otherwise 

According to myfoxny.com:

“Knowing what foods will become popular is tricky because various factors—food prices, inclement weather and changing tastes—all have an impact on possible trends.”

Source(s):

Chicago Tribune “Good Eating” section “What’s coming this way”

December 28, 2011

Esquire.com/blogs “Eat Like a Man: 15 Food Predications for 2012”
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/food-for-men/top-food-trends-2012-6626424

myfoxny.com “Food Trend Predictions 2012”
http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/food-trend-predictions-2012-20111227

foxnews.com “Top Food Trend Predictions for 2012
http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/01/01/top-food-trend-predictions-2012/