Food Trends

Nearly every coffee shop has their version of a blended coffee creation – Starbuck’s has the Frappucino, Dunkin’ Donuts has the Coolatta, Seattle’s Best has the JavaKula, and many neighborhood coffee shops have their own version – they’re all the rage!  Sweeter and thicker than a latte, they are part coffee and part frozen treat.  You’ll need a sweet tooth to enjoy these creations, but they are a cool treat and can be a nice break from your standard cup of joe, while still offering the jolt you need.

When I heard that Cold Stone Creamery had introduced their own blended coffee drinks, Sweet Cream Lattes and Flavored Lattes, I was intrigued.  Cold Stone’s Lattes are avaible iced or blended and come in three sizes - Like It, Love It, and Gotta Have It (aka small, medium, and large).  I eagerly ordered up a small Raspberry Truffle Mocha Latte Light (the light is lower in fat).   The clerk seemed confused by my order and took a very long time for my drink to be made. 

When my drink was finished, I peered into the cup.  It was a pinkish-greyish color but it appeared thick and frappe-like.  I took a sip.  At first, it tasted like nothing…then, a horribly bitter after-taste.  I refrained from grimacing in the store, but when we left I scowled.  I thought that perhaps my drink hadn’t been well-blended enough, so I stirred it vigorously with the straw and tried it again.  Still, I couldn’t detect any chocolate or raspberry flavoring - it was thick and bland with a bitter aftertaste, probably from whatever coffee product was within.  I stirred it again and my husband tried it – sure that my face was an exaggeration - but he grimaced and asked if we should go try to get our money back (we didn’t).  I tried one more sip, just to remind myself that it was okay to throw away an entire coffee drink, and then tossed it.  I drink Starbuck’s Frappucino Lites often enough to know that a blended coffee drink should not taste like this.

I headed to a nearby Borders where I ordered a Cookies N’ Cream flavored JavaKula at the Seattle’s Best Cafe within the store.  Much, much better – it was sweet, with nice flavors of chocolate and coffee and lovely bits of chocolate cookie throughout.  A perfect treat for a summer afternoon – and, as a bonus, it got the taste of the Sweet Cream Latte out of my  mouth (which wasn’t sweet or latte-like at all).  I guess the moral of the story is to stick to Cold Stone for ice cream and coffee shops for blended coffee drinks.

In this economy, it would appear to be a bad time to open a business – particularly one that hinges on the sale of luxury items or non-essentials.  Yet, in an interesting reflection of human nature, many bakeries are thriving – particularly bakeries that offer nostalgic sweets. 

In tough times, people don’t gravitate towards upscale gourmet desserts.  Instead of fancy pastries, people crave  comfort foods and childhood favorites – like cupcakes.  At a few dollars (or less) you can bring yourself back (gastronomically, at least) to a simpler time.

Cupcakes have been becoming increasingly trendy over the past few years, however, enterpresing bakeries are catching on to a new trend.  Across the country, bakeries are capitalizing on nostalgia by offering homemade versions of our old Hostess favorites – homemade imitations of Twinkies and Ding Dongs.  Read the rest of this entry »

Of course, you’ve heard of white sugar and brown sugar, but black sugar?

Apparently it’s a new trendy ingredient being used in both savory and sweet dishes.  Black sugar, more specifically, Okinawa black sugar, comes from cane juice and is purchased as a brick-like block that looks a bit like a dark chocolate bar.  After grating or chopping it, you can cook or bake with it.  I have yet to try it, but it is described as being deeper in flavor than brown sugar (like molasses in a solid form).  Black sugar appears to be a common ingredient in Japanese candies.  It can also be used in cakes or cookies, for roasting or in bbq sauces…my interest is piqued!

Black sugar can be purchased from Amazon.

Food trends come and go and some come back again, just as fashion trends do (witness Fashion Week in New York this week where the 80s are on parade again).  I’m no expert on either, but I have noticed several new trendy ingredients and concepts…

In no particular order:

-Celeriac, or celery root.  I was confused on this one for a long time, and I’ll admit it – I thought it was actually a part of the more familiar vegetable, but it is an entirely different, though related, vegetable.  I find its taste milder and more pleasant than celery, but sweeter and more flavorful than a potato.  It’s a gnarly looking beast of a vegetable – it looks sort of like a large radish before it is peeled and cooked.  You may see it sneaking up on menus, mashed on its own or mashed with potatoes or other root vegetables like turnips.  It can also be used in soups.  I first tried it mashed sans other veggies at an upscale restaurant in western Massachusetts in early 2008, and didn’t see it again (or think about it) for months.  More recently, I’ve seen celeriac/celery root on other restaurant menus, on a recent Food Network challenge on TV, and in several recipes in a recent issue of the Food Network magazine (clearly, I keep the channel in business!)  I like celeriac and look forward to seeing it more widely avaialble in stores so I can try cooking them, although their barky exterior is a little off-putting and daunting!

-Hot drinks – and I mean this literally.  I love spice, particularly in the cuisines I expect it from like Indian or Asian cuisines.  I’m not sure how I feel about pepper and chili and jalapeno flavors in my cocktails, though – it seems counterintuitive, like using alcohol to try to put out a fire.  I haven’t tried very many of these types of drinks, though, so my verdict is still out on this one.  I can sort of see how spice might complement a margarita…I guess I’m just afraid that the alcohol will make the heat linger longer than I want.  I plan to get more daring with these types of drinks, though.

-While I’m on the topic of cocktails, adding mild teas to mixed drinks seems to be another trend – green tea, even more exotic teas like hibiscus tea.  I like tea once in awhile, but not in my cocktails…seems too virtuous, I guess, to have green tea in my cocktails.

-Molten chocolate cakes.  This one may be on its way out as I see fewer of these listed on high-end restaurant menus, and more and more on chain restaurant menus.  I like them, I can’t complain about chocolate oozing out of the middle of my cake, but it is a little predictable.  I recently tried something called Chocolate Pate at Moonstone’s in Chelmsford, MA, and I’d like to see this become a trend – mmmmm.

-Pomegranate is another trend – I’ve had pomegranate reductions on duck, pomegranate seeds sprinkled on top of food, and pomegranate flavored cocktails (these are sweet enough not to seem too healty or virtuous).  I think pomegranates will stick around as long as people keep talking about what a “super food” it is (it is believed to help prevent myriad problems from Alzheimers’ Disease to cancers).  Acai berries (also high in antioxidants) seem to be the new “super food” on the rise and are being used in some of the same types of applications.  I haven’t had a chance to try many foods/drinks with acai yet.

-Cured meats, otherwise known as salumi (that’s not a typo – I’ve recently learned that salami is a type of salumi, though).  I’ve seen these promoted as a new trend, but I’m not sure I’m buying them as a trend.  I think cured meats like prosciutto and pancetta are becoming more widely available and people love smoked meats – some of these meats are basically gourmet bacon – and smoking familiar meats like turkey certainly adds new, complex flavors.  But I think salumi is only going to increase in popularity as it finds its way to supermarkets everywhere, and I don’t see these foods going away…so I’m not sure it’s truly a trend.  My husband and I hope to visit Seattle over the next year, and I would like to visit the Salumi store, owned by Mario Batali’s dad, Armandino Batali…he’s probably most responsible for introducing Americans to the term salumi.

-Comfort foods – this is a whole entry onto itself – so, stay tuned and enjoy lots of trendy foods!