The food trends to try in 2018

2018-03-09 MUSHROOMS:
Whole Foods has been talking about them for a while, and it may be that 2018 will be the year of the mushroom, featured in lots of recipes and products. New research into the beneficial effects of ingredients such as Lion's Mane mushrooms has confirmed the trend, as chefs experiment with new ways of using fungi of all kinds as an ingredient. In Borago (Chile), for example, they are working on a unique process in which bark is infested with fungi to make it edible!

SWEET AND SALTY:
The success of sweets containing a little something savoury is still on the rise and will be appearing on plenty of chefs’ menus in 2018. If you order white chocolate mousse in Paris, don’t be surprised to find cauliflower among the ingredients! David Toutain came up with the recipe, and we can assure you it is spectacular.

The VENEZUELAN “TACO”:
Otherwise known as the Arepa, from the restaurants of Mexico to the street food festivals of Milan, this Venezuelan version of the taco is made with maize flour and stuffed with all kinds of goodies. The Venezuelans themselves have been making it popular all over the world. From avocado to meat, cheese and eggs, the Arepa is delicious with any kind of filling: the perfect heir to the taco!

SUPER-POWDERS:
If you have been hearing a lot of talk about “super-foods” in recent years, you’ll be hearing about “super-powders” in 2018! Goji and açai berries, kale and roots of various kinds are abandoning solid form and being powdered for addition to fresh juices of all kinds. Spirulina algae, good for the digestion and the skin, is also making a comeback.

THE BREAD IS BACK:
That’s right: 2018 is destined to be the year that bread came back, in all its forms. Chefs, bakers and foodies all over the world are trying their hands at the ancient art of breadmaking, with a great return to traditional grains and techniques that have been all but forgotten in the industrial age. A treatise on the science of breadmaking has even been published, “The Modernist Bread Book”, well worth reading!
These are only a few of the trends we will be seeing in restaurants and kitchens in the year that has just started. Which is your favourite?