THREE FOOD TRENDS FOR 2018
BUTTER CULTURE
There’s butter, and then there’s grass-fed butter. Now a chap called Grant Harrington, of Butter Culture in the UK, has found a way to up the ante even further. Harrington studied dairy fermentation for a year, and the result is a buttercup-yellow craft butter packed with naturally occurring diacetyl acid, the stuff that makes butter, well, buttery. It’s a huge hit in the UK, which means it’s sure to hit our shores soon. Watch this space…
SHELFIE – THE NEW SELFIE
Last year saw the proliferation of smart apps by startups specialising in delivering recipe kits (all the ingredients plus the recipe) to home chefs. Now prepare to have even the hassle of checking your pantry taken out your hands. Enter the smart fridge, poised to snap ‘shelfies’ of your food to keep your kitchen well-stocked. And connected to this trend, there’ll be more voice-operated gadgets like Google Home and Alexa to record and order your shopping lists. It’s a bit mindboggling. As long as all this chatter among the gadgets doesn’t get too loud… just saying.
NOOTROPICS
… or as we call it, brain food. Apparently this is what the health-conscious among us will be consuming this year. Gut health is still a big issue but it’s predicted that the brain health trend will soon be overtaking it. Look out for fresh turmeric, salmon, dandelion greens, Mexican yam or jícama, and eggs. The thing is, all of these foods are great for your gut health, too. And since the gut’s been called ‘the second brain’ by many experts – now food for thought…