Food trends of the year: what we’ll be eating in 2019
M&S is about to launch a pulled-jackfrui pulled-jackfruit pizza; Yotam Ottoleng Ottolenghi’s new restaurant has a celeriac shawarma on t the menu; faux mince made from pea protein is about to go on sale in Sainsbury’s. Yes, the big food trend of 2019 is plant-based and vegan cooking, said Harry Wallop in The Times. Admittedly, this was also the big trend of 2018. And of 2017. But even if you think tofurkey is a “culinary crime”, veganism is only going to get bigger.
Mock, ersatz and sham
This year’s big thing will be vegan fish. Look out in the more upmarket supermarkets for smoked “salmon” (described by some as “spongy in texture”) and fishless fingers made from seaweed. You might also see “mock mussels, ersatz oysters and sham scampi” on a high street near you. The “new jackfruit” will be konjac – a low-calorie, high-fibre root vegetable (technically an edible tuber). More generally, expect to see posh meals in tins (“putting the chic into austerity cuisine”); upmarket canned wine (more eco-friendly than bottles); lower-sugar chocolate; croissushi (sushi croissants); shio koji (a gluten-free alternative to soy sauce); dulse (a protein-rich dried seaweed); and water kefir (“basically posh lemonade”). If you need something to cheer you up after all that, fear not: venison is going to be hip this year. And so is rum.
Fake cheese and ox liver
Decent-tasting dairy-free “cheese” has long been “the holy grail of vegan diets”, said Rachel Walker in The Daily Telegraph. Some in the industry think Kinda Co, a British start-up, may have cracked it with cheeses made from natural cultures and healthy ingredients such as miso and apple cider vinegar. Look out for their white cheddar with cranberry, or faux lox and dill cream cheese. Other foods now on trend include pul biber (this season’s seasoning); calamansi (a South Asian citrus fruit); and drinks containing cannabidiol (CBD) oil, extracted from hemp. But some ageold ingredients are also predicted to return to favour. Stout, mead, ox liver and sweetbreads will “creep back into the home cook’s repertoire”, joined by laver bread and rabbit in restaurants.
Waste not, want not
When it comes to national cuisines, Sri Lankan is one to watch: it is on the brink of going mainstream, says Tony Naylor on the BBC Good Food blog. Think hoppers (bowl-shaped rice flour pancakes, pictured) and indeed Hoppers (a hip London restaurant). But to be even more chic, go Burmese (check out the Rangoon Sisters supper club). Lastly, this is the year that “root-to-flower” eating will “sweep the menus of Britain”, said Helena Horton in The Daily Telegraph. From the River Cottage to Nobu, diners are already being offered carrot tops, beetroot stems, cauliflower leaves and cucumber flowers (pictured) as top chefs devise ways of using the whole plant in their cooking. So next time you’re doing broccoli or cauliflower, shave the stems down and julienne them before efore cooking. Or wilt t unused beetroot leaves into a curry. Nothing could be more 2019.