2015 food trends: From cookie-core ice cream to chia seeds
Ben & Jerry's has a new line of cookie core ice creams. Seaweed and chia seeds are hot in 2015. And, of course, there are three new flavors of Girl Scout cookies.
Ben & Jerry's has a new line of cookie core ice creams. Seaweed and chia seeds are hot in 2015. And, of course, there are three new flavors of Girl Scout cookies.
In the immortal words of Ben & Jerry's: "Boom Chocolatta!"
This is the month when everyone from Ben & Jerry's to Mamma Chia聽unveils what's tasty and trending in 2015.
We're not talking about having meat, fish or tofu on the menu, but what seasonings, nibbles, desserts and sundries we will be consuming or cooking in the coming year.
Here鈥檚 a mini, virtual tasting menu based on some standouts amid the 1,400 companies exhibiting at聽the West Coast鈥檚 40th聽Annual聽Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco,聽which can be found on the event鈥檚 host website run by the聽Specialty Food Association.
The show, which ends today, is billed as the West Coast鈥檚 largest specialty food and beverage trade with 80,000 on-trend and best-in-class products including cheese, coffee, desserts, snacks, spices, ethnic, natural, organic and more.聽It features a 鈥淲hat鈥檚 new鈥� and 鈥淲hat鈥檚 Hot鈥澛犅爏howcases on and offline.
On the new hot list are white balsamic glaze,聽American Grana庐 handcrafted cheese by Master Cheesemakers and something called Cavi-art 鈥� a 聽seaweed-based caviar substitute that comes in 聽black, red, salmon, orange red, yellow, wasabi, balsamico, chili, and ginger. Plus a new Belug-art and a Truffle Cavi-art all from聽Plant Based Foods聽in Middleburg, Va.
The Fancy Food Show is credited with helping to launch such brands as Pop Chips, Honest Tea, Ben & Jerry鈥檚, Stonewall Kitchen, Walker鈥檚 Shortbread and Cypress Grove Chevre.
Nothing beats having dessert first.
Because they got their start at the California show it鈥檚 fitting to begin at the end of the meal with Ben & Jerry鈥檚 ice cream which has released it鈥檚 new 鈥淐ookie Core鈥� flavor line for 2015. This includes pints with a 鈥渃ookie butter鈥� core, surrounded by ice cream that is also imbued with the cookie flavor:聽Hazed & Confused Core,聽Karamel Sutra Core,聽Peanut Butter Fudge Core,聽Salted Caramel Core聽and聽That's My Jam Core.
Also debuting (not at the show) are three new Girl Scout聽cookies聽for 2015, announced earlier this month, including gluten-free offerings.
The two new gluten-free offerings include:Toffee-tastic, buttery cookies with toffee bits, and聽Trios,聽made with real peanut butter, chocolate chips, and whole grain oats. The third new cookie is聽Rah-Rah Raisin, an oatmeal-raisin cookie with whole-grain oats, raisins, and Greek yogurt鈥揻lavored chunks.
Also, Joseph Lite Cookies of Florida made the announcement that it too will be coming out with a gluten free all-natural cookie for 2015. This will join the popular line of 6-ounce bags of cookie flavors which currently includes Chocolate Chip, Pecan shortbread, Oatmeal, Lemon, Almond, Coconut , Strawberry Coconut, and Peanut Butter.
Fans of the new Amazon television series "Mozart in the Jungle" could dip their Girl Scout cookies into yerba mate聽(yer-bah mah-tay), which is both a popular caffeinated drink trend as well as an ingredient for 2015.
The South American tea has become synonymous with the main character, Conductor Rodrigo, and has made a unique showing in San Francisco this week.聽The tea is what the Specialty Foods Association website terms 鈥渢he 2014 chocolate tea craze鈥� which apparently has flowed into 2015.
One interesting new use for the drink include聽Mate & Cacao Nibs聽Organic Extra Dark Chocolate Bars.
On the savory side of the aisle, seaweed on everything from salads to pizza is also popular among the trends at this year鈥檚 show, according to a report by聽CNBC.
Along with seaweed you might want to sprinkle some Chia seeds on, well, just about everything from soup to shakes.
Chia聽seeds aren鈥檛 just for sprouting on clay sculptures of President Barack Obama or Scooby Doo anymore, but have become a hot new "health" food trend and flavor for 2015, according to the聽Specialty Food Association鈥檚 roster聽of hot new items.
Chia聽is a Mayan word for 鈥渟trength.鈥� These itsy-bitsy black or white seeds come from a flowering plant in the mint family,
One standout item comes from聽Mamma Chia,聽which is聽adding two new flavors to its Chia Squeeze Vitality Snack line 鈥� mango coconut and wild raspberry. Both flavors are made using nutrient-rich organic chia seeds infused with organic fruits and vegetables.
Outside the show, the聽McCormick庐聽Flavor Forecast庐聽聽now in its 15th聽year posted its insight into 鈥渋ngredients driving the future of flavor,鈥� as viewed through the lens of a global team of McCormick聽experts, including chefs, culinary professionals, trend trackers and food technologists.
Global Blends On the Move include:聽Shawarma Spice Blend聽鈥� A Middle Eastern street food favorite made with cumin, cinnamon, black pepper and聽Japanese 7 Spice (Shichimi Togarashi)聽鈥� a pungent combination of chilies, sesame, orange zest, nori and more.