Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 8, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba C2 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COMWEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2025 Predicted food trends for 2025 include global cuisine, plenty of crunch, loads of heat and functional eats What’s on the table this year? A S we tip into the new year, we food writers are often tasked with putting on paper our predictions for what will be trending. Truly, this used to be a simpler task. Now, with food becoming more and more global, culinary innova- tions developing at the speed of light, social media weighing in and chefs feeling more empowered to break traditional rules — or to dig deep into their cultural roots — it’s kind of hard to know where to begin. But begin I will, with the caveat that this list is far from comprehensive, and I’m not allowed to hog the whole arts and life section. Asian flavours and chains It seems a little silly to say Asian cui- sine is on the rise, since the category is enormous and has been around for millennia. But the growing number of Asian (southeast Asian in particular) markets, restaurants, ingredients and prepared foods is dramatic, and is influencing all kinds of cooking. H Mart, a South Korean chain of Asian markets now has 96 stores worldwide, most in the U.S., while other chains such as 99 Ranch (Chi- nese) and Patel Brothers (Indian) are expanding. Gochujang, sambal, yuzu, calamansi, matcha and kimchi (to name but a few) appear more and more on packaging and menus. There’s sushi, barbecue, ramen and bulgogi. And Asian dump- lings are proliferating in the frozen food aisles. The global palate Diners are looking for a blend of authenticity and convenience, says Leana Salama of the Specialty Foods Association, a not-for-profit trade asso- ciation representing more than 3,600 businesses worldwide. After COVID when people began travelling again, they came home from trips wanting to recreate the tradition- al flavours they had tasted, she says. That has led to a lot of unique spinoffs of more authentic snacks from all over. Besides Asia, other leading areas of culinary influence are South and Central America, says Whitney Herrera of Whole Foods’ functional snacks division. Heat is hot Our love of chilies continues. In 2025, it will be “less about how much heat you can stand, and more about ex- ploring the flavour nuances,” Salamah says. She’s seeing various chilies used in everything from chocolate to cheese. Herrera agrees: “Heat is bigger than ever, with more of an emphasis on complex notes of sweet and spicy.” Chile flavours are permeating snack items such as nuts and trail mix. Chile crunches or crisps are still gaining fans. Chile oils are infused with crunchy bits, usually fried garlic or shallots, sometimes with added ingredients. Salsa macha is the Mexican version of chili crunch, with nuts, seeds and spices added to the hot chili oil. Functional foods The “food is medicine” philosophy has evolved, Salamah says. People are thinking more about what foods will enhance their mood or their health, and less about what to avoid. Non-alcoholic beverages continue to emphasize different flavours, adapto- gens and “functional” ingredients. Salamah calls functional-mushroom beverages a way to “elevate your drinking experience in a healthier way,” appealing to people avoiding alcohol. Functional mushrooms also are showing up in snacks, teas and in your coffee. Salty snacks Seaweed is “on fire,” says Herrera, becoming more prevalent in snacks and other food categories. It’s pitched as having health benefits and sustain- ability. With its strong umami flavour, it can be a stand-alone snack or used as an ingredient, a flavouring for nuts, in stir-fry kits, rice dishes and more. Another aquatic plant that is moving from the supplement aisle to the food aisles, in beverages in particular, is sea moss, Herrera says. Crunchy is the texture of the moment See chili crunches and crisps above. And salty, crunchy snacks are a bur- geoning category, says Herrera. Pistachio seems to be the nut of the moment. In the last month alone, I’ve seen pistachio panettones, pasta, lattes, spreads and croissants in New York City. The pistachio-filled Knafeh chocolate bar from Dubai has been a global sensation. Added protein “The proteinization of foods is here to stay. Makers are finding new and innovative ways to pack more protein into foods,” says Salamah. She mentions a TikTok-spurred craze in 2024 promoting cottage cheese to build protein into flatbreads, dips and cookie dough. Food waste and sustainability More and more, consumers want to know how their groceries were grown, raised, harvested and produced, say retailers and restaurant owners. Attention to packaging and efforts to reduce food waste are growing. Com- panies are becoming more transparent about sourcing and manufacturing in response to customer demand. Micro trends So, if this were the Oscars the music would be soaring and I’d still have more people to thank. There are many more trends, and micro trends, to explore. Sandwiches getting bigger and more creative. Foods made in pearl form (algae caviar, balsamic vinegar). Lav- ender in food and drink. Freeze-dried foods. Mood foods. Dumplings in all guises. Unusual melons. AI entering your grocery shopping experience. Cookbook clubs. Sourdough (again!). High-low food pairings. And of course, there will always be unanticipated trends that come and go faster than you can chomp it down. — The Associated Press KATIE WORKMAN KATIE WORKMAN / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Mushroom supplements contain vitamin D and may have a variety of other health benefits. KATIE WORKMAN / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Frozen Asian dumplings are everywhere. Start with the hips Knowing how and where to stand is where Clair begins. “I often have to move people so their hips are in line with the cutting board or the stove.” Keeping your hips square with your workstation provides stability, and hav- ing all your ingredients within reach when cooking allows you to stay in front of the stove, reducing the chance of food burning or pots boiling over. A professional chef stays firmly in one spot for good reason, an example we can follow at home. Get a grip The handle of that skillet is your friend. Hold on to it with one hand to keep the pan from sliding around the stove as you cook. It’s equally important to take a firm hold, with your other hand, of wooden spoons, spatulas, tongs and other cook- ing implements. You are in charge of those tools, not the other way around. Having physical control of the uten- sils is an important confidence-builder, in the same way that you may noncha- lantly grab a hammer to tap in a nail to hang a painting. Don’t fear the heat Knowing how to properly heat a pan and when to add oil can be a game changer. For a stainless-steel pan, heat the dry pan over medium-high heat (you may see faint wisps of smoke around the edge of the pan, which is fine), then add the oil; this helps prevent sticking. If you tilt the pan and the oil moves in thin, fast ripples, then the pan is ready for your ingredients; if the oil is slower and smooth, keep heating until it thins. For a non-stick pan, heat the pan and the oil together. With frying, when you have a large amount of oil, don’t drop in pieces of, say, floured chicken from a height, causing hot oil to splash. Instead, use tongs to gently add food to the pan right at the surface of the oil. Sauté like a pro Vegetables and proteins are sautéed so they are lightly browned and tender, with a bit of bite. Add the ingredients in a single layer to a hot, oiled pan. If the pan is crowd- ed, then the ingredients will steam and won’t brown, so cook in batches if needed. Give the ingredients a minute, or a few, to start to take on colour, then stir or flip so every part of the ingredient gets a chance to brown in the hot fat. Pro tip: after you remove the in- gredients, make a quick pan sauce by adding liquid — such as wine, vinegar or broth — to deglaze, heating over me- dium heat and loosening the browned bits as the sauce thickens. The result is liquid gold to pour over your cooked ingredients. To stir or not to stir Some things need stirring; others do not. Rice needs to cook undisturbed in a covered pot, as the grains absorb the moisture, while spaghetti should be cooked without a lid and stirred occa- sionally to keep the strands separate. When searing proteins, let them sizzle in a hot pan for a few minutes before turning them over. When they are ready to turn, they should easily release from the pan without sticking. With soups and stews, be sure to stir every so often, using the spoon to scrape the bottom of the pot. If the ingredients are sticking to the bottom, it’s time to lower the heat to prevent burning. Stir with confidence, but not so aggressively that your ingredients are torn to bits, and not so lightly that the ingredients risk cooking unevenly. Smoke versus steam Make sure you know whether you’re looking at smoke or steam, as well as how to respond to it, or use it to your advantage. “Smoke means things are burning, while steam adds or subtracts mois- ture,” Clair says. The presence of a little smoke com- ing off the pan is generally not a huge concern, but it does tell the cook that it’s time to turn the heat down just a bit to prevent burning. Steam can affect cooking in differ- ent ways. For instance, when making a tomato sauce, keeping the pan uncov- ered helps the sauce thicken and be- come more concentrated as the steam evaporates. But if you have a sauce that is too thick, covering it with the lid uses the moisture already present in the food, trapping it to create conden- sation and loosen things up. — The Associated Press COOKING TIPS ● FROM C1 STACY ZARIN GOLDBERG / THE WASHINGTON POST Gently add food to hot oil. Popularity of pickles a dill of a lifetime for some SHARPSBURG, Pa. — When did we know for sure? Was it April, when Nature Made introduced its pickle-flavored gummy vitamins? Was it November, when Petco’s “Pickle Mania” promotion offered 26 different pickle-themed toys for dogs and cats? Maybe it was the December day that a food scholar was heard to utter, “Everyone can kind of see their needs met by pickles.” Or perhaps it was just a couple weeks ago, when Instagram chef its- mejuliette (no stranger to online pickle activities) posted a cheeky challenge on her “cooking with no rules” feed: “This is your sign to surprise your neighbour with a pickle wreath.” More than 70,000 people liked her style, or at least her post. At the intersection of health and edginess, traditionalism and hipster- ism, global culture and the American stomach, the pickle in 2024 found itself caught in a storm of words such as “viral” and “trending” just as its food- as-fetish-object cousins — bacon and ranch dressing, notably — experienced in years past. Prepared Foods, an industry news- letter, said it outright in September: “The pickle obsession is at an all-time high.” Tangy Pickle Doritos. Grill Mates Dill Pickle Seasoning for your steak. Portable pouches of pickles. Pickle mayonnaise, pickle hummus, pickle cookies, pickle gummies. Spicy pickle challenges. Pickleback shots at the bar. Pickle juice and Dr. Pepper, heaven help us. Corn puffs coloured and fla- vored like pickles and called, naturally, Pickle Balls. In Pittsburgh, the cradle of the mod- ern American pickle (talkin’ to you, H.J. Heinz), a summer festival called Picklesburgh draws aficionados of the sour and the puckery from several states away for copious amounts of pickle beer washed down by brine, or vice versa. As 2025 begins, two possible conclu- sions present themselves. First: the previously nobrow pickle has em- bedded its sour self at the nucleus of the American gastro-zeitgeist for the foreseeable future. Second: this maybe has played itself out and the pickle has (to mix a metaphor) jumped the shark. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. “I think pickling in general has had a resurgence,” says Emily Ruby, who would know. She is a curator and expert on the history of the Heinz company for the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, a couple kilometres downriver from this industrial bor- ough where Henry J. Heinz churned out his first packaged pickles in the 19th century. Pickles are now a US$3.1-billion annual market in the United States and growing consistently. Let’s dispense with the obvious hang- ing question. In short: sour nation, sour mood, sour foods? Maybe just a little. “It’s been a scary few years for a lot of people. In 2024 we needed some- thing we could agree on. Maybe it’s pickles,” says Alex Plakias, an associ- ate professor at Hamilton College in New York who teaches the philosophy of food. “I was surprised at how the pickle could be all things to all people … no matter who you think of, pickles can be for them.” To see how that might have hap- pened, we can look to the potent path- ways of marketing and social media. The garden-variety American cucumber pickle is crunchy and sour, with an aggressive taste of its own but a clear elasticity that accommodates other flavour profiles (ghost pepper pickles! Garlic pickles! Horseradish pickles! Bread and butter chips!). They’re also absurdly low fat — the rare food trend that’s not outright bad for you — and some offer the probiotic benefits of fermentation. Key marketing points all. From a positioning perspective, somehow the pickle exists at the crossroads of homey-slash-traditional (mom, preserves, harvests) and edgy- slash-slightly subversive (sour, intense flavours). “It’s not like I come from a long line of picklers, but I realized that a cucum- ber is a blank slate and you get to paint it with all kinds of different brines and spices and salts and sugars,” says John Patterson, who founded Pitts- burgh Pickle with his brothers out of a church kitchen a decade ago. “A pickle is always funny, for some reason. A pickle is never nefarious or mean. It’s a peaceful, wholesome business to be in.” The pickle is also, let’s be candid, usually green and bumpy and intrin- sically unattractive. That means even social-video newbies don’t need precision lighting to crank out reason- ably compelling pickle content. COVID likely played a pivotal role. After years of rising locavore ethos, the pandemic’s forced inward focus in 2020 and 2021 led many Americans to revisit DIY approaches to food, includ- ing baking sourdough bread and, yes, pickling things. It’s what Nora Rubel, who researches food and culture, calls “an embrace of ‘grandmothercore’ culture” by, well, grandchildren. “Gen Z is taking pickles as their thing. This is the new avocado toast,” says Rubel, a professor of Jewish stud- ies at the University of Rochester. If you’re seeing a thread emerging, it’s this — not entirely new, but worth repeating: packaged food is no longer positioned as merely something to eat. Instead, like the most immersive restaurants, these days it often pres- ents itself as a multimedia experience — something to be talked about and reveled in, to join like-minded com- munities over, to incorporate into your own personality. Lifestyle pickles, as it were. So as the popularity of pickleball — no direct relation — continues to spike, as fried pickles transcend their novelty status and become bar-food stalwarts across the land, and as someone’s pet plays with one of 26 pickle holiday toys, we’ll leave you with two duelling thoughts as America crunches its way into a new year. From Rubel, this: “You can get pickle everything now. This is really my time.” And from Delish, the food website, this: “Can we give pickles a break in 2025? They’re tired. And we’re tired for them.” — The Associated Press TED ANTHONY TED ANTHONY / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES Pickles took centre stage on the culinary scene in new ways last year. ARTS ● LIFE I FOOD ;