Food trends for 2024: a recap
- Scott Daniels: We Ate Well and Cheaply
- February 15, 2024
- 295
What will this year hold in terms of new directions in food and eating? I’ve been following predictions, which are not in short supply, from all sorts of publications, and they’re all over the map.
One prediction that seems to be pretty much commonly held is the stalling effect of an economy with price increases in every category. People have been abandoning delivery orders at sources like DoorDash and IntelliCart once they see the mounting fees.
Pricey, upscale meals in swanky joints will be a still harder sell outside posh ZIP codes. People will seek value and responsibly sourced food and hold onto their nickels until they find it.
That’s the dark underbelly of the story. On the fun side, we will continue to talk about fermented foods, good gut health and interesting new drink creations. Fancy tinned fish is still a growing category, soaring to nearly $3 billion last year and gaining traction in 2024.
What makes predictions about food a dicey game are the shifting waves of social media influence. The extraordinary time eater TikTok has home cooks, top chefs and goofy dudes next door vying to be heard above each other while pushing the trends they believe will lead to followers and income, whether they constitute an actual “trend” beyond their kitchen or not.
As many continue to work from home due to the rise and fall of the pandemic’s latest iterations, snacking has taken the top spot in the way we eat. A quick sandwich in the break room has been replaced by steady grazing at the home office desk.
If I could give dating advice to any men in this new year, it would be never to show up at your chosen one’s house without snacks. There’s a reason stores are always stocked with an abundance of soft throw blankets and those big, dumb cups that pop up everywhere. Flavored chips on the couch with a new binge-ready series is the new big night out.
Speaking of those cups, water and flavorings for water will keep staying hydrated at the fore in the foreseeable future. We’re looking for new and interesting ways to get those eight glasses a day while also checking up on suppliers of upscale water brands to see if they’re being responsible with the water supply.
Another big thing for this year is the growing popularity of buckwheat. It’s a sustainable cover crop and boasts plenty of health benefits. Buckwheat finds its way into everything from hot chocolate to coatings for fish, much as a substitute for wheat flour.
An odd thing popping up in bars are cocktails that taste like a savory dish. Would you believe smoked salmon infused clear spirits? A Caprese salad martini? You can’t watch too many drinks being made now without encountering some kind of smoking apparatus. Smoked cocktails will be with us in ever greater numbers this year. Handled well, they can be delicious.
Processed foods are out. Healthy sources and quality, cleanly grown ingredients will grow ever larger this year. People are returning to old-fashioned, wholesome ingredients like real cream and butter, the latter often made at home now, both for better flavor and savings over premade stuff.
Soups also are said to be more and more popular, as a way to pack a lot of flavor into a healthy bowl while offering the chance to bring together disparate cuisines. You can do an awful lot with stocks and a few inexpensive ingredients, and soup is another of those foods that pair well with couch, blanket, wine and Netflix. Many popular restaurants are packaging their soups and noodles ready to ship to your kitchen.
Comfort seems to be an overarching “trend” for the coming few years. It’s the desire to carve out space at home to recharge and truly rest from the stresses of the world while eschewing the expense and trouble of dressing to go elsewhere.
Last week a song I haven’t heard since childhood popped into my head. It was “Make the World Go Away” by Eddie Arnold, and it could be the theme song for 2024.