Food Trends

I never thought I would say, "I've had enough chocolate." But it happened to me recently at the Fancy Foods Show in New York City. Thousands of companies come to display their wares in hopes of selling to supermarkets, specialty stores, etc. It's a good chance to see some of the trends in food that will be affecting us all over the next year or two. For those that are harried and need meals or foods in a hurry, you're in luck. It's obvious that there are more and more quick foods upcoming. Marianades and rubs for foods your'e cooking and more types of already prepared food that are ready to eat.

Dark chocolate, cheese, whole wheat, organic and spicy seemed to be among the main themes. Plus Tyrells, the best potato chip you've never eaten.

Dark chocolate was available in every form you can think of including bars, drinks, spreads and candies. In many cases the chocolate was combined with fruit or spices or both. Want chocolate with strawberry and black pepper or mango and chili. You can have it. There were some that were knockouts. Chuao http://www.chuaochocolatier.com/, from San Diego has one of the most wonderful intensely flavored dark chocolates I've ever had. Rich, smooth, chocolate that they combine with fruit, spices and some of the more usual stuff like caramel. If their shops were near me I'd be there on a regular basis. Good thing they are far, far away.

Hachez bars from Germany were a terrfic dark chocolate and also did the combining of spices and fruit as well as a wonderful 88% cocoa with nibs and are imported by http://www.ourniche.com/. Dufflet, http://www.dufflet.com/, a Canadian firm had a chocolate fondue (among other chocolate items) that you can heat up in the microwave in its own crock. Atkins and Potts, http://www.atkinsandpotts.co.uk/, an Engish company has some interesting spreads including a Passilla chili chocolate that do a good job of combining the intensity of dark chocolate with other flavors. A sturdy American dark chocolate is Anthony-Thomas, http://www.anthony-thomas.com/, of Ohio.

Cheeses were everywhere and they were from everywhere you can think of. One of my favorites (not becasue of the taste) was a Wensleydale (Wallace and Gromit's favorite cheese) that actually had Wallace and Gromit on the label, http://www.cheesefrombritain.com/. I'd buy it for the label alone. This was also a good chance to sample many cheese you only see in high end cheese stores because they are too runny, too strong, too something for the usual American palate. Really liked the ones from The Isle of Man, http://www.iomcreameris.com/.

That some of the food industry is moving in a healthier direction was shown by the separate organic area and the proliferation of whole wheat items. Five years ago it would have been tough to find whole wheat snack crackers or other whole wheat items. This year they were all over the place. So many things are moving in the organic direction including snacks, soups, crackers and just about everything else.

Tyrrells, http://www.tyrrellspotatochips.co.uk/, is the best potato chip you've never eaten. Crisp, crunchy, well flavored and utterly addictive they are a chip eaters dream. They are just starting to be imported into this country and are well worth looking for. They come in both regular potato chip and quite a few flavored varieties. My favorite was the Sweet Chili and Red Pepper. I could eat a whole bag without thinking twice about it. What makes them so good, well maybe it's because they do it all themselves. They grow their own potatoes from seed, harvest them, cut them and fry them. Yum, yum.

An interesting chip is the tortilla chip made partly from the salba grain, http://www.salbasmart.com/, which they claim is high in omega-3, the heart healthy oil. Tastes good too, like a regular tortilla chip.

Spicy, spicy, spicy. Spicy foods are all over the place. Marinades, rubs, dips, sauces, in chocolate, cheese, ice cream, mustard, mayonnaise, crackers and everything else. Obviously the American palate is becoming more accepting of spicy foods and if this was was an indication we'll all be eating more and more spicy stuff in the future.

Convenience foods that are not the usual convenience foods are starting to show up more and more also. Shelf stable foods that don't have to be refrigerated or frozen but can be heated up in the microwave or even eaten cold are showing up.

The French maker of expensive james and jellies, St. Dalfour, http://www.stdalfour.com/, has a new line of ready to eat, Gourmet On The Go, shelf stable suitable for a snack or a lunch or a simple meal that are can be heated or eaten cold. Since I'm always aware of diaster preparedness these would make a perfect item to keep in your food rotation because they would can be eaten now and would be a great emergency meal.