2022 Food Trends

I’m always fascinated by trends…food trends, fashion trends, design trends, and frankly I’m curious who comes up with them. After reading several 2022 food trend predictions, here are the food trends that got my taste buds excited, and the new buzzwords that made me laugh.

Spicy Condiments
It started years ago with sriracha, and now the condiment aisle in your grocery keeps growing and growing and growing. Harissa (a Tunisian smokey, spicy chili pepper paste with garlic and herbs) appears to be the new darling of the condiment aisle. If you want to try harissa in West Palm Beach, The Blind Monk has the most delicious roasted carrots with harissa that we serve on our Happy Hour Tour.

Swicy Foods
Here’s a new word to add to your vocabulary: swicy – describes foods that are both sweet and spicy, and swicy foods are trending this year. Got 5 minutes? Make swicy candied jalapeños starting with a 12 oz jar of pickled jalapeño slices. Drain the jalapeños, put them in a bowl, add 3/4 cup of sugar and stir, stir, stir. Let stand 5 minutes and put those bad boys back in the jar along with the juice. Refrigerate and shake occasionally for the next 2 days until the sugar is dissolved. Here’s the best part, you now have an instant appetizer…top a block of cream cheese with your homemade candied jalapeños and serve with tortilla chips.

Reducetarian Diet
Rather than going full-on vegan, the goal of a reducetarian diet is to reduce the amount of meat and dairy consumed in an effort to improve health and protect the environment. If you’d like to incorporate a few plant based meals in your weekly menu, I’ve got 2 great plant-based restaurant recommendations that I promise will have even meat lovers raving. Planta in Downtown West Palm Beach and Christopher’s Kitchen in Palm Beach Gardens.

Potato Milk
What? Expect this new plant based milk to make an appearance in your grocery store soon, and it’s approved by reducetarians because it uses less water, less land and less carbon dioxide to produce compared to other plant based milks.

Hyper-Local
Consumers are more conscious about the environment and are making efforts to purchase locally grown or locally produced foods. Get to know your local farmers, bakers, butchers and seafood shops. A great place to start is the award-winning West Palm Beach Greenmarket every Saturday, October thru April, 9:00 – 1:00 in Downtown West Palm Beach.

Mushrooms
Mushrooms are having their moment in the spotlight thanks to small urban farms growing unique varieties. If you visit the West Palm Beach Greenmarket, we’ve got a local mushroom farmer, Gratitude Gardens selling unique varieties like oyster and lion’s mane mushrooms.

Mocktails
They’re getting creative and trendy! Non-drinkers can now expect more than sparkling juice. If you want to experiment with mocktails in West Palm Beach, Kapow is a great place to start. They offer an entire mocktail menu, and our non-drinking Downtown West Palm Beach Food Tour guests give the Solar Plexus Mocktail (rosemary, ginger, mint, pineapple, and soda) a big thumbs up!

Nostalgic Foods
A counter trend to all of the above, we’re craving nostalgic comfort foods like apple cobbler and mac-n-cheese. Of course, there’s always an updated spin on these classics like Truffle Mac-n-Cheese from Pistache. A Happy Hour Tour guest recently declared truffle mac-n-cheese the best thing they have ever put in their mouth. That’s a bold statement!

Let’s mix up a trendy 2022 swicy mocktail with a splash of potato milk and a little umbrella for a touch of nostalgia! I think I’ll pass on that one.