#FoodPornFriday: 2017 Food trends

With 2017 around the corner, food trends are changing just as fashion and entertainment does each year.

Below is an adaptation of Eat Out online editor, Katharine Jacobs’ food trend predictions for 2017.

10 food trends to look out for in 2017

Health food goes mainstream

Things are getting more healthy across the board. Consumers are asking for more virtuous options, and smart chefs are figuring out how to make it delicious.

From high-protein matcha flapjacks to spiralised and mashed veggies, health food, in its broadest definition, is making its way onto more menus, in more inventive ways. Niche restaurants are also working on making special dietary requirements a real selling point.

Bowl food

The poke bowl, a traditional Hawaiian seafood preparation, entered the fray in 2016, but according to New-York-based consultants Baum + Whiteman, we should prepare for even more bowl-based dishes in 2017.

Think smoothie bowls and Buddha bowls (a grain- and veggie-based dish), as well as ramen and bibimbap, the Korean dish of rice, egg and sliced meat.

Gourmet fast food

Gourmet burgers aren’t going anywhere, but as economic times force consumers to count their pennies, restaurants will continue to look for new, affordable dishes to serve in gourmet ways.

Think loaded fries, fancy hot dogs, magical toasted sandwiches and panko-crusted fried chicken.

Home-delivery services

On the home cooking side of things, consumers can look forward to more services delivering ready-portioned ingredients for home cooking. There are also booming companies that cook meals and deliver to your doorstep.

Try them out in 2017, on your lazy days.

Fourth wave of coffee

Small, artisanal roasters (the third wave) are getting bigger, and large multinationals are buying them up. What will that mean for us? In the best-case scenario, good coffee becomes more accessible.

In the worst? The big guys force out the little guys, and we get less variety.

South African flavour

We’ve been slow to blow our own trumpets, food-wise, but over the past few years, fine dining chefs have been championing local ingredients and dishes, and that enthusiasm now seems to be trickling down to more mainstream restaurants.

We’re holding out for a gourmet Gatsby restaurant, but we’re greatly encouraged to see shisa nyama becoming a really competitive restaurant segment, and dishes like boerewors, bunny chow and mogudu making it onto menus.

Retro flavours

Nostalgia is tinting a large proportion of consumer goods. Lard is back, and so is anything else that your grandmother used to make.

Even The Test Kitchen is serving up Marmite, pork scratchings and Niçoise salad, not all together, of course.

Ice-cream hybrids

We are not, apparently, done with freakshakes, and even more ice-cream mashups are on the horizon for 2017.

We’re dreaming of flavoured cones, inventive ice-cream sarmies, healthier ice creams, vegan ice creams and cheese based ice creams; think burrata-, labneh, and ricotta-based ice cream. In home cooking, the unfortunately named dump cake continues to be popular.

Doenjang, gochujang and kushiyacki

Get used to seeing doenjang on menus. The fermented Korean bean paste is salty, thick, and adds a wonderful umami kick to meat, or dipping sauces. Look out for it in Korean dishes like bibimbap.

Gochujang, also made with fermented soy beans as well as chilli, rice and salt, is another Korean ingredient you’re likely to see on menus.

Kushiyaki, which is Japanese skewered meat or veggies, is also making its way onto South African menus, along with its sibling dish, yakitori, or grilled skewered chicken.