Scrolling through our Insta feed, it’s not hard to notice when a new food is #trending. Non-fat cow’s milk is so out. We’re all about drinking “milks” made from oats and nuts (coco-nuts included). No one eats semolina anymore–we only eat pasta made from lentils and beans and quinoa. And let’s talk about how the lowly cauliflower has usurped “vegetable of the moment” from the now clearly over-massaged kale.
As crazy as sipping nuts might sound, these trends are nothing compared to what’s been showing up in the Mouth offices (and on our Insta feeds) since the beginning of 2019. Since we are dedicated to taste-testing and carefully curating every product that comes through our doors, we’ve been the guinea pigs for you. Prepare yourselves, for we present the next big food trends of 2019. (Whether or not you take a bite is up to you.)
1. Rainbow-Colored Foods
First, it was rainbow bagels. It was one bagel after another in our feed, dressed up as if they were ready to headline the Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans. Then, Starbucks released the limited-time Unicorn Frappucino and our feeds were a sea of millenials with purple and pink. But the rainbow slash unicorn trend isn’t coming to the pot of gold at the end anytime soon. And we’ve got the, ahem, connection to this food trend, too, thanks to our rainbow chocolate bark and cotton candy marshmallows.
2. Gold-Covered Foods
Along with the literal taste-the-rainbow trend, we’ve struck gold. Gone are the days when gold was only found on top of your v expensive, v fancy chocolate opera cake from the Michelin 3-star restaurant you saved up all year to go to. But then the Ainsworth in New York took the lowly chicken wing (once reserved for Super Bowl tailgating) and slathered it in gold. Donuts, bagels, gummy bears, and marshmallows soon fell into place. Gold-finger lickin’ good.
3. Get Active-ated Charcoal Powder
One ingredient is continuing to turn our Instagram feeds a darker shade. We’re talking about activated charcoal. Not to be confused with your summer grill supply, activated charcoal is actually made by charring and processing coconut shells into ash. The result is rumored to boost energy and even cure a morning hangover. (Thus far, still unsubstantiated at Mouth HQ.) We’ve seen it in everything from soft serve ice cream, coffee drinks, caramels, and sea salts.
4. You’re My Everything (Bagel Seasoning)
No flavor trend has taken the food world by storm this year as much as the “everything bagel flavor.” From the aisles of Whole Foods to restaurants such as New York’s Eleven Madison Park (#1 on the San Pellgrino restaurant list), everything is... everywhere. And we actually don’t hate it. Who wouldn’t want to have that addictive, toasty everything bagel flavor in pickles or mixed nuts. Fuggedabowdit.
5. Cra-sea for Seaweed Snacks
Sushi was on-trend in 80s America, but it took until the last couple years for the nori (aka that black papery bit around the sushi roll) to find its sea legs. Using the dried seaweed in food lends a distinctly salty, briny umami taste that is perfect for satisfying salt cravings, whether it’s eaten plain with a little sesame or dusted on popcorn.
6. In a Real Pickle
Pucker up, because this trend has gone sour. We at Mouth have always been obsessed with pickles, from spears to chips and sweet to spicy. But this year, we’ve noticed an out-of-the-jar idea. Pickle flavor is no longer just for vegetables—some of our favorite snacks such as popcorn and potato chips are getting a briny treatment, and it’s a huge dill.
7. Cruisin’ for a Boozin’
And speaking of pickles, even the jarred variety didn’t stay untouched by the 2019 food trends. Pickling spices were once limited to mustard seeds, allspice, coriander, cloves, ginger, and bay leaf in a vinegar base (as dictated by the standard McCormick bottle). Rule-breaking picklers have been gherkin’ around with outlandish brine ingredients for years now. This year, we discovered whiskey-infused and gin-infused pickles. We wouldn’t be surprised to find tequila in our offices next.
8. Good to the Last Bite
Remember when kale used only as garnish in the butcher’s counter? Or when pork belly was only found in the markets of Chinatown. The head-to-tail, snout-to-trotter, root-to-stem movement is getting stronger with each passing year. The latest addition is watermelon rind, which turns out to be packed with vitamins B and C. Though it can be eaten raw, it’s advised to be pickled or blended.
9. Foods to Help You Sleep
America’s on a natural health kick, and that goes for their bedtime rituals as well. Put the kettle on and start brewing the good ol’ Sleepy Time Tea. Or take it up a sleep number with a calming sereni-tea, a blend of rooibos and chamomile with oat straw and spices. Combine this trend with the ever-popular turmeric, and you’ll find our turmeric concentrate, aka “golden milk.” Not only is it a calming evening ritual, it acts as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Go for the gold (milk).
10. Reinvented Snack Foods
Pizzetta cookies are, indeed a real thing. At first when we saw the ingredient list on the back of the box, we weren't quite sure, but we should trust our pals at Lark Fine Foods. Think of them like a reinvented bagel bite from your childhood. Snack foods are reinvented every year, and this is just the latest to hit our Mouths.
We’re Buggin’ Out
Ok, it’s time to come clean. Although many chefs have been experimenting with the highly-sustainable food source, bugs have yet to catch on in the commercial market. Mouth isn’t going to start carrying bug-blended hot sauce any time soon, as was posted in our April 1 Instagram story.
But hey, it’s April Fools! We had to get you somehow! The real surprise is how many other weird food trends turned out to be real. And you can shop them all below.