Food trends come and go and are largely dictated by cultural, economic, social, and geographic influence. Each year, decade and century have particular foods that stand out.
Below we take a look at some of the fascinating food trends through the years.
Foams
Around 2000, foams started in experimental restaurant kitchens, soon flourishing every which way. Chefs cooking with foam and gels made these exciting textures quirky and “out of this world”. Soon, it was becoming trendy to cook the lightest foams and most peculiar of flavours to elevate dishes.
‘Unicorn’ food
In 2010 you could not walk through the grocery store today without seeing rainbow cereal, pudding, popcorn, and even macaroni and cheese, represented by a pretty little unicorn. Thanks to the rise of Instagram, pink, blue, yellow, and purple food really popped on the grid.
Cauliflower
Since 2015, people have fallen in love with cauliflower rice, pizza crusts, mash, and even citrus cupcakes. The trend still continues even today.
Foods shaped like fish
Many years ago, home cooks strived to be impressive hosts and loved to set foods into moulds to create showstopping centrepieces. Turning fishy dishes into the shape of fish was particularly popular. These days we prefer our food a little more refined.
The avocado craze
Avocado toasts, guacamole, avocado bowls, avocado, and tomato salads – avocados reigned supreme in 2010. Avocados are high in good fats and low in sugar. The fruit is laden with vitamin E, C, copper, fibre, and potassium. It is one of the ultimate superfoods and especially rose to fame when it was placed on pieces of bread and served as a breakfast item. It is delicious and healthy, and has gotten quite pricey over the years. That has done nothing to taper the demand for it.
Bacon in cocktails
It is hard to imagine a time when bacon was not a cultural phenomenon because the bacon bubble blew up in the early part of the decade. While there are plenty of traditional ways to eat bacon, the past decade saw the rise of bacon in cocktails, bacon in chocolate, and bacon ice cream.
Food trucks
Markets and food trucks totally transformed the local restaurant scene around 2010. Meeting friends at a market to shop, eat and drink, and enjoy the outdoors has now become a permanent part of the foodie landscape. Street food is in our blood: there is nothing as delicious as a boerie roll or bunny chow from a food truck or street-side caravan.