“Functional” mushrooms, edible floral, root-to-stem and Middle Eastern flavors are among the top food trends to watch in 2018, according to Whole Foods Market’s annual list.
The Austin, Texas-based company named 10 trends for foodies to watch in stores, and produce factored prominently in several.
The No. 1 trend, Floral Flavors, features edible flowers, and cocktails inspired by elderflower.
The No. 3 trend, “Functional Mushrooms” includes varieties like reishi, chaga, cordyceps and lion’s mane in bottled drinks, coffees, smoothies and broths.
No. 4, the Feast from the Middle East was a shopping list for produce, with culinary influences and a deeper dive into Middle Eastern cooking featuring pomegranate, eggplant, cucumber, parsley, mint, tahini, tomato jam and dried fruits.
No. 8 is alternative tacos, including jicama tortillas and “hyper-authentic” street tacos.
No. 9, Root-to-stem cooking includes produce butcher recommendations like root-to-stem salad bar items featuring Brussels sprouts, broccoli and celery seasonal varieties, and things like pickled watermelon rinds, beet-green pesto or broccoli-stem slaw.
Here’s the full list. To read the full descriptions, go here.
- Floral flavors
- Super Powders
- Functional Mushrooms
- Feast from the Middle East
- Transparency 2.0
- High-Tech Goes Plant-Forward
- Puffed & Popped Snacks
- Tacos Come Out of Their Shell
- Root-To-Stem
- Say Cheers to the Other Bubbly