Food
10 Food Trends From The Last Decade That We’ve Already Forgotten About
Popular trends are always a fun way to experience something that many others are as well. Unfortunately, sometimes they can fizzle out, leaving us to wonder whatever happened to…fill in the blank. So with that, here are the top 10 Food Trends From The Last Decade That We’ve Already Forgotten About.
10. Quinoa
Quinoa became a trend back in 2013. It seemed to come out of nowhere as many had no clue that grain like this existed. Health addicts and people in-the-know knew that grains were a great source of vitamins and fiber, but you had to eat so many kinds to get all the benefits. But, of course, no one wants to have to do all that work, so quinoa was a lifesaver. The grain impressed so many people and made such an impact that 2013 was dubbed the International Year of Quinoa by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. This food is no joke. It packs some serious health power. This includes vitamins, minerals, and essential amino acids just to name a few. While this craze went on for a while and is still kind of going, people started to realize that the production of the grain was seriously hurting the economy and the people of Peru and Bolivia. Due to the overwhelming popularity of quinoa, the price spiked so high that locals could no longer afford something that grows in their own country.
9. Cake Pops
Cake pops were an easy-to-eat treat that everyone could enjoy. You could make a little 3D design out of it like a mouse with a cake pop head. They were fun and took the baking world by storm. It all started by a woman named Angie Dudley also known as Bakerella. She posted her cake pop design on social media and it went viral. Next thing you know, she is on the Martha Stewart Show teaching the queen herself how to make these cute and delicious inventions. We hate to be the bearer of bad news but some people never thought that cake pops tasted that good. They make adorable designs but the taste was like a smooshed, chewy cake, and that is not tasty. The cake to make the pops is your typical baked cake, crumbled up and mixed with icing then rolled into a ball. Cake pops used to be the trendy thing to have at a wedding, birthday parties, and any other special events. They can still be found in various Starbucks around the United States. The cake pop trend has fizzled out a bit and people have moved on to other trendy things to serve at their weddings and other events.
8. Kale
This leafy green set off the trend of eating… well, leafy greens. Kale is nothing but a bitter plant that needs to be cooked properly to taste good. It’s also best paired with the right foods to bring out its flavor. Kale found its way into so many different avenues of everyday life that it started trending – which is kind of unheard of for a vegetable. Once people realized that this green could be so versatile, it started being paired with everything and being cooked in all sorts of ways. There are kale chips which were essentially kale baked to a crispy consistency just like a potato chip. They are usually seasoned with all sorts of flavors like chili and lime, sea salt, and black pepper. And if you really want to get exotic, they even have jerk kale chips. That was only one of the trends as there were also huge kale salads. Kale was perfect because it was textured enough for you to still be able to taste it among all those bold flavors. But alas, people have gone back to trusting their regular leafy green again – lettuce. They don’t feel the need to jazz things up with kale so much anymore.
7. Rolled Ice Cream
We admit that it is fascinating watching the ice cream base freeze right before our very eyes. Watching it get mixed with a bunch of toppings that wouldn’t normally be considered standard toppings for ice cream. And then here it comes, that magic roll. The ice cream is rolled into cute little churro-like sticks. It’s hard to believe this is ice cream. Here’s the problem with this craze, while it was fun to watch, putting all that effort into rolling the ice cream is futile. It starts to melt almost immediately when it hits the cup and when you finally take that bite you eventually lose that cool fruit roll-up design. Lastly, it’s ice cream. It tastes like ice cream and it’s all going in the same place. This obsession with making food look even more appetizing than it already is has gotten to the point that we continuously look to new trending food ideas. The trendy frozen treat has since seen a decline in its popularity. It made waves back in 2017 and 2018 but now people are more obsessed with ice creams in mini cones, chimney cones, and between two buns. This ice cream trend is actually still a big thing in Asia so this idea won’t be disappearing altogether but it is certainly losing its clout
6. Avocado Toast
Avocado always seems to be trending for one reason or another. One of those times was during the avocado toast craze. The most basic of meals, avocado toast is literally smashed avocado smeared on toast. Or if you like it in chunks or slices you can assemble it on the toast that way too. Sometimes, people will season the avocado with garlic, salt, black pepper and anything else that fits their fancy. Some people have made whole careers out of avocado and all the ways they have dressed up a dry piece of toast. This food trend kind of came out of nowhere, which is odd since a lot of different cultures were already incorporating avocado into their own traditional dishes. Thankfully, avocado tastes good with so many things, so we are not limited to spreading it on a piece of toast. Either way, the trend has tapered off and the less we have to see of avocado toast on social media timelines, the better off we all are.
5. Coconut Oil
Coconut oil basically turned into the holy grail of oil. It has been used for just about everything; skin moisturizer, cooking oil, and some people even turned it into a soap. Every major retailer had its own big brand and everyone’s brand is, of course, the best one. Trader Joe’s boasted about their coconut oil being organic, cold-pressed virgin oil. It even made an appearance in several hair care products. One of the odder uses for coconut oil was for oil pulling. Oil pulling was a trend unto itself that was meant to remove the toxins from the body and help to clean your organs. There are many benefits besides the food aspect of coconut oil. It changes your cholesterol for the better, helps burn calories, and it has even been known to reduce seizures in epileptic children. However, people didn’t take a big notice of coconut oil and its popularity didn’t explode until sometime during the last decade. While the fad may have died down a bit, coconut oil’s health benefits have not. It’s been noted that the people from the nation of Tokelau have the healthiest hearts due to their consumption of this super oil. However, it was also discovered that their people have a high number of diabetics. So maybe this is one of those trends that needs to be studied a bit more.
4. Cold Brew Coffee
Cold brew ice coffee is still a trend thanks to Starbucks. Just like the cake pop trend, Starbucks is the reason why cold brew coffees are hanging in there. So what makes cold brew coffee so different? It can’t officially be called cold brew unless coarse ground coffee is steeped in cold water for at least 12 hours. If it gets to sit longer, that’s even better, but 12 hours is the minimum. This type of coffee became popular because of the way it was marketed. It was intended to be excessively strong but still have a smooth coffee taste. People started getting really fancy with their cold brew coffee and not only were they adding basic flavor shots, they were also adding a cream to the top instead of basic milk. So something that started out fairly low in calories now has about 200 calories – all because of the need to add that little bit of sweetness. The best time to drink cold brew is in the summer. Try drinking it black as it may have some refreshing properties to it. What many people fail to realize is that regular brewed coffee isn’t much different. Regular coffee still allows you to reap all the benefits, the antioxidant effects, the pick me up feeling, and of course it’s the perfect beverage for any first date. The real advantage that cold brew coffee has is that you get all those benefits with way less acidity, which supposedly makes it better for your digestion and your teeth!
3. Activated Charcoal
Activated charcoal sounds like something that nobody should be putting in their body at any time. This food craze took Instagram by storm probably because people were so sick of seeing unicorn this and rainbow that. When did food become something that had to look good enough to post to the world? Who cares how it tastes, as long it makes for a cool pic. To this day, people are still eating activated charcoal-infused things and they don’t even know what it really is – they just love that it is naturally black. Activated charcoal comes from the charcoal of burnt organic matter. The charcoal needs to be activated and that is done when it is exposed to a specific temperature. It can then bind to anything that it touches, and this is where the black color takes over. Hospitals have actually been using activated charcoal for decades to treat overdoses and poisonings. The charcoal works by absorbing the toxins in your stomach. This craze is still kind of alive and well. It isn’t as popular as it once was, but it is still going pretty steady. People don’t only ingest activated charcoal because it makes their food a simple black color, they also use it because it has several health benefits. It is known for such things as helping to prevent hangovers, easing food poisoning, it has anti-aging benefits, and of course like apparently everything else in the world, it can help with weight loss. In 2018, activated charcoal was banned in New York because the New York department of health has safety concerns around the additive.
2. Zoodles
In case you couldn’t tell, over the past decade many people decided to go on a health craze. Today, society is more devoted to living healthy and living their best lives. So of course, new food inventions are going to pop up and people are going to introduce us to new ways of eating some of our favorite foods – but in a healthier way. This is the case with zoodles. You know those vegetables that were cut in spirals that look like everyone’s favorite meal: spaghetti pasta. Zoodles could be made from anything – eggplant, squash, and even cucumber just to name a few – but the most popular one has got to be zucchini, with the name zoodles being a combination of the words zucchini and noodles. Zucchini received some of the highest praise thanks to how well it took the shape of actual noodles. Unfortunately, the craze was quickly replaced by some other healthy trend. While people still make vegetables a staple part of their diet, creating the stringy shapes became a hassle to make. One of the drawbacks to zoodles is that once you cut the veggies into shape, they start to go bad quickly. Especially if not cooked right away. On top of that, they can also get mushy very quickly. While it was cool for a time, it requires a special device to get it to that spaghetti-look that everyone wants so badly.
1. Cronut
This crazy croissant, no, donut, no wait, sorry cronut took the world by storm back in 2013. The cronut was created at the New York-based bakery called the Dominique Ansel bakery. The idea supposedly came about because a couple of customers told Ansel that even though he had such great things in his bakery, nothing was quick to pick up and eat that also paired well with a coffee, like say donuts. He had already mastered the croissant. Ansel wanted to stick with something that he already knew, so the Cronut was born. The Cronut became so popular so quickly that Ansel had lineups around the block and down the street. In addition to the sales and popularity, people were also blogging about the Cronut and taking beautiful pictures and posting them online. This boosted the popularity even more and the Cronut was now an international success. Customers were coming from all around the world to try this new sensation. One of these reasons was that Ansel had created something that no one had been able to achieve. He made a donut out of croissant, with its flat, flaky layers, without it falling apart. Ansel trademarked the Cronut but other people have already started creating their own variation of the donut – selling it under a different name. The Dominique Ansel bakery has since had shorter lines. However, Ansel is doing quite well since his creation of such a magnificent treat. The good news for the still die-hard fans? They no longer have to deal with the inconvenient long lines.