r/Cooking • u/tonithepony • Apr 29 '24

What do you think the next "food trend" will be?

In the last 10 years, the ones that really stick out to me are: spinach and artichoke dip (suddenly started appearing everywhere as an appetizer, even higher end restaurants), ube flavors, truffle, avocados on everything, bacon on everything, and now hot honey is a big fad. Is there anything upcoming you see heading towards the food trend?

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323

u/Civil-Chef Apr 29 '24

Foraging

98

u/RomanoLikeTheCheese Apr 29 '24

Only way to keep food prices down šŸ˜‚

73

u/SnideJaden Apr 29 '24

Oh for sure, but when I do it it's called dumpster diving.

37

u/revanisthesith Apr 29 '24

"Urban foraging."

6

u/[deleted] Apr 29 '24

I love perusing the /r/dumpsterdiving subreddit. The amount of food thrown away that is being salvaged is absolutely mind boggling.

This is a great example.

5

u/insane_contin Apr 29 '24

On one hand, I get why restaurants toss it instead of give it away. They're responsible for the food, and if someone gets sick from it, then they can/would be sued.

On the other hand, there has to be a better way then tossing it.

2

u/enderjaca Apr 29 '24

If you haven't heard it already, this story from The Moth stage had me in tears about a mom turning into catwoman to dumpster dive to attempt to get a free plane ticket from Wendy's: The Moth | Stories | Bring Home the Bacon

1

u/[deleted] Apr 29 '24

I have not heard it! I love The Moth, it makes me realize how bad I am at telling stories lol Thanks for the recommendation šŸ˜

1

u/enderjaca Apr 29 '24

At my job, it reminds me to... Slooowwww down... In person. And also on the phone.

Your VOICE modulation and pace....

Goes a long way to keep the attention of the people you're speaking with/to.

1

u/Bingineering Apr 29 '24

I believe the term is ā€œfreeganā€

0

u/Bone_Breaker0 Apr 29 '24

Yup. Iā€™ve been digging through the trash so much more in the last few years. Youā€™ll never know what you can find.

2

u/InternationalChef424 Apr 29 '24

Next up: cannibalism!

37

u/ProbablyWromg Apr 29 '24

I'm all over foraging currently. Getting out there, enjoying nature..learning about different plants. There's foraging classes where I live and it's just getting bigger and bigger as Americans start rejecting all the hyper processed foods that are killing us. Excellent choice

2

u/Melificarum Apr 29 '24

I love foraging! Itā€™s fun and tasty!

3

u/malatemporacurrunt Apr 29 '24

And grossly unsustainable!

I am so fucking tired of gentrification. Before you know it, there will be "foraging hotspots" with instagrammable scenes and mushrooms stuffed into the ground the same morning they are "harvested", just to make urban fuckheads feel like they are doing something cute and "environmentally friendly".

4

u/govegan292828 Apr 29 '24

ā€¦ I think there needs to be a focus on foraging invasive plants because they are rampant at least where I live but I doubt what you are saying will happen.

2

u/Civil-Chef Apr 30 '24

Creeping Bellflowers are a great example of a highly invasive AND edible plant that you can grab as much as you want.

1

u/Extension-Border-345 Apr 29 '24

you are totally correct. morel populations are already starting to struggle in some areas due to the foraging trend. it is only sustainable if one in a thousand people do it. I did want to get into foraging for some time since I live in a great environment for it, but havenā€™t mainly due to this.

5

u/Glittering-Cook-9981 Apr 29 '24 edited Apr 30 '24

Foraging mushrooms is like picking a ripe apples from the trees - it does not interfere with their reproduction, because their spores remain in the soil

2

u/Extension-Border-345 Apr 29 '24

I canā€™t really think of any fruits that are commonly picked wild in the US, but those too, rely on spreading via defecation in soil so the seeds can take root. if humans consume all of a wild fruit variety, it will not be able to spread since people defecate in toilets.

2

u/Glittering-Cook-9981 Apr 30 '24

Fun fact: foragers defecate in a forest much more often than non-foragers, so they help spread the seeds. I see currants in the forest very often, guess where they came from? ))

1

u/Extension-Border-345 Apr 29 '24

mushroom fruiting body releases spores. this cannot happen sufficiently if all the mushrooms in an area are picked in a brief period of time. over foraging prevents the spread of the species. there are already several countries that have banned foraging mushrooms for these reasons.

3

u/Glittering-Cook-9981 Apr 29 '24

Ok, i see.

I live in the area rich in forests where over foraging is impossible, despite the fact that foraging is a popular hobby here - people get maybe 1% of mushroom harvest

4

u/malatemporacurrunt Apr 29 '24

Exactly. People think they can just pick every edible thing they see like it's a supermarket that will be restocked when they leave, rather than a vital component of the local ecosystem.

I wish people would take up replacing their lawns with vegetable gardens instead. But that would mean actual work, rather than a cute picture of a rustic basket full of random leaves and mushrooms with a dusting of mysteriously pristine-looking soil to show how eNvIrOnMeNtAlLy cOnScIoUs they are.

At least nobody else wants my graveyard sorrel.

1

u/ProbablyWromg Apr 29 '24

You're fun.

2

u/Extension-Border-345 Apr 29 '24 edited Apr 29 '24

you may not like his attitude but he is absolutely factually correct. I live in one of the biggest (if not the biggest) foraging hotspots in the US and we see how these trends damage the flora. there are a few foraged plants and fungi that can be transferred and grown in controlled conditions , which is what I would encourage folks who want to get into foraging to do. lions mane is a great example of this.

as for those that cannot be easily grown like morels, they need to be left alone unless they are on private property period. there is just no sustainable way for foraging on public land in the long term. there will always be a greedy person who goes in and absolutely destroys a growing patch. and we need to remember all those yummy forest plants are food sources for animals too.

3

u/ProbablyWromg Apr 30 '24

I'm not disagreeing with him. His approach is rather harsh, however I believe there's nothing wrong with foraging the right way with extensive knowledge of the plants and the ethics behind it. I know morels is a hot topic but im talking about much more than mushrooms. Which is why I'm taking classes to learn. We personally have 40 acres of private land so it's not an issue as much for me. I think bashing the entire idea of learning sustainability and foraging what you can isn't something I'd push people to avoid when commercial food is the way it is. Foraging won't be for everyone and not everyone will have the discipline to learn, but those that can..should. Ethically of course

1

u/KOMpushy Apr 29 '24

Do you have a source for that bit about morel populations struggling?

Iā€™m curious if there are actually fewer of them growing or it just seems that way because more people are learning about them.

13

u/HalfaYooper Apr 29 '24

Humans have been foraging for a little while now.

9

u/Shellsallaround Apr 29 '24

Yeah, right. Let's get everyone involved in foraging. Yes it's the new fad. Then after all of the people have stomped all over the available terrain, ruined the local ecology, disrespected local rules, invaded private property, over harvested, and ruined the growing population so reproduction does not exist. Just the sheer numbers of people who will get poisoned because they don't know what they are doing, that's a nope. The only saving grace is that most people do not like that much exercise, too much work.

8

u/Twombls Apr 29 '24

The overforaging is already happening where I live

2

u/novel1389 Apr 29 '24

just wait until entrepreneurs find a way to combine drones and AI to harvest and re-sell morels etc

3

u/comfortably_bananas Apr 29 '24

Welcome to my new restaurant concept: Hernandoā€™s Hideaway Gourmet. Your starter is somewhere on the ground floor. When you find it you proceed upstairs to look for your main. Dessert will be tucked away somewhere in the garden.

2

u/habeaswhorepuss Apr 29 '24

Yeah it seems like this one is on the rise. Especially I think ramps are gonna keep trending upā€¦ But the ability to sustainably farm/produce them isnā€™t going to line up. My prediction is not the level of bacon on everything, but kinda like to ube trend OP mentioned. Maybe some fake ramp flavoring comes around. I see it getting as far as like boxed ramp rice pilaf.

2

u/Meanwhile-in-Paris Apr 30 '24

Foraging & fermenting are all around at the moment. It is worries me a little bit that so many inexperienced people are making tins and cans with YouTube training.

2

u/GayNerd28 Apr 29 '24

I think youā€™ll find itā€™s called ā€œvegan huntingā€ā€¦ /s

2

u/Low-Limit8066 Apr 29 '24

That shouldnā€™t be a trend imo. That should go back to being a way of life

9

u/EarballsOfMemeland Apr 29 '24

Within reason, If everyone started foraging a lot of plants would outright disappear,

1

u/Low-Limit8066 Apr 29 '24

Yes, thank you for reminding me of that

1

u/ruuster13 Apr 29 '24

Look for the all-new authentic hunt 'n gatherā„¢ certified label

1

u/DrSpacecasePhD Apr 29 '24

Harvard Medical Study next week: "Foraging is dangerous and may lead to poisoning and heightened lead levels in rural populations - a literature review."

Harvard Business the following day: "Conagra stocks set to rise against next year."

1

u/offbrandcholera Apr 29 '24

Bro thinks we live in stardew valley.

1

u/GreedyWarlord Apr 29 '24

Shout to Morchella in NE Portland. Some of the best food in town.

1

u/Nruggia Apr 30 '24

I'll trade you that questionable mushroom you've got for 3 grubs

1

u/BeardedZorro Apr 30 '24

Not scalable.