MEET YOUR MATCHA
Green tea, full-fat yogurt, medicinal mushrooms and other food trends for 2018,
If 2017 were a plate of food, it would have been a block of charcoal — dark, dry and disappointing.
But unlike the newsmakers who made 2017 dreadful, at least charcoal was popular, with activated charcoal tacos, ice cream and pizza among the most ontrend food items of the year. While some claimed charcoal-infused beverages helped cure hangovers and lower cholesterol, others said the science was lacking.
The news outlook for 2018 isn’t much lighter as far as metaphors go. But at least the food and beverage trend forecasts are all about nourishment.
For the first time this year, Ontario chain restaurants, coffee shops, movie theatres, supermarkets and convenience stores had to include calorie counts on their menus, a major response to the growing desire among consumers to know what they’re putting in their bodies.
It didn’t satisfy everyone. Some restaurants derided the complexity of calorie counting, especially when there are numerous ways of preparing certain menu items.
But the effects of the law are undeniable, with menus including more greens, good fats and probiotics than ever — reflecting an increasingly health-conscious foodie culture.
So like many of the trends forecast below, here’s to 2018 being a big plate of wholesome vegetables.
Plants The year of the “plant-based diet” shows no signs of stopping. Planta, one of 2017’s trendiest new eateries, opened a second boutique location in September dedicated to one of its most popular menu items: the burger. But as its name suggests, the Planta Burger is all veggie made with mushrooms, black beans, lentils and beets. Other plant-based spots have opened in recent months, including Parka, Palm Lane and a second Hogtown Vegan site. Plants are so popular, celebs are investing too. In October, Oscar-winner Leonardo DiCaprio put his money into plant-based “meat” startup Beyond Meat.
Medicinal mushrooms Mushrooms could take over in the new year, as Whole Foods predicts even “mushroom coffee” could emerge. Look for what the supermarket calls “functional mushrooms,” such as “reishi, chaga, cordyceps and lion’s mane.”
Many fungi are considered medicinal because they produce “adaptogenic” compounds that have been found to assist in anti-stress and anti-cancer treatment, among other benefits.
Toronto’s Fresh plans to bring chaga — “the king of medicinal mushrooms,” according to co-owner Jennifer Houston — to the menu in root beer form, and the detoxifying reishi mushrooms into two new shakes and a new tonic. Juice bar Village Juicery says its focus will be medicinal mushrooms in 2018, with prod- ucts such as the “Double Cacao Superfood Bite” that is infused with chaga mushrooms, and the new “Mushroom Broth” line of soup made with a “medley of powerful mushrooms.”
Foam and cream cheese To call cheese a trend may seem ridiculous, but it’s a safe bet when a major U.S. chain with “cheese” in its name opens its first Canadian location with hours-long lineups. Expect the city to be clamouring for the Cheesecake Factory’s huge menu of cheesecake well into 2018.
Other cheese variations have popped up elsewhere. Austrian bakery Guschlbauer opened its doors on Yonge St., serving cheese buns of varieties including mango, strawberry and sweet potato. A number of Toronto tea shops, including North York’s Royaltea and Chinatown’s Icha Tea, have been serving cheesetopped tea, a style originating in Taiwan that has received some attention on food blogs in recent months.
Matcha Matcha has been buzzing in The Six for a while. Among the new top spots for the green tea powder are Tsujiri Toronto, Markham’s Tendou Matcha & Dessert café and down- town’s Light Café. But the more recent development that could take matcha over the top in 2018 is Toronto-bred hip-hop star Drake’s choice of investments. The rapper invested in New York City-based tea shop Matchabar, which rolled out its bottled matcha beverage “Better Energy” with Whole Foods in September.
Fermented Tea In recent years, gut health has become a top priority for the health conscious concerned with the biochemistry of our bodies. One of the elements that is top of mind in the gut health world are probiotics. Food and drink items high in probiotics, or good bacteria, are more popular than ever. Kombucha is one of those. According to Zion Market Research group, the global kombucha market could experience a compound annual growth rate of around 25 per cent between 2017 and 2022. In Toronto, Fresh is adding their craft kombucha to the menu as an ingredient in a new line of tonics. Global taste maker Starbucks was also spotted testing a kombucha drink in Seattle, though the store has yet to bring it to a wider market.
Fat Though we once thought that “fat makes you fat,” we’re learning more about the benefits of dietary fat. It’s said that good fats, unlike derided “trans fats,” can help with everything from weight control and inflammation to heart disease and diabetes. In a food trends report, the Loblaw Food Council of professional chefs, registered dietitians and academics predicted that fatty products will get more popular in the new year.
“With more knowledge about good and bad fats, many will turn to fuller fat options, like full-fat yogurt,” the report reads.
Powdered superfoods The health-conscious population may be growing, but our society hasn’t changed much in the way that it views work. We’re busier than ever and increasingly looking for easier ways to be healthy. “I think people love a quick way to get in their healthy-eating fix, and powdered substances are seen as an easy way to pack in the nutrition,” says Toronto dietitian Abbey Sharpe, who thinks that powdered maca root, which she calls a “new hot superfood,” will be added to smoothies, lattes and oatmeal more in 2018. In major acquisitions, Kellogg recently bought RXBar, a protein bar made with powdered egg-whites.