A look at what to expect over the next 12 months
Cooking on TikTok
Instagram seemed a pretty ideal social media format for sharing foodie photos and videos – many amateur chefs and bakers in the Emirates have turned pro by virtue of their popularity on that platform. But TikTok has lately become the trendier showcase for 15-second rapid-fire recipes and three-minute cooking workshops. The inbuilt brevity tends to foster creativity, giving rise to recent crazes for overnight oats, iced coffees, and mozzarella doughnuts. ‘Food hackers’ are likely to get even more adept with TikTok hashtags in 2022.
Climatarianism
There has been a gradual and definitive change in spirit in the average consumer when it comes to factoring carbon footprints into their eating habits and related shopping choices over the last few years. The growth of ‘climatarianism’ (or ‘reducetarianism’) will continue into 2022 and beyond, as customers actively gravitate toward the most local and seasonal produce, which is also ideally the least processed and packaged.
Non-alcoholic spirits
Alternatives to liquor are such a booming international business now that Abu Dhabi has opened an outpost of a popular “dry” cocktail lounge (www.thevirginmarybar.com) from Dublin, Ireland. Part of this growth is driven by improvements in the taste of alcohol substitutes that go far beyond 0% beers and wines to the vodkas and rums. See our range in stores.
Levantine cuisine
In 2021, the UK supermarket Waitrose launched a new range of Levantine foods and seasonings, from our ubiquitous pomegranate molasses to Turkish urfa chilli flakes and immediately reported a 2,500 per cent increase in searches for ‘Levantine’ on their website. Trendologists and market researchers like Datassential suggest that Western consumers have become more interested in ‘old world’ cuisines while being broadly unfamiliar with the diversity and specificity of Eastern Mediterranean cooking – their curiosity is prompting them to explore the rich culinary sub-cultures of Cyprus, Lebanon, Egypt etc.
Urban farming
One of the ironies of modern food trends is that ultra-urban environments like Brooklyn, New York, have bred hip demographics who pine for the rustic and rural. The home borough of Whole Foods is now being ever-greened by rooftop gardens, hydroponic greenhouses and mini-farms in formerly abandoned lots. And the high-tech UAE is particularly well placed to build on this trend, having already established firm bases for urban cultivation, from Sustainable City to a host of indoor, vertical growing spaces such as Spinneys’ suppliers Badia Farms, Armela, UNS and more.
Umami
That mysterious “fifth taste” – after sweet, sour, salty, and bitter – has been having a moment for several years now. Introduced to many via Japanese cuisine, that particular savoury flavour will penetrate deeper into global food culture through produce that is also coming to attention for its health-giving properties and sustainable attributes, not in the least seaweed, kimchi and soya beans.
Potato milk
It sounds like the punchline of an Irish joke, but the juice of the potato is already a contender for the brutally competitive title of the world’s trendiest ‘alt-milk’. Soya, oat, and almond have had their day and also their problems in terms of sustainability, while the potato is vegan-friendly, allergen-free and requires much less land and water to grow. The ‘milk’ takes a little more effort to extract though, as it’s heated and emulsified with rapeseed oil – according to a semi-secret formula pioneered by Professor Eva Tornberg of Sweden’s Lund University, then developed by a company called Veg of Lund.
Hibiscus
For centuries, human consumption of wild hibiscus was mostly restricted to bitter, citrusy Chinese and Indian teas. At some point in the last few years, mixologists started flavouring cocktails with these blossoms and nowadays it’s not uncommon to find that tart, flowery taste complementing the meaty, fatty filling of a taco from one of the more progressive gourmet food trucks.
Outdoor hosting
Yes, the earliest phase of the pandemic kept people indoors experimenting with sourdough. But this later, post-vaccination stage has seen a middle ground emerge between lockdown and normality, where many feel sociable but also a little wary of confined spaces. Hence, a growing inclination to host garden parties and barbecues. Homeowners in countries without a grilling culture are now investing in smokers, tandoors and pizza ovens.
