Your 2023 Food Trends

 It's always fun to predict what's going to be hot and trendy in the New Year. What will 2023 bring foodwise? Will there be a hot new flavor? Or a new fusion cuisine that everyoine will rave about? There are some definite predictions that we'll br seeing a lot of in the next twelve months.

Regular contributor Kim Severson pondered this and investigated it in todays New York Times Food section. She interviewed the best food forecasters and waded through dozens of reports and news releases. Some predictions seem grim thanks to external forces like inflation, climate change and globalism. what trends willt hese give birth to? According to Jennifer Zigler, a food an drink director for the global market research group Mintel,, simplicity , versatility escapism and resourcefulness. There will be high end Jell-o shots, , bright naturally colored fare and packaging reminiscent of the Seventies.What will be the ultimate flavor of the year? Surprisingly brine. fresh bracing marine flavors are what our palates will be craving. There will be coastal cocktails garnished with crab claws and oysters.Actor Dan Levy and host of "The Big Brunch"  is making Clamato juice hot again. Another food trend is the ube a slightly nutty vanilla scented purple yam from the Philippines.It will be  in everything from waffles to pina coladas. There is also going to be a snack of 2023 too.It's the crunchy , yummy chicken skins. They're gracing nachos and on their own.Chefs are using every part of the chicken  thanks to rising costs. we also may be sharing food more too ,thanks to spending years apart. 

There is even a food word of the year.It's regenivore , meaning  a person who wants food from companies who are actively healing the planet through carbon reducing agriculture, more rigorous  animal welfare policies and equitable treatment of people who grow and process food. Also look for more packaging that reduces waste.Chefs will use more climate hero foods like teff and lupin beans. There's also going to be a lot fo thrift. There will be no shame in coupon clipping. Rising energy costs will find home chefs using their air fryers, microwaves and electric kettles.Private label supermarkets will also be offering shorter menus and more value. Japanese cuisine will be shining in the New Year. other cuisines will be more Japanese adjacent  meaning that chefs of that descent will be using flavors and techniques in foods that they grew up with. Kimika in New York is a prime example , marrying Italian and Japanese cuisines together. West African food is going to be popular too  with suya ,a three spice flavoring becoming popularSpace food will be seen on the menu in 2023 too. Tang makes a big comeback as does free dried ice cream. even Coke comes out with a space flavored drink (think lime).

Will these trends stick til December of next year. It's hard to say. Some stay . Sone don't. Just embrace  them and enjoy their flavors .

The Knives Are Out

A good knife is integral to any kitchen, whether it be residential or commercial. It has to be multipurpose . It has to chop dice, slice, mince, debone, fillet and cleave. It should be the one go to device that cooks cannot live without. It should also be sturdy and long lasting That's what makes a good knife.

This was the subject of the great Florence Fabricant's article in yesterday's New York Times Dining section. She explores the new breed of knives coming out in an extensive piece that will definitely persuade home cooks on their buying decisions.Right now Japan leads the country and world in good knife manufacturing. The Japanese create a cutter that is more durable than what other countries including the US and France, are creating. Their blades are carbon steel and have an edge better than the stainless steel variety. There is one drawback is that the blades do turn grey with time. However this patina doesn't seem to bother both home and professional chefs.

Japanese blades are also better in construction too. Nothing really changes in the translation. The blades are still thick, sharpened on both sides and have a visible tang. A tang is the part of the blade where it connects to the handles with rivets. Traditional Japanese knives have rounded or octagonal handles with no visible tangs. They only have one side sharpened (which results in a thinner cut) and are only for right handed people. This caters to a limited audience considering home chefs want a more versatile blade that can do anything. Some cooks want a Damascus steel blade which is made by folding the steel into itself as it's forged . This was how centuries of swords were made and reached it's height during the Crusades.

Knives are an important part of any kitchen arsenal. It seems that the versatile Japanese blades are the ones that people want and why not? Busy cooks want a knife that can handle anything, from dicing to chopping, from slicing to chopping.