7 of the most striking food hybrids we’ve come across this year
Just eating a croissant, plate of stamppot or frikandel? That’s soooo 2015. No, we want it crazier. Weirder. We want our mouths to fall open all over again the moment we take a bite. We want food hybrids! This year, another whole bunch of gems (or monstrosities?) appeared. These are the 7 most striking ones from 2023.
Do you remember the cronut, which was totally hip in 2018? And last year: the oliedel? I think we’ll come across plenty more striking hybrids in the food world in the years to come. In a way, we can’t wait, but we’re also a little worried. What food hybrids landed on our plates this year?
The crompouce
I almost don’t dare write the word anymore. Still, I’m doing it, because the crompouce was, by far, the most talked-about food hybrid of the year. TikTok exploded, the queues outside bakeries stretched for miles and we did EVERYTHING to get our hands on a crompouce. Now, if we’re honest, we’re a little tired of it. Remember all that copycat drama, too? No, we think we really need to put an end to this tompouce madness for a while. Shall we make that our collective New Year’s resolution for 2024?
The Bossant
If the tompouce gets that much attention, then the Bossche bol deserves it too. At least, that’s what baker Moeskops in Eindhoven thought. The result: the Bossant. A Bossche bol croissant, in other words. Well, it’s delicious either way. It’s a tompouce filled with a thick layer of cream and topped with chocolate: what’s not to like? Somehow, we’re more of a fan of this than of the crompouce. Maybe precisely because we’ve had enough of all that tompouce madness.
The Frikanpouce
The crompouce hype took on even crazier forms this year with the Frikanpouce. A frikandel filled with cream and topped with icing. This really made our brains short-circuit for a moment. Who wants this?! Still, there were some fans at snackbar Heisfrietuurke in Mariaheide, the inventor of this food hybrid. But this is taking things way too far for us. Stick to mayo with curry and onions, and leave the cream at the bakery, please.
Frikandel sushi
Frikandellen have been popular in food hybrids for years. From the Frikandellington to the frikandeltosti, we’ve seen it all. This year, the Dutch snack went on an Asian tour in the form of frikandel sushi. Snackspert called it a brilliant innovation in the snack world. Well, in a way, it is. Who would have thought in 2015 that we’d be able to order all-you-can-eat frikan sushi?
Satay pizza
According to research by Thuisbezorgd.nl, we ordered pizza en masse this year. In fact, we ordered 10 times as many pizzas as in 2022. The most striking newcomer? Satay pizza. More and more pizzerias are running with the idea. It’s simply pizza dough with tomato sauce, cheese, chicken satay and satay sauce. Nothing wrong with that, right? I say: bring it into next year.
Flammkuchen doughnut
We also regularly come across food hybrids in the supermarket. This year, the Albert Heijn flammkuchen doughnut was one of them. It’s not incredibly special, really, because you can pour pretty much anything into a doughnut shape. But someone still had to think of it. Snackspert considered it quite an innovation, at least (‘a combination that is less likely than a musical collaboration between Snollebollekes and Anouk’), so it fits this list perfectly.
Big Mac pizza
Ordering pizza at McDonald’s—that would really be news. The Big Mac pizza came pretty close to that kind of innovation. It contains all the ingredients of a Big Mac, but on a hot pizza base. So it comes with minced beef, pickles, iceberg lettuce and cheddar cheese. And, of course, the famous Big Mac sauce. You make that yourself. We thought it was a brilliant addition to our culinary 2023. Because at least it solves a major problem: am I having pizza or Maccie tonight?
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