These 8 food trends you don’t want to miss in 2021

Food trends: they come and go, but hopefully the best ones stick around! Some, like freak shakes, could quietly disappear from our lives after the previous years, but we hope to come across quite a few things from this list in 2021…

Just as in previous years, Yelp published a list in December of food trends to try in the coming year, with hit potential based on the increase in American Yelp review mentions of the topic in question. And it’s another list to make your mouth water! Which of these things would you like to try next year? (Um, we want to try them all…)

Birria

The birria taco could already be found at authentic taquerias such as Coba and Bacalar in Amsterdam, and hopefully it will break through to the wider public next year. Originally made in the Mexican state of Jalisco from very slowly cooked goat meat in a marinade (adobo) of vinegar, dried chilies, herbs and spices, and cooked in stock, birria is now also often made with more accessible beef or lamb. Still, we hope taco chefs in the Netherlands will dare to make it with, for example, the often-overlooked kid goat meat from the goat dairy industry, which rarely reaches consumers. It’s incredibly flavorful and distinctive, and with such a slow simmering technique, you can turn it into something truly delicious! Perfect in a soft little tortilla with onion, coriander and lime.

Hot honey

It’s not very well known here yet, but that’s the fun of predicting trends like Yelp does: demand for Hot Honey has increased enormously, and next year we can see whether it will take off here too. It’s honey infused with chili peppers, and apparently people drizzle it over pizza for a sweet kick that really packs a punch.

Detroit-style pizza

Since we’re talking about pizza: another major trend Yelp predicts is Detroit-style pizza. “Having a moment”, they say, and when we see how deliciously airy and dripping with cheese and red sauce (on top of the cheese in this case, so the airy crust doesn’t become soggy) those rectangular giants look, we hope it will be a very long moment…

Sando sandwiches

You could call them Japanese ‘sandwiches’, but that doesn’t quite do them justice. The bread used for these sandwiches is often made from incredibly airy milk bread, and the filling is so delicious that your little tin of vegetarian pâté pales by comparison… Think breaded, fried, tender chicken or pork fillets with Kewpie mayonnaise and fresh homemade pickles; yum! Or, the ultimate luxury: the wagyu sando FavorFlav’s Sharon once had! The chicken katsu sando from restaurant Fou Fow Udon on Amsterdam’s Prinsengracht is one of our all-time favorites, but they’re also irresistible when filled with, for example, a breaded boneless pork chop. Seriously, go get one for yourself soon!

Hard seltzer

We already had these on our radar at FavorFlav too: the hard seltzers from brands such as Topo Chico and Stelz. They’re completely all the rage in America and are gradually conquering Europe too. Soft drink with alcohol, simply put, but less sweet than the Breezers you may have drunk in the nineties. And that’s good news.

Boba

Boba saw the percentage of mentions in reviews increase by 185% over the past year! We still think this is a fun drink too: Asian bubble tea that you can pick up at many tea bars, or make yourself if you buy a bag of tapioca pearls at a well-stocked Asian supermarket.

Seafood boils

It had just started to gain traction in Dutch restaurants, and then suddenly businesses everywhere were forced to close. We’re still sad about it and hope that, as soon as the hospitality industry opens its doors again, we’ll find this delicious ‘dish’ in more places. Or we could all get to work at home with a large table that you first cover with plastic wrap and then newspapers, or simply a very large wooden cutting board, onto which you pour a pan containing potatoes, pieces of corn on the cob, crawfish, crab and whatever other shellfish and seafood you enjoy, all cooked until tender in a small amount of liquid. Ideally, you do this with Old Bay Seasoning, a spice blend you can sometimes find at that same well-stocked Asian supermarket; otherwise, you’ll have to Google a homemade recipe. That really completes it.

Fried chicken sandwiches

Unfortunately, this predicted trend is one of the unhealthiest. But it’s also one of the tastiest! So if we only give in to our extreme trendiness every once in a while, then, just like last year, we can enjoy the best fried chicken sandwich we’ve had in ages—not too often, but to the fullest…

In short: 2020 pulled the wool over our eyes in some respects, but with all this deliciousness ahead, we’re more than happy to head into 2021 with renewed enthusiasm!

Also read:

• We like it: loaded fries are the trend of 2021
• Food trends chefs hate, part one
• These are the 5 biggest changes in the hospitality industry in 2021

Source: Yelp