Food Trends: What Food Will Be Popular in 2021?

Each year presents us with new and innovative methods of cooking, the revival of some old-fashioned recipes with a modern twist, and all of the sudden we find ourselves using new ingredients again and again, although previously we didn’t even know they existed! Yes, there’s definitely something called ‘food-fashion’ and we are the obedient followers! We wonder what food trends 2021 will bring to our tables!

Food and drink scene has changed a lot over the last couple of decades. The year 2020 locked most of the world up in their homes with the extra time to spend in the kitchen, and that has certainly changed the way people see food.

To start with, one of the UK-based supermarkets, Waitrose, reported that people became a lot more adventurous in their tastes, buying plenty more International pantry ingredients!

Having said that, Brits chose local meat and vegetables! What is more, there has been a significant increase in BBQ foods. Not surprisingly, as al fresco dining has become a new normal over the pandemic!

Another UK supermarket – Sainsbury’s – report that sales of flour had more than doubled with home cooks making more bread, pastries and cakes instead of buying them in the shops. Sourdough has been the word of 2020, and we have happily jumped on the bandwagon too!

Whilst Gin was ranked the most popular spirit of the year (with Sainsbury’s year-on-year sales increasing by 21%), Brits seemed to have had enough by the end of the year and, instead experimented with the non-alcoholic spirits. It is predicted that the rise of the non-alcoholic drinks sales will continue over the next few years, as we become more and more health-conscious!

Given the change in our choices for food and drink over the pandemic year of 2020, we are putting together a list of what we think will be all the rage in 2021.

What Food Will Be Popular in the UK in 2021:

1. Home-Made Pasta:

With the new-found passion for cooking and the everlasting love for pasta, we think 2021 will be the year everyone will enjoy home-made pasta! Since pasta dough requires only a couple of ingredients, we believe it’s a perfect contender to become super popular! How many times a month do you eat pasta dishes yourself? We bet they’d taste a lot better if you made your own dough and spend some time creating your favourite pasta shapes! All you need to start is a pasta roller and some 00 flour.

2. Pickling & Fermenting

With pickling being a regular theme on most of the cooking shows in 2020, we believe it’s certainly time for everyone to do some of our own at home. Becoming more health-conscious adds to the trend. For centuries, pickled and fermented foods were known for their benefits for the immune system and gut health. From making your own vinegar and kombucha to pickling seasonal vegetables, we sure think this will become extremely popular in 2021.

3. Posh Coffee at Home

We love coffee here at Somebody Feed Seb. Not a day goes by without a lovely homemade soya latte or a cappuccino. Sometimes with a dash of Caramel Syrup! There is nothing like having a mini Coffee Shop right here in our kitchen! With more people working from home, we think coffee machine sales will go up exponentially! And coffee-lovers will try to recreate their coffee shop favourite at home! I can assure you, once you start making your own coffee, using your favourite coffee beans, barista-grade milk and syrups no take-away coffee will ever be good enough for you!

4. African Cuisines

If you subscribe to any food magazines or keep an eye on the online food portals, you can’t have missed the sheer amount of delectable African cuisine-inspired dishes towards the end of 2020. I have seen (and already cooked) numerous Jollof, Ethiopian injera and South African Bobotie recipes. There are so many new and exciting ingredients, cooking methods and flavour combinations to learn about from various African food cultures.

5. Tangzhong

Although we don’t think Sourdough will meet its demise any time soon, the more adventurous home-bakers will definitely get itchy feet. We think the next craze will be Tangzhong. It is an Asian bread baking technique, that is already quite popular in the US. Tangzhong is made by pre-cooking some of the flour and liquid to use in the dough. This ensures that you end up with a soft and fluffy final bake. Want to know more about Tangzong? Read about it here.

6. International spices, chilli and curry pastes and flavourings!

According to Independent, a rise in the international pantry ingredients will continue. Amongs more conventional spices and pastes, we are more and more likely to venture out into the unknown. Specifically, Waitrose predicts that it will be Amchoor (tart powdered green mango seasoning), Pul Biber (Turkish chilli flakes), Wayanad Peppers (Keralan peppercorns with distinct citrusy notes) and Zhoug (Yemenite chilli and herb paste for dipping, dressing, marinating) that will be the first ones to become popular in the Western world this year! Don’t know about you, but we cannot wait to try all of these unfamiliar ingredients!

Will you be trying any of the mentioned ingredients and cooking methods? We certainly will!

If you’re interested in the topic of food trends in 2021, YBFs put together a wonderful Food & Drink Innovation Report. It tries to predict what will be the focus of our kitchens in 2021. You can read it here.