At the start of this New Year it’s time to look back at some of the best (or maybe worst) food and drink trends 2018 had to offer.

Social media continued to be filled with brightly-coloured rainbow, unicorn, mermaid fantasy drinks and desserts, a trend that refuses to disappear from our feeds, being both bright and aesthetic – definitely insta-worthy! While nice to look at, this trend isn’t very practical to recreate at home and is lacking in any health benefits compared to other social media trends such as Acai bowls. These aesthetically presented bowls of fruit, nuts, granola or seeds atop what is effectively a really thick smoothie, are easy to make at home and could be seen everywhere in 2018. This treat is deemed as a super-superfood, often made with spinach, goji berries, nuts and, of course, Acai. Although not unique to 2018, they certainly became a more popular breakfast choice as they have been increasingly added to menus at independent outlets and they hold the potential to be stored in the fridge overnight, if it is made the night before. This trend is sure to follow our health-conscious generation into 2019.  

Aesthetic plays a major part in trending, as the naturally bright powers of Matcha and Turmeric demonstrated in 2018. The natural bright green power, Matcha, was added to cake, lattes, yoghurts, chocolate, smoothies, biscuits, and more, proving itself to be a truly diverse ingredient filled with antioxidants and health benefits. Meanwhile turmeric has been used for its vivid yellow colour and rumoured anti-cancerous benefits, to create dishes such as vegan scrambled ‘eggs.’ Turmeric lattes were also a bit hit many coffee shops such as Starbucks, popularising its high value in antioxidants. This store-cupboard essential proved to have a bit of a renaissance in the past few years as ELLE states, Google highlighted turmeric’s ‘ascent’ after searches for the spice and its health benefits increased by 56% from 2015-16, demonstrating the long awaited revival of the spice in our high-street coffee shops.

Another drink that emerged as a popular favourite during the 2018 heat wave was cold brew coffee. This method of brewing coffee in cold water over several hours to then be diluted and bottled, creates a subtler coffee taste which is perfect for on-the-go drinking. This drink really boomed in the summer and many cafes outside of the giant chains Costa and Starbucks saw the trend and began to offer cold brew too. Hopefully this trend will continue to quench the thirst of overheated Brits, fingers crossed for more heat! 

2018 also made a splash in the world of condiments, with the basic ketchup and mayonnaise being superseded by exotic, hot or gourmet sauces. Fusion sauces have emerged on food stands at farmers markets such as ‘Mustchup’ (a blend of mustard, ketchup and chilli) or whole ranges of alternatively flavoured gourmet BBQ sauce. One brand that took the sauce trend by storm was Foraging Fox, with their vegan avocado mayonnaise and beetroot ketchup, now available in Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, and other stores. The public have also indulged in a hot sauce frenzy, huge varieties have appeared on shelves and the Thai chilli sauce ‘Sriracha’ can often be seen in condiment buckets at restaurants now.

Continuing on the Thai trend, rolled ice cream can be seen more and more as street food. The making of this creamy treat is a performance in itself and the product is always tasty – definitely to be seen more of in 2019.

In August the BBC documented the study by The University of Edinburgh, revealing that ‘one third of farmed fruit and vegetables are deemed too ugly to eat’ and farmers had chosen to grow a surplus in the knowledge that ugly produce will be discarded as waste. 2018 saw initiatives started the previous year come into fruition, to reduce waste produce and the country has since been embracing less-than-perfect produce. Hooray for the ugly spud!

Finally, the ever-growing vegan movement developed some impressive recipes during 2018, featuring meat alternatives sure to fill and satisfy your hunger. Cauliflower has turned out to be a great alternative to most meats lending itself to being battered and made into Buffalo wings or added to curries or Chinese dishes traditionally featuring chicken. Instead of using its florets the cauliflower has also been made into steaks, perfect for marinating and filling with flavour. Additionally, the properties of Jackfruit have been manipulated into emulating the texture and appearance of pulled pork with M&S now selling a ‘BBQ Pulled Jackfruit Pizza’ in their Plant Kitchen range.

Many of these trends will carry forward into 2019 but let’s hope the world of food and drink will continue to be filled with innovative, unique trends!