Food Trends 2019 - 10 ingredients to watch

Brexit is expected to have a major impact on the food we eat. Costs will rise for both imported and home-produced produce. Here are 10 ingredients you can expect to see more of in 2019.

1. BREAD IS BACK

Bread has traditionally been served in restaurants as just a bit of an afterthought, a distraction while you browsed the menu. Now bread is moving into the spotlight and served a start course in its own right. More restaurants will be baking using heritage grains and British wheat and producing their own butter to serve with it.

2. CANNABIS

Yes, you read that right! Cannabidiol oil (CBD), a legal extract from cannabis, is popping up on menus and cocktail lists around the UK. Advocates are trying to establish CBD as part of the mainstream and it’s making it’s way in to everything from your gin and tonic to your brownies!

3. VINEGAR

Put the Sarsons on hold…. vinegar is going artisan with small batch producers refining it to produce unique and characterful flavours linked to terroir and the seasons. Pickling has been fashionable for a few years and in 2019 drinking vinegars and shrubs will become more prominent.

4. ROOT VEGETABLES

The rise of vegetable-led cooking is leading to innovation and the rediscovery of underrated vegetables especially root vegetables. New approaches to cooking the likes of celeriac, swede and beetroot see them take centre-stage.

5. THE AVOCADO BACKLASH

With one small cafe’s announcement that it was banning avocado in favour of more sustainable and locally sourced produce, a steady stream of others have followed and we predict consumers will respond to this increased awareness by choosing alternatives to what they put on their toast.

6. BRITISH SHELLFISH

Whatever happens with Brexit and its impact on UK fishing, we expect to see more sustainable British shellfish (mussels, razor clams, crab and oysters) on menus in 2019 - arguably more sustainable than meat and more appealing than insects.

7. MUSHROOMS

In 2018 Jackfruit was the veg that replaced meat in vegan and vegetarian dishes, but buyers at New Covent Garden predict that the ‘meaty’ vegetable of 2019 will be mushrooms, not the bland button sort but the likes of Hen of the Woods, Beefsteak and other Puffballs which have a firm texture and strong flavour.

8. AGEING MEAT & FISH

2019 will continue to see chefs put fewer ingredients on the plate while creating more ways to pack them with flavour. Ageing breaks down enzymes producing deeper flavour and improved texture. At Michelin-starred Ynyshir in Wales, Gareth Ward ages his beef for 300 days in a Himalayan salt chamber and is now experimenting with ageing fish in the same way.

9. WHERE THERE’S A WILL THERE’S A WHEY

The effort to reduce food waste includes finding new uses from by products that are usually discarded. Whey is a byproduct of cheese making, the liquid left after the milk has been curdled and strained. Chefs are discovering new ways to use whey as an alternative to stock in creamy soups, in bread backing and deserts.

10. ICE CREAM INNOVATION

No longer the after-thought at the bottom of the menu or on the side of other deserts, chefs are innovating with ice cream flavours and textures - look out for savoury ice creams like tahini or cheese.