10 Food Trends of the Future

by John Devore, Posted Dec 31st 2009 @ 11:00AM

rainbow jell-o mold Photo: m kasahara, Flickr.

Food is like fashion: full of trends that are hot plates one moment and cold leftovers the next.

Sure, there are fundamentals that will never go out of style, like a well-cooked steak or a creamy bisque. But then there are fads -- Chilean sea bass, sous vide, molecular gastronomy. Like fashion's flashes in the pan, some are gaudy extravaganzas meant to attract attention and instant gratification. On the other hand, some become classics passed down through generations to come. No one can truly predict what the public will embrace, either in the short or long term.

What does the future hold for food trends? What exciting, silly, over-the-top surprises await us tomorrow, besides jet-pack pizza delivery? Drool over these epicurean prognostications and tremble at our ability to peer into the unknown. Here are food trends that we 110 percent guarantee will be served at any point between this new year and 500 years from now.

10. Jell-O Molds
A wave of 1970s nostalgia will see a return of jiggly Jell-o molds filled with floating edibles. Grapes, hot dogs, capers will all be suspended in an ornate dome of gelatin. Ironically, of course.

9. Broth Cubes
One day, in the future, you will pay a lot of money for frozen squares of bouillabaisse, consommé or French onion soup. You will hate it. You will eat. And oh, you will pay.

8. Waffle Cones
The most popular form of fast food will be a waffle cone filled with all manner of soft, savory foods. Mashed potatoes, chili con carne, macaroni salad -- all served in a portable, delicious cone.

7. Rodent Meat
We will look back and wrinkle our noses at the offal craze of this decade. Then we will return to nibbling itty-bitty racks of hamster or weasel bourguignon. Broiled mouse will be as popular then as bone marrow is now.

6. Tiny Utensils
Lose weight by eating tiny morsels speared at the ends of tiny forks. It's a diet and an aesthetic statement.

5. Mash-Ups
Fusion was too timid. Culinary mash-ups will be extreme, like snowboarding or skull piercings. Asian food won't be "fused" with French. It will be mashed together. Paté-stuffed Peking duck? Dude! Wasabi soufflé? RAD!

4. Flamethrowers
Imagine ordering dinner and your food being cooked tableside ... by a man with a flamethrower. That restaurant will be the "hottest" ticket in town! It will be a hot ticket, because spits of large animals will be flash cooked by a flamethrower right in front of you.

3. Inside-Out Sandwiches
Sandwiches are old and boring. But not "inside-out" sandwiches, where the bread is sandwiched between a slice of meat and a slice of cheese! It will be a phenomenon!

2. Fish Eyeballs
First of all, fish eyeballs are sustainable, especially if you just remove one eye from the fish. Secondly, it won't be called "fish eyeballs." It will be called "ocular roe." It will sell by the bowlful.

1. Toast
Gourmands will line up to eat plain white bread, toasted, without butter. It will be the counter-intuitive choice for gastronomes who want to return to the very basics of human consumption. The toast can be paired with a glass of water.

Filed Under: Trends, Lists
Tags: futuristic, gelatin, New Year, rodents, toast

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

12-31-2009 @1:06PM pedantic said... "Molecular Gastronomy" isn't a fad. Perhaps calling it such is one, but "modern techniques" are not. Things like immersion circulators are tools to make cooking more precise, just like an oven is more precise and than coals. Nothing is stopping you from putting a pot on water with a thermometer and constantly adjusting it to maintain the temperature you want, just like nothing is stopping you from using a dutch-oven and coals to bake.

These modern food additives are no different than the baking powder or cream of tartar people have been using for ages.
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1-02-2010 @7:17PM Just me in Alabama said... you just wish you knew Rachael Ray. There is no comparison, so shut up about her.just me in Alabama
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1-03-2010 @9:54AM valerie said... to those that think this is an advertising site,, go f yourself!!!! i think u are all pos';s
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1-03-2010 @2:16PM Ferpetesak said... What a BS story. I hope he didn't get paid to write it as obviously there is zero research
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1-03-2010 @9:00AM Proofredhead said... I don't see my family ever suggesting that we dine on "broiled mouse or itty bitty racks of hamster" .lol I don't see American fine dining reduced to that. Perhaps a South American country that is already eating rodents, like Peru that enjoys guinea pigs.
I very much enjoyed your predictions, as I do your writing in general.
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1-03-2010 @4:13PM m320753 said... as if you knew that many countries eat dogs, cats. many eat various rodents . in fact, there are restaurants in larger cities that serves bugs dipped in a variety of coverings like chocolate sauses. look at that guy on cable who eats anything they put in front of him, now that is pushing grossness to the limit

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1-03-2010 @10:20AM LisaK said... I am pretty darn sure mouse is not going to be on anyone's table. No one will be eating mouse. So I truly don't know why anyone would think we would. Seriously, how stupid
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1-03-2010 @10:19AM Alice said... I don't believe there will be any changes in food until that Obama person is impeached and put in prison for having his birth certificate altered. Until then, you will have to enjoy fried chicken everyday.
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1-03-2010 @11:04AM BO said... THE TRENDS OF THE FUTURE IS NOW : VEGETARIAN/VEGAN FOODS ARE THE WAY OF THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE. IT IS THE HUMANE ALTERNATIVE. IT SAVES ANIMALS, IT ENHANCES ARE HEALTH AND WELL BEING, IT HELPS THE ENVIRONMENT. FINALLY, IT ADDS A SPIRITUALLY TO OUR LIVES THAT MEAT EATERS WOULD NOT TRULY KNOW ABOUT. JESUS WAS A VEGETARIAN SO WERE MANY THINKERS,PHILOSOPHERS,WRITERS, ETC. MEAT EATING IS ONE GRADE BELOW CANNIBALISM, WHETHER YOU KNOW IT OR NOT. TRUE COMPASSION STARTS WITH EACH OF US STARTING WITH THE FORK
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1-03-2010 @11:25AM JKP said... HELLLLOOOOO.....Jesus a vegetarian? I guess you have forgotten his words....."take this, eat it, it is my body....damn christians.

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1-03-2010 @4:17PM Autumn said... Uhm pretty sure compassion has absolutely nothing to do with eating. You can still have compassion for animals and eat them at the same time. Being a vegetarian is not all that healthy either. You're supposed to have a balanced diet ya know, and how in the hell does being a vegetarian make you more spiritual? I know plenty of meat eaters who could out-spirit you, and I sure as hell know not eating meat isn't going to make me believe there's a god out there. Now come on. Stop trying to force your views onto other people. You were once a meat eater too ya know, or did you become a higher being than everyone else once you gave up meat? You need knocked off your damn pedestal, seriously.

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1-03-2010 @7:11PM Adrian said... Jesus was a vegetarian? I'm not so sure... He gave people fishes and loaves of bread to eat.

Also, the idea that meat-eaters cannot be spiritual is ludicrous. The first vegetarian I ever knew (Margaret O'Brien) was arrogant to her friends and only cared about looks in men. Some "spirituality" she had... Oh yeah, she was also Catholic and anti-abortion...