The year is almost over, but that doesn’t mean you still can’t check off a few more things off that 2018-bucket list. Probably one of the most notable things of the year was the top food trend, which was compiled by a variety of experts and sources on what was expected to be big in restaurants and on grocery store shelves.
Online and mobile food-ordering company Grubhub recently released its annual “Year in Delivery” list, which analyzed the top items for 2017, as well as predicted items that would remain or become popular in 2018.
The item that took the top spot was lettuce wraps, which saw a 184 percent rise in average monthly popularity. Last year’s top item was poke, which saw a 643 percent increase in popularity. Poke remained in the No. 2 spot for 2018.
With the Korean wave hitting the United States, natural Korean dishes, as well as other Asian foods, made the list, with Bulgogi bibimbap coming in at No. 3 with a 89 percent rise in average monthly popularity, Spicy tonkotsu ramen coming in at No. 5 76 percent rise in average monthly popularity, and Kimchi fries taking No. 6 with a 75 percent rise in average monthly popularity. Other Asian dishes that made Grubhub’s list was Shio ramen and Korean fried chicken wings.
Now, for the DIY-ers in the family, the Pinterest 100 for 2018 includes air frying, souping instead of juicing, drinking coffee with protein powder or superfoods, using North American spices and plant proteins. Korean condiments such as Gochujang (red chili paste), vegan desserts and mocktails also made the Top 10.
According to the top 10 trend predictions from Supermarket News, an informational site for food-retail professionals, maple, Hispanic-style cheese, algae, alternative sugars and dumplings made the list. The National Restaurant Association, which surveyed 700 professional chefs to come up with its list of what will be popular in 2018, found that new cuts of meat (No. 1), Thai-rolled ice cream (No. 14), and vegetable carb substitutes (No. 7) made the list.