Loading summary
Transcript35 lines
- [00:00]
A
All of it is supported by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game? Well, with the Name youe Price Tool from Progressive, you can find options that fit your budget and potentially lower your bills. Try it@progressive.com Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates Price and coverage match Limited by state law not available in all states.
- [00:30]
B
This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. You can learn a lot about a culture by how and what it eats. And a new year gives us a new opportunity to forecast how food trends will change. Joining me now to talk about this is Kim Severson. She is a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter for the New York Times where she covers food culture. She's the author of the recent article how we'll eat in 2026. More caution, more crunch. Kim, welcome to all of it.
- [01:01]
C
I'm so glad to be here. Thanks for asking me.
- [01:04]
B
So how are food trends figured out?
- [01:07]
C
Well, I think the top thing to remember is there is a food fad and a food trend. Right. So you know, and food trends churn through as we know so quickly. I don't if you remember the moment where people were like making nachos on their kitchen counter with a spatula, paint spatula, there were you know, people melting gummies in to, you know, I mean it just the, the things that they can do on the Internet these days is amazing. So you don't want to be distract the food fads because those, those come and go. Right now there's a thing where there's a kind of a really creamy buttery cheese called butter kaze and everybody is stuffing it into baked sweet potatoes for lunch and it's like the big thing and people will show their lunch, you know and they have the what I ate today videos. And so anyway so there's a million food fads very different than trends, which is what sociologists will at or what you know, people who write like write about food think about and these are longer tailed ways that we eat things, things that we're eating and interested in that maybe say something larger about how we're living or are going to have they're going to stick around for a little more sea change ways in which we eat. I mean you might like look at grass fed beef for a while it was you know, the idea that you would eat animals that came off of pasture was a, you know, a Chez Panisse California idea that nobody did. And I just saw today that Target is moving into its wellness space with enthusiasm. They will have a, a brand of grass fed ground beef at Target stores. So, you know, a food trend, you know, which is people want to start eating cows that eat, that are living on pasture started 20 years ago and now we're seeing it all the way, you know, as, as an item at Target. And I can point to so many of those things. Salted caramel that came from Brittany, it was a small boutique way to, you know, that they would, a specific kind of caramel, they would salt in Brittany. A couple of chefs in San Francisco brought it over and started cooking with it. And now you have, you know, salted caramel lattes at Starbucks. So those are trends that might have more impact.
- [03:18]
B
How do you go about reporting about trends? Who do you talk to? Where do you go? How do you travel?
- [03:25]
C
You know, the food world is full of marketing people who get paid a lot of money to try to get us to write about their products and to sell your listeners more products. And every year they try to put forth what they think will be, you know, the, the food trends of the year. You know, McCormick Spice Company always puts out its flavor of the year. Black currant, I think was this year. You know, and those things, they, they also, their marketing departments do look at how people are eating things that are trending. Online sales, you know, they talk to a lot of consumers, so there's some value in that. There are also a lot of trend watchers like food companies like Cartman or Mintel is a big one. And they have people who go out and eat all year and pull out trends. So I talk to all those kinds of folks. I talk to a lot of my colleagues. I like to talk to chefs who really are the ones, at least the higher level that are, are doing things that will end up being those are more common food we eat. You know, this year a big fermented food is big. And chefs, you know, the Noma chefs were fermenting food and it was kind of a high end, cool thing for a while. And certainly you also had the sub, you know, the rise of kimchi and fermented food that is big in Asian cuisines, that was kind of happening. But now fermented foods are considered, you know, you know, sauerkraut's coming back and so all these ideas. So when I talk to high end chefs, I sort of see what they're doing because I know eventually it may come down to the masses. So I just talk to a bunch of people, I read a bunch of stuff and just kind of mash it all up and see what comes out.
- [05:05]
B
Just to give us a little bit of perspective, what were some of the food trends from 2025?
- [05:11]
C
So 2025, you know, we were still riding a little bit of the post pandemic high, right. We were all hunkered down. We were really tired of eating our own cooking. Although certainly home cooking got a big boost during the pandemic. I mean, you have to think an entire nation had to learn to cook overnight, essentially, right? So all of our home cooking skills got a lot better and, you know, the sourdough bread craze and all of that, but, boy, by the time we were out of that, people wanted to go to restaurants, Right. And so immediately after the pandemic, there was this kind of roaring twenties vibe. Everybody was. Wanted to go out and eat at restaurants. The problem was a lot of restaurants were closed. There was not a lot of service. It didn't work out that well, but we were still riding that a little bit. There was this, you know, we're going to take chances, people, you know, the. The political landscape was all kind of topsy, turvy, anything goes kind of vibe. So people wanted wild flavors. You know, you started to see, I mean, you know, hot honey obviously was on everything, but, you know, you started to see these crazy mashups, combos of flavors. And you saw brands like, you know, Reese's peanut butter cups was like, you know, in cereal, and you saw hot sauce being in ice cre, and people just wanted to mix it up. So we were coming off of this real, you know, wild, wild ride time. You know, we were eating. We were drinking a lot of cold foam matcha, like a lot of dips. Sauces were huge. In fact, Kentucky Fried Chicken last year, Start kfc, they call it, they. They introduced a chain that was just called sauces, which was 13 herbs, 13 sauces based on their secret. So, you know, sauces, we were dipping everything. So there was just this whole, you know, choose your own adventure vibe. Very different than what we're heading into this year.
- [06:54]
B
Yeah. And hearing you talk about food and how it relates to society, when you look at food trends, was it. What does it tell you about America writ large?
- [07:07]
C
Right. Well, it's interesting because, you know, people say, well, how is America eating? There are many Americas. That's the first thing to realize. And people eat at lots of different levels. Right. So it's kind of hard to, you know, to say America is like this. But there are some things that, you know, that we see that are happening overall. You know, the protein craze is certainly Something, but that's really fed kind of a return to beef, both at the super high end. So you have people spending crazy stupid money on $400 wagyu steaks. But you also have, you know, I think ground beef is getting some new popularity in all of this and kind of a new sheen. You know, price of beef is high, but the beef consumption in this country is up. Certainly meat consumption overall is up. So I think plant based food is still, you know, after having a real shining moment is woven into how we eat now more. But we are moving back into a meaty moment. You know, that could be political. It could be that the protein wellness craze is taking on. So we're pretty meaty right now. We're in a meaty moment in America. But we're also, you know, money is a big thing right now and that's really affecting how we eat. So you can really tell a lot about the economy. And this year, super. If you don't, I mean, jump in, stop me when you want, because you know what?
- [08:35]
B
I'm going to reintroduce yourself. You are Kim Severson, food correspondent for the New York Times, Right.
- [08:41]
C
We're going to talk about food for hours. I love it.
- [08:45]
B
We're talking about your article how we'll eat in 2026. More caution, more crunch. Let's get into 2026. You have food maxing meets grandma core. So grandma core is kind of this postmodern twist on stuff your grandma would make. Where does food maxing come into it?
- [09:01]
C
Right? All of our imaginary grandmas, everyone like, well, my grandma, like, what did our grandmas really make? They were making, you know, you know, snicker salad. I don't know, but we're like on the farm. But we all have this imaginary grandma, right? This sort of comforting imaginary grandma. But the food maxing thing, as you probably notice from your very health focused friends who are into fiber maxing, they're into really like, are they getting enough grams of protein? You know, people are adding supplements and there's this real sense of trying to manipulate your macronutrients for optimum health, right? And so we really are in that moment. But what's happening is people. And in fact, I love this phrase, no nostalgia, this idea for more comfort, for more grandma foods, for simpler. And if you saw the, you know, the dietary guidelines that came out yesterday, the new diet are really whole foods. Like, let's go back to cooking. There's just this really pulling back away from science a little bit and moving into whole Foods, however, people really are into a more sophisticated way of fine tuning their bodies. So for example, sauerkraut, let's talk about that. This idea of gut health is big. And people were drinking probiotic sodas and trying to add this for your gut binom. Well, now they'll be like, well, let's have some sauerkraut or some pickles, like, you know, old fashioned, simpler food. Sourdough bread, you know, is getting again, its resurgence. So food maxing, the idea that we want to pick specific nutrients for performance in our body, mixed with this real desire for real food and grandma culture. So grandma core meets food maxing, that.
- [10:33]
B
Seems almost like a contradiction in terms, right?
- [10:35]
C
But apparently not in 2026, my friend. Here we are.
- [10:39]
B
Why do you think there's a turn towards nostalgia?
- [10:44]
C
You know, nostalgia is something that every generation has and I can, I've been doing this for many, many years and you know, nostalgic food, I, I mean, the boomers for a while, there was the resurgence of like Beeman's gum and clove gum or these gum that was big when they were kids. So every generation, when you hit about 30 or 35, you get very nostalgic for the food you ate growing up, right? And you know, for a lot of the millennials, it was like Totino's pizza rolls or, you know, there's just this, you know, there's just this thing you want from childhood. So all of that always happens, I think right now, again, because things are so topsy turvy. And look at Stranger Things, you know that a very 80s nostalgia driven TV show, big hit right now. Again, there's a lot of economic uncertainty, there's a lot of political uncertainty, a lot of racial uncertainty. You know, it's. Things are crazy. So that hold for that better time is really big right now. And I think, you know, food's a great way to just drill down into your past, into when you thought you were happier, you know. You know, people are like, oh man, I just want to have some Sunny D. I'm like, that is like the most terrible thing to drink ever. Sunny D is horrible. I drink a lot of it. It's not good. But, you know, people are forever, you know, loving those kinds of things that they remember from childhood.
- [12:06]
B
Oh, yeah. But this is a probiotic.
- [12:07]
C
Sunny D. Okay, See, there you go. That's a million dollar idea. Let's talk after the show. That's great.
- [12:14]
B
Ingredient of the year is vinegar.
- [12:16]
C
I know. It doesn't sound very sexy, does it? I wish. Last Year, I think. And this year cabbage is still very popular. I don't know why I keep calling these ingredients of the year that don't sound sexy, but vinegar, you know, it's I think again the idea of dipping sauces, ranch, things like that. There's this particularly among Gen Zs, love to add tang and things that are intensely flavored to their food. And vinegar is both offers some, you know, does have some, some health benefits to it, vinegar. And it really is a great way to change and enhance and pop, make food pop. Filipino food uses a lot of vinegar. Japanese food is big, right? Pickling is very big. So this idea of that flavor, the vinegar is something that our palates are really interested in right now. Also, I don't think you can discount the rise of non alcoholic beverages and the role vinegar can play. You can make a shrub, you know, which is you, where you take vinegar and sugar, vinegar and fruit, and you let it kind of ferment for a while and you get this kind of lovely vinegary beverage that you can add to things or drink with seltzer. So, you know, vinegars are a way to help make non alcoholic cocktails to give them a little more body, the body that alcohol usually gives. So vinegar is coming up, I think in lots of ways for lots of reasons. So vinegar, look for vinegar texture will.
- [13:39]
B
Play a role in shaping what we eat this year. You quote a consulting firm president as saying, quote, this is the generation of fluffy, chewy, smooth, crunchy, melty.
- [13:50]
C
Right, right. I mean, you know, it's so interesting. Taste used to be the real driver in nutrition. You know, you'd think, oh, is this healthy for me or is this delicious? But now texture is really like the third. The third player, I call it. Like the three of those are now in a, like a culinary throuple together. So the idea that texture matters when you eat. And if you think, if you look at the whole world of cheese pulls, right, you know, and things that are creamy and you know, gummy gummy candy in fact was just more popular this year. At least that Halloween chocolate is still the number one. But gummy candies is like going crazy. And particularly among GS who love Generation Z's who love Gummy things, they love like super sour things. So gummy, that texture for people. But you cannot ignore crunch talk, which is huge, like so shattering pastry. Freeze dried candy. They have freeze dried skittles now. That crunch really a big thing. The word crispy has been big on menus, you know, like as a descriptor. So we've really been into the crunch lately, but now, you know, there's a debate. Is it going to be creamy? Is the new thing that people want? Is it gummy? I don't know. It could be a combination. There's also, you know, gummy nerds, which is, I really love where they have the little nerd candies wrapped around a gummy center. I don't know if you all have eaten those. I like a very good candy. But now they have one that also adds like a gooey center. So you have the crunchy nerd candy, the gummy outside and a gooey center. So you're seeing this layering of creamy and crunchy. But it's, it's, it's really fascinating. The, the importance of texture has never been as high in this country as.
- [15:38]
B
You'Re thinking about RFK's new food pyramid, which he just released. Does it fit in with 2026 food trends?
- [15:48]
C
Absolutely. It's interesting. I'm just fascinated in this moment, the sort of Maha meets the progressive left foodie moment. The place on the Venn diagram where Alice Waters and that guy in the Viking horns who took over the Capitol are in the same Venn diagram. There's this place where healthy food and you know, regenerative agriculture, things that are not, you know, manipulated by a food company are, are very popular. And it's a, it may be the one place that the left and the right can really stand on this idea of, you know, we can all meet at the farmer's market and maybe everything will be okay. So are you seeing that reflected a little bit in the food pyramid where, you know, for one thing, the, the recommendations of last year's food pyramid food of the five years ago when they did the dietary recommendations, like 120 pages long. This one I think is like eight pages, very simple whole foods. Although it's very meat centric and it's very big. Beef tallow is very big in it. This idea of saturated fats which has all the heart specialists and nutritionists kind of wringing their hands, but this idea that we're getting away from ultra processed foods, and that's the snack foods, the things that, you know, are designed to make us reach into the bag. There's a real pushing back against that. And I think we've never, the government's never defined ultra processed foods before. And I will assure you every snack company in the country is freaking out because they make ultra processed foods. And also the GLP1s are making people less interested in them. So there's this interesting place where our desire to move and to eat healthier and to eat more real food is really kind of meeting with the RFK food pyramid. Now. There are lots of places where it breaks down. There's lots of discussions around science that are unresolved. I'm not, you know, advocating one way or the other because I think there's, there's, there's a lot of problematic theories with the Maha movement, but I also think there's some real core tenants, which is we all just kind of want to eat real food that tastes good, you know, and that makes us feel better and makes us feel healthy. So there's, there's a real common ground there.
- [18:04]
B
I think you mentioned weight loss drugs like GLP P1s. How are they changing the way we eat?
- [18:12]
C
Fascinating. Well, you probably are, you know, senior, like protein. Cheerio. Everything has protein now. Yeah, I mean, it's the new we all. Instead of worrying about like our calorie count, people are, are, are, you know, doing the math around protein grams. And you know, the fact of the matter is, and most nutritionists will tell you that we, we get enough protein that it's not, we're not in some sort of horrible protein deficit. But the amount of recommended protein has gone up in the new dietary recommendations. And I think GLP1s there, there's a need to get more protein because I think muscle, you can lose a lot of muscle on those drugs. So that's part of it. So proteins really come to the forefront in part because of the GLP1s. And I think I heard a stat yesterday from a doctor that like one in eight people have tried or are on one of these weight loss drugs. So it's significantly changing that. So protein is big. And then again, you know, our consumption, the snack, the snack food consumption is going down and there's a lot of consolidation. You know, instead of having several different lines of a Doritos brand or whatever, there's, there's a much more streamlining in snack food, the snack food aisle. So I think we'll see that. I think the food companies will come out with much more thoughtful expansions in their marketing of, of snack foods. So, yeah, it's going to be, I think it's, we're all going to. GLP ones will make us eat less. Now, whether it'll make us eat the right amount of less or not, I don't know. I don't think that anybody's going to stop eating Cheetos, but it'll Be interesting.
- [19:50]
B
We got about a minute left and I want to know what food trend that you absolutely did not see coming and it surprised you in its popularity?
- [20:01]
C
Oh, very interesting. Well, two things. One thing is chai raves are big. Like this idea of booze free daytime dance parties. They're getting big. I haven't been invited to one, but everybody's like, oh, you got to go to a chai rave. So if you get invited, I'll let you know. Yeah. The other thing that I really didn't see coming because I thought hotel food was so terrible, but there's a real resurgence in hotel dining. People, you know, want to go get beef Wellington and shrimp cocktail and, and hotel restaurants are stepping up their game and it may be that we can't maybe afford a big vacation, but we can go. You know, I have like younger friends in LA who are going and eating at restaurants and it's like their thing now, so didn't see that one coming. Japanese breakfast didn't see that one coming. So, you know, there, there are quite a few things, you know, that I, I, I was surprised about. But you know, chai raves, if, if anybody out there is hosting one, please invite me. I want to come.
- [20:58]
B
Kim Severson's her name. That's who you should invite. She's food correspondent for the New York Times. Thanks for your time, Kim.
- [21:06]
C
Always a good time. Thank you so much.
- [21:08]
B
Coming up, I'll be running down the hall into WNYC's Studio 5 because the jazz collective Freedom Riders will be performing next right after the news.
- [21:21]
A
NYC now delivers breaking news, top headlines and in depth coverage from WNYC and Gothamist every morning, midday and evening. By sponsoring our programming, you'll reach a community of passionate listeners in an uncluttered audio experience. Visit sponsorship wnyc.org to learn more.