A Taste of 2023!
Food Network Magazine found all the foods and drinks you’ll see everywhere this year!
One of the things we love most about the beginning of a brand-new year is all the delicious and unexpected food and drink trends that come along with it. From boozy cheeses to dill pickle-flavored snacks, 2023 is sure to be filled with fun finds absolutely everyone can get behind. As part of their newest issue, Food Network Magazine searched high and low for all the newest foods and drinks you’re sure to see everywhere in upcoming months, and boy, oh boy, are we excited! Keep reading to see Food Network Magazine’s trend predictions for 2023 and to discover what ingredient their editors dubbed "Flavor of the Year."
Buckwheat
It’s not easy to be trendy when you’re five or six thousand years old, but buckwheat — a humble, not particularly pretty, grain-like seed — has emerged as one of the hottest ingredients of the year. Fans are obsessed with its nutty flavor, mixing buckwheat into pastas, soups and every imaginable form of batter: cookies, waffles, brownies, cakes, the works. The trend has helped refresh the ancient grain market, which is projected to grow from $457 million to $6 billion by 2027. Nostalgia has something to do with it: "People might remember eating buckwheat pancakes with their grandparents — the familiar taste appeals," says Caroline Sluyter, program director of the Whole Grains Council. Remix your own breakfast spread with these new buckwheat eats. — Carol Lee, Food Network Magazine
Croissants
Croissants never go out of style — but a decade has passed since the Cronut revolution, so we were due for another shake-up! This time around, croissants are bursting with flavors like ube, black truffle and prosciutto-asiago. And the innovations keep coming, in the form of croissant chips by Michel & Augustin, croissant croutons from Trader Joe’s and mini croissant cereal, an Instagram hit by @lappartement4f. If you want a version that’ll last longer than your coffee break, no problem: Kate Spade sells a croissant-shaped clutch. — Kelsey Hurwitz, Food Network Magazine
Dill Pickle
Pucker up, pickle lovers: This is going to be your year. Amazon will now deliver a gallon jug of pickle juice to your doorstep — and 7,000 other pickle-flavored wonders. Superfans can savor pickle-flavored cotton candy, almonds and pretzels, dip their pickle-flavored tortilla chips in Grillo’s Pickle de Gallo, then pair it all with Best Maid Sour Pickle Beer. Why the pickle frenzy? The surge of fermented foods like kimchi and sauerkraut has made us crave even more salty-sour food. And there’s science behind the phenomenon: Sour flavor releases mood-boosting serotonin. Basically, these recipes should make you happy! — Kelsey Hurwitz, Food Network Magazine
Boozy Cheese
Call it the ultimate food and drink pairing: Cheesemakers are collaborating with local breweries and wineries to produce boozy takes on popular artisanal cheeses. "They’re creating exciting new varieties without having to reinvent the wheel," says Rachel Perez, a board member of the American Cheese Society. Recent award winners include a raclette-style cheese washed in wine from Vermont’s Jasper Hill Creamery, a cheddar bathed in Chartreuse from Wisconsin’s Deer Creek Cheese, and a smooth blue wrapped in pear brandy–soaked grape leaves from Oregon’s Rogue Creamery. Grocery store cheeses have generated similar buzz, like a bourbon cheddar-parm from Murray’s Cheese at Kroger and cheddars made with Irish cream liqueur, vodka and whiskey, sold at Aldi. Bring the trend to your dinner table with one of these three recipes from our test kitchen. — Monica Michael Willis, Food Network Magazine
Fishless Fish
America is hooked on vegan seafood: Annual sales of mock shrimp, fish fillets, crab cakes, lobster and sushi-grade tuna are up 14%, due in large part to companies like Good Catch, Gardein and Sophie’s Kitchen, whose products mimic the texture and briny zip of the real deal. Unlike imitation crab, which contains actual fish (turned into a paste and dyed to resemble crab), new plant-based seafood is made with vegetables, legumes and umami-rich seaweed and mushrooms. At the vegan fast food chains Honeybee Burger and PLNT Burger, fans say the fillet-of-not-fish sandwiches are dead ringers for McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish. Vegans aren’t the only ones rejoicing. "Omnivores looking to eat more sustainably are driving the trend," says Rachel Dreskin, CEO of the Plant Based Foods Association. "We’re seeing a lot of innovation. There’s really no limit to what’s possible." — Monica Michael Willis, Food Network Magazine
Sesame
Sesame’s rise to fame has been slow and steady — it’s been thousands of years in the making — but you’re going to encounter these magical seeds in the coming year more than ever before. Along with new sesame milks and creamers (the latest addition to the plant-based dairy aisle), plenty of big, bold sesame-proud products have hit the market, including oatmeal, ice cream and intense black sesame butter that you can spread on toast. Meanwhile, home cooks are putting tahini (sesame paste) into much more than hummus and dressings. They’re adding it to burgers, breads, brownies, you name it — and analysts are predicting a 29% boom in the tahini market over the next five years. We love sesame in all its forms, but to properly celebrate it we created a recipe that shows off the seeds themselves, in all their glory. — Carol Lee, Food Network Magazine
Honeycomb
No one bites into a piece of honeycomb candy without taking a good, long look at it first. You can’t help but marvel at the strange spongelike appearance, and once you taste it, the airy crunch and intense caramelized-sugar flavor are just as mind-blowing. The treat has a long history in this country (Buffalo is famous for its chocolate-coated "sponge candy") and around the world, but Korean honeycomb, called dalgona, gets the credit for creating an international frenzy. TikTok exploded with tutorials on how to make the candy. Now chefs are adding it to dessert menus, mixologists are serving it as a drink garnish and cooks of all ages are getting their thrills trying this science experiment at home. The recipe isn’t as tricky as it looks: Baking soda added to hot melted sugar foams up and creates all those amazing air pockets. Give it a try!— Belle Bakst, Food Network Magazine
Chewy Desserts
Walk the aisles of Walmart, Piggly Wiggly or Trader Joe’s and you’ll find mochi in all forms: chubby mochi rounds filled with ice cream, mini marshmallow-like rainbow mochi, mochi cake mixes. Mochi is a dense, chewy rice paste first popularized in Japan, and if you haven’t encountered it at the supermarket, you’ve more than likely seen it elsewhere. Mochinut, a mochi doughnut chain with popular pistachio, red velvet and Nutella treats, is expanding across the country, and Mochidoki, a mochi ice cream company, is branching out into grocery stores. Glutinous rice flour gives mochi sweets their pleasing elasticity, a texture that gained traction with the boom of bubble tea and its gummy tapioca pearls known as boba. "That chewy texture is referred to as QQ, which loosely translates to 'bouncy' in Taiwanese," says Kat Lieu, author of Modern Asian Baking at Home. "It’s why boba and mochi are like magic. There are so many colors and flavors, and all that fun chewiness makes you feel like a kid again." Get in on the trend and whip up one of these mochi desserts. — Monica Michael Willis, Food Network Magazine
Tequila
Tequila is fast becoming America’s liquor of choice: It’s now second only to vodka in annual sales. Fueling the interest are private label launches by Kendall Jenner, Nick Jonas, LeBron James, Rita Ora and Guy Fieri, who partnered with rocker Sammy Hagar to produce Santo tequila and Mezquila (part mezcal). Dos Equis got into the game recently with a canned lime margarita, and Coca-Cola debuted a paloma made with Fresca. Join the fun by making some tequila cocktails from the stars! — Carol Lee, Food Network Magazine
Flavor of the Year
Everyone is looking for bigger, bolder flavors and hibiscus delivers: The electric pink flower is boldly floral and unmistakably tangy, and we’ve all become obsessed. "The taste is a showstopper — like the fabulous dress at a party everyone notices," says Suzy Badaracco, president of food trend forecaster Culinary Tides, Inc. While the tart, citrusy flowers have been a popular ingredient in tea and cocktails for ages, Google searches for hibiscus drinks have doubled in the past year, and chefs are adding the flavor to everything from appetizers to desserts: Hibiscus mentions on restaurant menus have risen 24% over the past few years. You’ll also find it all over the grocery store — in yogurt, goat cheese, sparkling water and sorbet, to name a few. Bonus: It’s full of vitamin C and other antioxidants. Taste it for yourself in one of these pretty pink recipes. — Carol Lee, Food Network Magazine
Story Credits:
Food Network Kitchen recipes by Melissa Gaman, Khalil Hymore, Young Sun Huh and Steve Jackson.
Buckwheat, Croissant, Sesame and Hibiscus recipe photos by David Malosh for Food Network Magazine.
Dill Pickle, Boozy Cheese, Fishless Fish and Tequila Cocktail recipe photos by Ryan Liebe for Food Network Magazine.
Honey Comb Candy recipe photo by Kate Sears for Food Network Magazine.
Chewy Dessert recipe photo by Yunhee Kim for Food Network Magazine.
Story Introduction written by Michelle Baricevic for FoodNetwork.com.
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