(BPT) - What will be the hot, trendy food for 2019? The simple, versatile and mighty mushroom.
Chefs, menu developers, sales data and even online social habits all suggest we may be seeing more fresh mushrooms in 2019 and beyond, whether they’re found on top of your pizza, at the bottom of your grain bowl, sliced into your stroganoff or blended into your burger.
The Mushroom Council shares five reasons mushrooms are trending up for 2019:
1. Mushrooms are a central ingredient in many of the most searched and shared recipes.
Want to know what’s really trending? Let social search and sharing stats be your guide. Food Network recently reported that Mushroom and Chicken Stroganoff is among the most pinned recipes on Pinterest. Huffington Post reported Mushroom Fettuccine among the most posted on Instagram earlier this year.
2. The mushroom + meat blended burger movement is growing.
Chefs are blending finely chopped mushrooms with meat for burgers that are more flavorful, healthy and Earth friendly. Earlier this year, 350-plus independent restaurants developed and menued their blended take on the iconic burger in the James Beard Foundation’s Blended Burger Project. Additionally, SONIC Drive-In became the first fast-food restaurant to serve a blended burger: the Sonic Signature Slinger, made with 35 percent mushrooms, dishing at less than 350 calories.
3. Mushrooms are the base of the trendy bowl craze.
Convenient, filling and highly Instagrammable, bowls are trending on menus, even at royal weddings. Chefs agree: The best bowls all have mushrooms. Consider the Ginger Sesame Bowl at ediBOL in Los Angeles, where Owner Andrea Uyeda notes pickled and marinated mushrooms are the star of this savory bowl. Once customers get a taste, they can’t get enough.
4. Mushroom sales continue to grow.
Grocery buyers are opening their shopping carts up for more mushrooms. Sales have increased every year over the past five years, up 4.2 percent last year alone, according to IRI FreshLook Total U.S. (week ending 12/31/17).
5. Mushrooms provide meaty flavor for plant-based and plant-forward dishes.
Consumers are craving more plant-based and plant-forward meals, and with mushrooms’ inherent umami, diners still get the brothy, rich meaty flavor they love. With mushrooms, they can still savor the meaty flavor and will be gratified to the fullest extent, no matter how they choose to eat.
Make mushrooms the trend in your kitchen. Visit mushroomcouncil.com for nutritional information and recipe inspiration.
