We've reached Peak Flavor
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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Bland food is out. Fully loaded flavors are in.
- If you've found yourself salivating over menu items or recipes infused with za'atar, saffron, black sesame, cardamom, raspberry-rhubarb or miso lately — you're not alone.
The big picture: Since home cooking boomed among the cooped-up during 2020 lockdowns, palates have expanded and gotten more colorful. Businesses are trying to keep up with the hunger for hyphenated flavor combos and artisanal tastes.
- Add the TikTok virality effect, and you've got a whole generation willing to stand in line for the hottest matcha-infused drink or bakery item they can consume and, maybe, post.
- "Adding an ingredient that's perhaps, air quotes, unfamiliar to some people is an easy way to riff on a viral recipe," food journalist Bettina Makalintal told The New York Times' Marie Solis. "If tiramisu is having a moment on TikTok, then you might see someone doing matcha tiramisu or ube tiramisu."
State of play: Evidence is everywhere that our flavor cravings are on overdrive, from the new Iced Lavender Cream Oatmilk Matcha at Starbucks to chef Alison Roman-inspired dinner parties.
- Our collective lust for more attainable luxury, particularly in a precarious economic moment, could feed the habit.
- The NYT also cites the rising profiles of cooks from Asian and Middle Eastern diasporas, like Yotam Ottolenghi's "Jerusalem" and Samin Nosrat's "Salt Fat Acid Heat." Add to the list: Hetty McKinnon, Salma Hage and Priya Krishna.
The intrigue: It's not just coastal elites.
- 100-year-old Missouri-based flavor forecaster Beck Flavors named miso caramel one of its flavors of the year, the NYT reports.
- "We're getting away from the boring flavors, for lack of a better word," Nick Palank, the company's marketing manager, told the Times. "Hazelnut, French vanilla, coffee."
Case in point: Flavors like Japanese citrus yuzu are popping up everywhere, from Muji stores to mocktail menus.
- Pistakio, a 2023 upstart, has launched a pistachio spread to rival peanut butter and almond butter.
- Quickly expanding ice cream chain Van Leeuwen is usually ahead of the curve, with flavors like Earl Grey and hot honey long on the menu. And brand partnerships abound: see Jeni's Ice Creams and Fly By Jing chili crisp.
Natalie's thought bubble: During the COVID lockdowns, I got interested in better connecting with my Lebanese heritage through food. I experimented with lots of flavors discussed here, and they've become staples in my household.
- I was able to buy cheap spices at Sahadi's in Brooklyn and took an online cooking class with Edy's Grocer, a Lebanese market and caterer.
- Now, I keep ingredients like orange blossom water, whole cardamom and sumac around to enhance anything from homemade tea lattes to roasted vegetables.
