The Bacon Fever has Broken: Review of 2015 Food Trends

What an exciting year in food! What new food trend or cooking method did you try in 2015? Did you find a new favorite recipe or farm-to-table restaurant? This year was full of great new local products, continued focus on health, growing interest in new technology and a return to the tried and true. Here are some of our favorite food trends of the year.

• Local Brews Beyond Beer: The micro-beer tap house trend was huge in 2015 as people became interested in handcrafted, uniquely flavorful beer. The focus didn’t stay with beer, however – it quickly crossed over into other beverages, such as cold press coffee, kombucha and even soda. Look for smooth, delicious cold brew coffee, Kombucha on tap, ginger brew and more at Lakewinds. We think you might just find your new favorite drink.
  

• The Closer the Better: In Minnesota, we’re lucky to have a number of local, organic family farms. The “eat local” food trend continued to be strong this year, as people aim to support local farming families and help their local economy. More shoppers are reading labels and getting to know the farmers who grow their food. Lakewinds is especially pleased to stock Minnesota-grown products, including (when they’re in season) hydroponic tomatoes from Living Water Gardens, squash from Bakers’ Acres Farm, carrots from Featherstone farms and many, many more!

• Forever Fermented: Kombucha, sauerkraut and kimchi have become household words in 2015, and we don’t see their popularity waning. Easy to buy and easy to make, these fermented foods are good for your health and packed with flavor. Kombucha has become the go-to replacement for sugary sodas, sauerkraut isn’t just for your grandparents and kimchi has become a must-have-on-the-side dish. Look for Angelica’s Garden Raw Kimchi and make bokkeumbap, a popular dish in Korea that translates as “kimchi fried rice.”
  

• Butter in, Bacon out: For a time, it seemed as though you could find bacon-flavored everything—lip balm, syrups, popcorn, chewing gum … Well, it seems that perhaps the bacon fever has broken. While we still love a good thick slice with our eggs or on a BLT, we’ll pass on the bacon-flavored chapstick and move onto butter! Recent studies have shown that a little fat is good for us, and thanks to handcrafted, herbed and flavored butters, it’s easy to make your green beans and broccoli just a little more tasty.
  

• Food +Tech: Our smart phones make it easy to buy books and clothes, find a good restaurant or parking spot, and now they make it easy to buy local food! In 2015, Lakewinds launched InstaCart, a convenient new way to shop for groceries from your computer or phone. Shoppers simply sign in atour Instacart.com store page or with the Instacart Mobile app. Then, you choose the products and quantity you want, pay for your purchase, and your groceries are brought to your door in as little as one hour. How’s that for instant gratification?
  

It was an interesting (and delicious!) year of food trends. What do you think 2016 will bring? We’d love to hear some of your ideas and hopes for food trends in the coming year.