This year is all about adding healthy flavor to your meal. We’re looking for food with lower sodium, fat and sugar but in order to still have flavor, other spices are moving their way up the ladder and finding their way onto your dish to fill that void. Not only do spices jazz up your meal, but they also provide health benefits. So which ones have made their way to the top this year?
Sweet Heat
Spicy is not just heating up your mouth, its heating up everywhere. It’s making its way into many different foods, even onto your favorite snacks! But it isn’t just a focus on direct spice anymore; it is what is known as “Fusionary Heat”; mixing heat with either a sour, sweet or tangy taste. It’s no longer just for making your mouth sizzle but adding a certain sophistication to your food.
The two favorite spices for this year are Sriracha and Chili Pepper. Sriracha is an Asian hot sauce, but is sweeter than American hot sauce to add a complexity to your dishes. Chili Pepper is gaining popularity because of its added health benefits to your meal; they are rich in vitamin A, they can reduce pain, fight free radicals, lower cholesterol, clear congestion, and boost immunity. They can be added to any meal for that extra kick.
Bring a little bit of North African and Middle Eastern flavors to your table as Ethnic flavors turn into global blends. Some of the new mixes include ancient grains, ghost pepper, peri peri, matcha and rooibos. To go along with the spicy trend, Harissa is a big blend on the rise; it’s a mix of roasted red peppers, Serrano peppers and other hot chili peppers. It is great for flavoring stews, soups, and couscous but can even be added to your tuna to make some spicy tuna.
Umami is starting to be known as the fifth flavor, but it’s far from being new as it’s used in traditional Japanese dishes. It’s not an actual spice, rather it’s found in certain vegetables and meats. It can be described as being a savory or meaty taste. It makes your food taste more rich, full and complex.So how do you get this rich savory taste? The trend is to cook with foods that are naturally umami rich for their natural health benefits. This includes mushrooms, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and seaweed.
So, what’s your favorite new spice?