The Changing American Palate
The most striking change in American food in the last 40 or so years, is the mainstreaming of global flavors. A good example is the now-ubiquitous sushi. Who would have thought that raw fish and seaweed would one day be consumed so eagerly by Americans? Today, sushi is sold in restaurants, supermarkets, employee cafeterias and lunchtime takeout shops from coast to coast. And hot on its heels is the addictive Japanese soybean bar snack, edamame.
The number of Japanese restaurants has more than doubled in the past decade, from 4,086 to 9,182, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing Japanese Food Trade News. The Journal also pointed out that sushi sales have jumped to $2.8 billion from $1.1 billion in 2000. Even more impressive, the article notes that Technomic, the foodservice industry research firm, expects continued growth of 10 to 20 percent annually for the next five years, compared to the overall restaurant industry’s projected annual growth rate of 5 percent per year.
And sushi is just one food item in today’s new American cuisine. We enjoy curries and samosas, pad thai and pho noodle soup, pizza and pasta, enchiladas and tamales, tapenades, pates, tapas, couscous, calamari…the world is our table.
All this ethnic food has transformed the typical American palate, from a preference for fairly bland fare, to a move towards sparkling foods with interesting textures and assertive flavors. We are learning to appreciate bitter, pungent and chewy. We are acquiring a taste for dark chocolate, radiccio and frisee. We are eating smelly artisanal cheeses. We buy denser breads with crisper crusts. We are spicing food more liberally. And if you don’t think Americans are acquiring a taste for spices, Forbes reported that the world’s largest spice company, McCormick & Co., expects annual profits to grow 8 to 10 percent annually through 2008.
The trickle-down effect is well underway. Mass market America is catching on. Forbes notes that Panda Express and P.F. Chang’s China Bistro are today’s fastest growing chains, spreading Asian fare across the U.S. (think Taco Bell15 years ago). At chains like T.G.I. Fridays, Applebees or Quiznos, you find such specialty ingredients as balsamic vinegar, cilantro, Thai peanut sauce, chipotle and sun-dried tomatoes inching their way onto menus.
Food manufacturers also contribute to America’s growing taste for ethnic foods by incorporating the flavors into frozen entrees, marinades and condiments, making ethnic fare universally acceptable. At the supermarket, salsa outsells ketchup. Wasabi seasons mayonnaise. Dulce de leche sits next to strawberry in the ice cream section. Ethnic flavor profiles help to build line extensions for prepared foods.
Surrounded by mainstream TV cooking shows that demonstrate cooking with ethnic flavors, ethnic food features in women’s magazines like Better Homes & Gardens and Good Housekeeping, inexpensive mom and pop restaurants and chain restaurants serving up ethnic fare, the culinary environment in the U.S. is changing and evolving, as Americans embrace a global palate.
Where does it end? We’ve never retreated from olive oil, soy sauce, Pamesan cheese and other ingredients that were considered “ethnic” in the 60s. So why shouldn’t we adopt ingredients from around the world and keep them in our pantry? In the search for novelty, we discovered new ethnic cuisines, we enjoyed them in small ethnic restaurants, we tried to mix and match them to create fusion cusine, and now we are in a new phase of purity where we can accept these cuisines for their authenticity and integrity. From there, we may tire of some cuisines and move on. But some of the ingredients will stay with us and be part of our everyday ingredient toolbox and we’ll be the richer for it.
INSIGHT: The quickest road to culinary creativity is to explore ethnic flavors. The culinary elite will embrace authenticity; mainstream Americans are ready to try new flavors — in baby steps.
