Another Year Older and Wiser
I have an age-coping mechanism. At the start of the New Year, when we all share a heightened awareness of time passing, I remind myself that I’ll be another year older. That way, when my birthday rolls around in August, I can happily enjoy the cake and ice cream without feeling morose.
Some people groan about growing older. I admit I do, too. But I am also grateful for that extra year to explore new foods and new trends. Most importantly, the years pay off in the kind of experience needed to be able to assess what’s really going on in the food world today and to put it in context. I’ve had a lucky head start, since I became an editor at a New York magazine at age 22. So I’ve been tracking trends for a good number of years.
When something new bursts on the scene, it always seems to be the trend that will last forever. But if you’ve lived through a number of trend cycles, you realize that most of what’s “new,” has had a life before. Remember how people thought the low-carb craze was going to last forever and entrepreneurs started to manufacture low-carb products and build low-carb stores? Having lived through the low-carb Atkins craze the first time around, it was clear that low-carb was not forever.
Now we’re in the most devastating economic times since the Great Depression. And food manufacturers are vulnerable. But we’ve seen a similar time when rising inflation made food increasingly expensive. PR folks and the food media focused all their efforts in trying to help consumers find ways to stretch their food dollar.
Coupled with the shaky economy, is personal stress. In another highly stressful time right after 9/11, sales of comfort foods like Oreos hit all-time highs. These foods harkened back to a secure childhood — just what we needed to feel grounded in a dangerous, unsettled world.
Today, consumers are looking for economy and value, but it might not be the cheapest thing. It might be the foods that make people feel better. It might simply be the ability to enjoy an occasional food treat because luxury foods are still a more affordable indulgence than new clothes, cars or furniture.
In 2009, expect a return to comfort foods like meatloaf and mashed potatoes. In restaurants or at home, consumers will want simply prepared food because it feels right for the times. But I don’t think we are going to abandon global flavors and return literally to the 50s. We will incorporate these ingredients in our meatloaf and mashed potatoes, and mac and cheese. We’ve come too far in our appreciation of a wide variety of new foods to turn back now. We have Asian fish sauce and Dijon mustard in our fridge, chipotle chiles in our pantry and rosemary and cumin in our spice rack. We’ve acquired a taste for these flavors. We’re not going to toss those, but we will incorporate them in more traditional American heritage fare. And we are going to hunker down and survive this downturn until we can turn it around again.
