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. [more…]

Friday’s Washington Post featured an interesting article about the need for corporate test kitchen home economists to dumb down recipes because today’s younger Americans don’t know how to cook. The article points out that Kraft Foods no longer uses “dredge.” And Betty Crocker avoids “braise.” Land O’Lakes works around “fold” and “cream,” while Pillsbury has eliminated “simmer” or “sear.”

As a recipe editor for my own business and the Ketchum Food Center, I also eliminate words that have the potential to confuse. Our goal is to create recipes that motivate consumers to use our clients’ products. When our precise culinary terminology obfuscates, it’s better to simplify to ensure that consumers doesn’t walk away from the recipe because they are too confused to follow it. [more…]