Home cooks will get creative in the kitchen, experimenting with meals that combine international influences with British comfort food classics, ingredients that boost our mood and mental well-being, and dishes that combine sweet and spicy flavor profiles, according to new data from recipe box company HejFresh.
The study says we could see some childhood favorites and restaurant outings fall out of favor as people try to balance the scales of cost, convenience and nutrition.
Mimi Morley, Senior Recipe Development Manager at HelloFresh, shared the key trends:
We’re seeing a growing appetite for foods that boost our mood and mental well-being, with 70% of the country starting to incorporate foods like specialty mushrooms, cacao and buckwheat into their diets in an attempt to capitalize on their cognitive benefits.
Childhood favorites like turkey dinosaurs could become extinct
Childhood favorites such as turkey dinosaurs, nuggets and potato smiles are losing popularity as a quarter of Brits ditch them for healthier diets.
Comfort food will continue to define our culture
Cooking at home is more fun than a night out
Cooking at home has become more fun than a night out, according to over 4 out of 5 people. With cost and health consciousness playing a crucial role in our cooking choices, we look to using fake options as our solution in 2024, with a quarter of Brits admitting to using this as a regular way to make healthier versions of our favorite restaurants.
Digital dining room sweeps the dinner tables
Digital dining is on the rise, with 3 out of 5 households using screens during meals. Despite this trend, over half of us see the act of sharing a meal as a significant mood lifter, and a quarter of UK families regularly eat together.
International influences will change our national dishes
British cuisine is seeing a fusion of international flavours, with an increasing interest in Chinese, Italian and Indian recipes. Dishes like Indian bhaji burgers, Korean Gochujang cheese on toast and others are top picks for British fusion that we’d be curious to try.
Spicy becomes “Swicy” as we experiment with sweet and spicy flavor profiles
Over half of us are cooking spicier than ever before, and as a result, sweet and spicy flavor combinations are gaining traction in our cooking, with 68% of us incorporating ‘swicy’ flavors such as hot honey and sweet chilli sauce into meals.
