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We are now at the weekend before Thanksgiving and a lot of people will be flooding the supermarkets to get everything they need for their holiday feast. Of course tables will be filled with turkey, stuffing, etc, but there are some food trends that are likely to wind up at your Thanksgiving celebration, and one expert is sharing what they are.
Kara Nielsen, director of Food & Drink for WGSN, a global authority on consumer and design trends, is sharing the hot food trends she expects to see at a lot of Thanksgiving tables, so if you’re hosting, you may want to listen up.
Trends include:
- Charcuterie Boards –Anyone who’s on TikTok has seen tons of how-to videos when it comes to charcuterie boards, and folks are ready to put what they've learned into action. Nielsen says boards filled with meats, cheeses and more, were trending before the pandemic, but without groups of people to share it with, folks really didn’t have a chance to enjoy them, so now’s their chance.
- Ordering a takeout Thanksgiving meal– Last year many restaurants started offering high-end takeout Thanksgiving meals due to the pandemic, and more folks are embracing the option. Since folks have been ordering takeout for more than a year, Nielsen says this allows some who may not be up for making a full meal to bring some “expertise” to their holiday table.
- Gluten-free, vegetarian options– With more people having certain dietary needs, and the rise in tasty plant-based options, more hosts are bound to offer a variety of alternatives, especially when it comes to sides, including vegan options, gluten-free, or other dietary restrictions.
- Apples for drinks and desserts– While some folks just think of pumpkin around Thanksgiving, Nielsen says apples (and pears) are a big trend this season, not only in desserts, but in drinks like ciders, specialty cocktails, and even spiked seltzers and beers.
- Regional, Indigenous foods– Nielsen says societal shifts are causing “a lot of people are reconsidering our food culture in America and kind of looking past some of those lessons that we were taught or myths of the table." She says this will motivate some people to look for new inspiration in their cooking and could also inspire them to look into local foods and ingredients for their meals.
Source: USA Today