A publication of the AFBF Public Relations Department Volume 5 Number 1 January 2012 The preferences of foodies, who generally are more discriminating than other consumers, continue to influence the food grown by America’s farmers and ranchers. With this trend in mind, we hope you enjoy this edition of Foodie News. 2 3 Insider on Trends 4 5 The Foodie Forecast for 2012: Expect Lots of Asian Influence The new year is a time for new beginnings and for foodies, that means new food trends will be brought to the forefront. Asian food will be big in 2012. New York City- based consultants Baum+ Whiteman International predict that Korean food will become popular among Americans this year. However, Epicurious. com believes Korean is “so 2011” and that high- end Indian food will reign instead. Andrew Freeman, hos- pitality consultant, also is predicting that Indian food will become main- stream. Freeman and the James Beard Foundation are both predicting that Thai cuisine will see a revival in 2012. The Huffington Post Blog is predicting that fast-casual Asian restau- rants will be trendy this year. Shophouse Asian Kitchen, a Southeast Asian takeout Chipotle spinoff in Washington, D.C., which opened to rave reviews in September 2011, and Vietnamese bánh mì sandwiches continuing to appear on more national chain menus, are evidence of this developing trend. It seems that food will be more creative and maybe even a little weird in 2012. For example, according to Baum+Whiteman, we should expect to see the “whole world on a plate.” This could include things like pizza topped with humus and wasabi peas or hamburger-filled sushi. Sandwiches will be a big focus for this trend since you can put virtually anything between two slices of bread. Another predicted trend is to use something other than bread for sandwiches, such as arepas (a corn- meal patty), waffles or rice cakes. Other trends to expect include the use of innards—such as tongue and gizzards, pickling, beer gardens and the rise of Peruvian food. Baum+Whiteman, JBF and chef blogger Saman- tha Gowing all pre- dict that small bites will be popular in 2012. Accord- ing to JBF, fine dining portions are get- ting small- er, so much so that “shrinking full-size dishes down to small plates just wasn’t enough, as a single ‘bite’ servings are the new big…um… small thing.” And Gowing noted on her blog: “It is imperative that every fast food menu has a com- ponent of mini-versions of the most popular products.” The food truck trend is expected to slow down and become stationary this year. Expect to see many of your favorite shops “taking the wheels off” and setting up perma- nent locations. While some will try to run both businesses, others will switch to only the storefront. Pasta Fits Squaring off against anti-carb fad diets Petite Produce Smaller varieties of favorite fruits and veggies are taking farmers’ markets by storm Wine on Tap The latest wine in- dustry trend The Food Scene Beginning farmers and ranchers, DC Cupcakes on TLC, The Chew and more! Quote “Twenty years from now you will be more disap- pointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Ex- plore. Dream. Discover.” • Mark Twain
Transcript
A publication of the AFBF Public Relations Department Volume 5 Number 1 January 2012
The preferences of foodies, who generally are more discriminating than other consumers, continue to influence the food grown by America’s farmers and ranchers. With this trend in mind, we hope you enjoy this edition of Foodie News.
2
3
Insider on Trends
4
5
The Foodie Forecast for 2012: Expect Lots of Asian Influence
The new year is a time
for new beginnings and for foodies, that means new food trends will be brought to the forefront.
Asian food will be big in 2012. New York City-based consultants Baum+ Whiteman International predict that Korean food will become popular among Americans this year.
However, Epicurious.com believes Korean is “so 2011” and that high-end Indian food will reign instead.
Andrew Freeman, hos- pitality consultant, also is predicting that Indian food will become main- stream. Freeman and the James Beard Foundation are both predicting that Thai cuisine will see a revival in 2012.
The Huffington Post Blog is predicting that fast-casual Asian restau- rants will be trendy this year. Shophouse Asian Kitchen, a Southeast Asian takeout Chipotle spinoff in Washington, D.C., which opened to rave reviews in September 2011, and Vietnamese bánh mì sandwiches continuing to appear on more national chain menus, are evidence of this developing trend.
It seems that food will be more creative and
maybe even a little weird in 2012.
For example, according to Baum+Whiteman, we should expect to see the “whole world on a plate.” This could include things like pizza topped with humus and wasabi peas or hamburger-filled sushi. Sandwiches will be a big focus for this trend since you can put virtually anything between two slices of bread.
Another predicted trend is to use something other than bread for sandwiches, such as arepas (a corn-meal patty), waffles or rice cakes. Other trends to expect include the use of innards—such as tongue and gizzards, pickling, beer gardens and the rise of Peruvian food.
Baum+Whiteman, JBF and chef blogger Saman- tha Gowing all pre- dict that small bites will be popular in 2012.
Accord- ing to JBF, fine dining portions are get- ting small- er, so much so that “shrinking full-size dishes down to small
plates just wasn’t enough, as a single ‘bite’ servings are the new big…um…small thing.” And Gowing noted on her blog: “It is imperative that every fast food menu has a com- ponent of mini-versions of the most popular products.”
The food truck trend is expected to slow down and become stationary this year. Expect to see many of your favorite shops “taking the wheels off” and setting up perma- nent locations. While some will try to run both businesses, others will switch to only the storefront.
Pasta FitsSquaring off against anti-carb fad diets
Petite ProduceSmaller varieties of favorite fruits and veggies are taking farmers’ markets by storm
Wine on TapThe latest wine in- dustry trend
The Food SceneBeginning farmers and ranchers, DC Cupcakes on TLC, The Chew and more!
Quote“Twenty years from now you will be more disap-pointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Ex-plore. Dream. Discover.”
• Mark Twain
GUEST COLUMN
New Pasta Campaign Squares Off Against Anti-Carb Fad Diets
By Sarah Wally, Registered Dietician, National Pasta Association
Pasta. It’s as American as, well, apple pie. But as much as we patriots love our food, we also love to obsess over our food choices.
The paradox, for a country so diet-focused—where eight out of 10 Americans identify themselves as “weight conscious” according to a survey conducted by the Calorie Control Council in 2011—is that we are still the most obese country in the world. So love our pasta we may, but many of us have internalized an unspoken guilt when we sit down to a plate of spaghetti or dig into a slice of lasagna.
The “carb-phobia” that ran rampant in the 1990s continues to rear its head today. Fad diets hoping to hook consumers with easy, fast fixes, lay blame on carbohydrates for weight gain, citing limited research that carbohydrates induce cells to store fat more readily than protein-based foods. This, despite overwhelming scientific evidence that excess cal- ories from any food source, not just carbohydrates, result in weight gain.
Additional research has shown there are no benefits to low-carb diets
for long-term weight loss. Yet, still, the carb-haters remain vigilant in their claims.
The National Pasta Association is taking a stand, launching a new cam- paign, Pasta Fits, which seeks to re- educate consumers about the bene- fits of carbohydrates and pasta, specifically.
Pasta “boosts energy, satisfies hun-ger, tastes great and can be prepared in countless delicious, low-calorie recipes,” the campaign notes. In ad- dition, it is one of the most econom- ical meals available to American consumers.
As a direct response to America’s insatiable appetite for weight loss ad-vice, the campaign shows how “pasta fits” into weight management plans, using scientific evidence that supports the benefits of carbohydrates for weight control.
For example, research has shown that low carb-diets can be a struggle to sustain over time, with overly-restrictive meal plans leaving dieters feeling deprived, moody and more likely to binge. Pasta, conversely, sup-plies complex carbohydrates, which provide a source of sustained energy.
Additionally, pasta is a low Glycemic Index food, which means it does not cause the rapid spikes in blood sugar that other refined carbohydrates can frequently induce.
Meal planning is a strong focus of the Pasta Fits campaign. With rough- ly 100 calories per half cup serving, very little sodium and no cholesterol, pasta is highlighted as an ideal foun-dation for building healthy meals.
Pasta is shown paired with fiber-filled vegetables and beans, heart-healthy fish and vegetable oils, antioxidant-rich tomato sauce, and protein-packed poultry and lean meats and cheeses.
Serving pasta with low-calorie, high-fiber or high-protein foods is also recommended to help slow the digestion process, allowing you to stay full longer.
For additional information on pasta and weight control and a selec-tion of delicious lower-calorie pasta meals prepared by top chef alumnus Candice Kumai, visit www.pastafits.org.
Petite Produce is Perfection on a PlatePetite produce, also
known as baby vegetables and fruits, has taken farm- ers’ and urban markets by storm over the past several years.
Encompassing the same nutritional proper- ties as their larger counter- parts, petite produce is just as good, but only smaller. An entire marketing em- pire is being built around small fruits and vegetables, showing that there’s more to petite produce than baby carrots.
Petite produce is either fully ripe and miniature-size, or fruits and vegetables that are cultivated to be small. It can also be imma- ture produce that is picked before it is fully grown.
Experts say that just be- cause the produce is small- er, doesn’t mean it lacks in nutrition.
For example, a golden baby beet, which is the size of a quarter, is just as nutritious as its one pound sister. Tastes may vary with smaller fruits and
vegetables, but usually for the better. Most petite produce packs a flavor punch and is more tender than average-size produce. According to Texas A&M Department of Horticul- tural Sciences, there are about 50 types of petite produce currently mar- keted in the U.S.
There are a handful of
reasons for the growing popularity of small-sized produce.
“Some farmers have been cultivating smaller varieties of fruits and vegetables (or harvesting them earlier) so that single cooks and others interested in less of a cruciferous commitment can get their fix,” said The Washington
Post food editor Joe Yonan, in an article on petite produce he authored for the publication. “It’s a bit of customer-service savvy that makes perfect sense at urban markets, where the proportion of singles is high,” he said.
While some farmers are carving out niche markets with their petite produce to meet demand in metropol- itan populations, it can also be said that with all of the attention given lately to food waste throughout the world, producing small isn’t so bad. Typically, uneaten produce goes bad quickly and fills our wastebaskets more than other foods. Being able to purchase the exact portion size of vegetables to feed your family, or maybe just yourself, in a single meal is pretty much petite perfection.
The number of winter farmers’ markets is increasing, ac- cording to the Agriculture Department’s updated National Farmers Market Directory. Venues that are open at least once between November and March are considered winter farmers’ markets. The expanded adoption of hoop house technology, which has enabled many smaller growers to extend their production seasons at low cost, has been a contributing factor to the growth of winter farmers’ markets.
Learn more and find a winter farmers’ market near you at www.ams.usda.gov/news.
17Percent of farmers’ mar- kets that operate during winter.
38 Percent increase in winter farmers’ markets since 2010.
1,225Number of winter farmers’ markets operating this year in the U.S. That’s up from 886 a year ago.
7,222 Total number of U.S. farm- ers’ markets.
States With Most Winter Farmers’
Markets
1. New York, 1802. California, 1533. Pennsylvania, 784. North Carolina, 735. Ohio, 506. Maryland, 487. Florida, 468. Massachusetts, 439. Virginia, 4010. Michigan, 33
Some farmers have been cultivating smaller varie- ties of fruits and vegetables (or harvesting them earlier) so that single cooks and others interested in less of a cruciferous commitment can get their fix.
Wineries and restau- rants nationwide are introducing keg pro- grams to serve custo- mers wine straight from the tap, just like beer.
“We deliver the 5-gal- lon kegs to the winery and they fill them and deliver them back to us,” explained Joe Barbera, owner of Aido Bistro and Wine Bar in Columbia, Md. “The kegs are driven by nitrogen…it’s a nitro- gen push that keeps oxy- gen out and provides the end-user with the same product the winemaker wishes the customer to have,” he said.
Wine on tap offers ben- efits to winemakers, ven- dors and the consumer while providing the same quality as bottled wine. According to Matt Dug- gan, general manager of Palmina Winery in Lom- poc, Calif., consumers welcome the trend.
“I think they love it,” Duggan said. “There’s a lot of romanticism with people that have gone to Europe, where you can go to the winery and fill up a jug and have your wine for the day that way,” he remarked. “It’s also a much more economical way because there’s less production cost involved, so we pass that along to the consumer and I think that they’ve responded really well to it.”
Wineries and vendors can reuse kegs and have cut down on packaging materials used to ship bottled wine, making keg programs a green process.
“Every time a keg is deliv- ered here it saves 25 bot- tles, so a little over two cases of wine, 19-liters, 25 corks and all the packaging material that would norm- ally get thrown out and sometimes recycled,” Bar- bera explained.
Barbera added the best
part of kegged wine is there is no noticeable taste difference.
“We’ve done some experi- ments with wine that is of the same vintage date and the same varietal in bottle and in a keg, and the majority of the people could not tell which was which,” he said.
Not all varietals of wine benefit from a tap program. Wines that are produced to be long-lived like Bordeaux, cabernet sauvignon and Burgundy need time to age in glass bottles.
Cooking Heritage Chickens The backyard poultry trend con-
tinues to gather momentum across the nation, although it’s difficult to pinpoint the total number of chicken enthusiasts since the Agriculture De- partment does not track hobbyists.
Most backyard chickens are heritage breeds such as Barred Plymouth Rock, New Hampshire, Jersey Giant and Buckeye, which are kept strictly for egg production. Chicken hobbyists who raise birds for meat and foodies who buy a freshly slaughtered chicken direct from a farmer face the challenge of how to properly cook the meat for optimum flavor.
“The traditional meat types each
requires appropriate cooking meth- ods,” explained chicken-keeper Gina Bisco in an American Livestock Breeds Conservancy article. “Far from being a disadvantage, this greatly expands culinary potential,” she said.
Bisco believes the quality and flavor of chicken meat from historic breeds is superb, but attention must be paid to the age of the bird at slaughter, as different cooking methods are re- quired. Generally speaking, older birds require more time to cook. Fur- ther complicating the issue, heritage chickens typically have well-devel-
Chickens Continued on Last Page
The Food Scene
• Celebrating and Exploring Life Through Food
The Chew is a new ABC program that aims to celebrate and explore life through food. A group of “dynamic, engaging, fun, relatable co-hosts” serve up everything to do with food on the show, from cooking and home entertaining to food trends, restaurants, holidays and more, with the goal of making life better, fuller and more fun. The show is broad- cast live daily on weekdays from New York City at 1 p.m. Eastern. The Chew stars Mario Batali, Michael Symon, Carla Hall, Clinton Kelly and Daphne Oz and is promoted as “an innovative and groundbreaking new lifestyle series.”
http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew
• Beginning Farmer and Rancher Conference Slated for February
The 2nd Annual Beginning Farmer and Rancher Conference will take place Feb. 18-20, 2012, in Grand Rapids, Mich., at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel & DeVos Place Convention Center. The conference is presented by the American Farm Bureau Federation and Start2Farm.gov. Beginning farmers and ranchers interested in all types of agriculture are encouraged to attend. Farm Bureau membership is not required. The conference provides an opportunity for attendees to network with other farmers from around the country and learn from experts about how to start and maintain a thriving farm or ranch business. Beginning farmers often sell the food that they grow to niche markets.
http://2012bfrconference.eventbrite.com
• DC Cupcakes Launched on TLC
DC Cupcakes is a new series on TLC featuring Georgetown Cupcake, founded by sisters Katherine Kallinis and Sophie LaMontagne. Katherine and Sophie traded careers in fashion and private
equity to pursue something a little sweeter—their passion for artful cupcakes. The women are lifelong bakers who were inspired by their grandmothers. They opened Georgetown Cupcake in February 2008 as Washington, D.C.’s first cupcakery, offering cupcakes for $2.75 each, $15 for a half-dozen or $29 per dozen. The business has expanded and includes a shop in Bethesda, Md. Two new shops (in New York's SoHo district and Boston) are slated for 2012.
http://www.georgetowncupcake.com/about.html
• A Play Called ‘Pig’ Pokes Fun at Foodies
Pig: A Restaurant, is a 30-minute play that zeros in on the pretensions of foodies. The play was per- formed five times in 2011 at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Chelsea, N.Y., and the producers are hoping to take the production to Los Angeles. Exploring society’s obsession with what and how we eat was the goal of playwright Leila Cohan-Miccio, who previously edited the food blog Grub Street Boston. Lauren Conlin Adams, the only actor in the production, brings her experience waiting tables to the stage. The play includes foodie-centric gems such as a drink list featuring “bacon-infused bourbon” and “pork cheek bitters,” and a locavore praising edible weeds plucked along the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.
January 2012 Vol. 5 No. 1Published monthly by the American Farm Bureau Federation, 600 Maryland Ave., SW, Suite 1000W, Washington, DC 20024Phone: 202-406-3600 — E-mail: [email protected]
We hope you enjoyed reading this issue of Foodie News. You may distribute or re-publish the articles in this edition of Foodie News, except where noted otherwise.
oped leg muscles that re- quire more cooking time than the breast meat.
Old cookbooks published before the 1950s provide a treasure trove of informa- tion on how to properly cook heritage chickens for
optimum flavor. “Fowl and Game Cookery” by James Beard (1944), “Better Homes and Gardens Cook- book” (1941), “The Modern Family Cookbook” by Meta Given (1942) and “Let’s Cook It Right” by Adele Davis (1947, 1962 and 1970
Cooking Heritage Chickens Continued from page 4 versions) are all excellent
resources, according to Bisco.
But before you put that bird in the oven, Bisco cautions that “fresh from the farm” chicken should be chilled for at least 24 hours before cooking for
optimal meat texture. Birds that will be frozen should be chilled in the refrigerator for three days first.
Learn more about heri- tage chicken and livestock breeds at www.albc-usa.org.
