Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://specialtyfoodmagazine.epubxp.com/i/139333
food trends This month we look at José Andrés' new line of Spanish imports, the top locavore states and wedding cakes made from BY DENISE SHOUKAS wheels of cheese. CHEESY WEDDING CAKES 50% amount of waste reduction more than 100 NYC restaurants have committed to, via composting and recycling THE BEES KNEES OF SWEETENERS Honey, an age-old source of natural sweetness, is currently experiencing a renaissance. According to Mintel Group data from September 2011 to September 2012, more than 600 new products containing honey were introduced, from yogurt to alcoholic beverages. Plus, at the recent sofi Awards competition judging—a top trendspotting event—honey was a main ingredient in more than 50 products, including grapefruit hard candy, sesame caramels, seaweed snacks, nuts and jerky. "Today's consumers are more aware than ever about the ingredients in the foods they eat. Honey plays an important role in sweetening foods and beverages, giving processors the opportunity to sweeten their products with an ingredient of exceptional familiarity and trust with consumers," says Catherine Barry, the National Honey Board's director of marketing. "This is important to consumers who crave more natural and clean products." Pork Cuts Get New Names To make pork options more customer-friendly, the National Pork Board has renamed more than 350 cuts. Pork chops will now go by "porterhouse," "rib-eye" or "New York" chops, depending on cut and quality. And pork butt has been dubbed "Boston roast." Find the rest of the list at pork.org. 18 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com PHOTO: CALIFORNIA MILK ADVISORY BOARD Every couple likes to make a mark on their wedding day, and according to the California Milk Advisory Board, tiered wedding cakes made out of wheels of artisanal cheese are becoming all the rage for food-loving pairs. "With more than 250 varieties and styles of California cheeses to choose from, a wedding or specialoccasion cheese cake offers the perfect way to create a dessert as unique as the honored couple," says Jennifer Giambroni, CMAB's director of communications. To achieve the desired tiered affect, varying size wheels and types of cheese are stacked; after the "cake" cutting, the wheels are then placed on platters with garnishes. The CMAB offers a "Pair Savvy" app, which customers and cheesemongers alike can download and use as a guide. New York: America's Yogurt Capital For the frst time, New York state has surpassed California as the top yogurt producer in the U.S., producing 692 million pounds of yogurt in 2012. To help grow this industry, Gov. Andrew Cuomo convened the state's frst Yogurt Summit in August 2012, bringing together dairy farmers, yogurt producers and state offcials. The summit resulted in regulatory improvements for farmers and environmental-safety procedures. Expect more dairy production, more jobs and more yogurt to meet consumer demand.