New tastes and trends on display

NEW YORK — What are Americans hungry for?

If the recent Summer Fancy Food Show is a culinary barometer, a growing number of us want food that’s not just healthful and good for the planet, but also excites with adventurous, global flavors.

For instance: Like mushrooms? It might be time to start, because the fungi popped up as an ingredient in everything from Muze’s sustainable vegan Ecuadorian chocolate to Popadelics’ flavored snacks to Bee Shepherd’s adaptogenic honey at the New York show, which took place June 12-14 at the Javits Center.

Or perhaps gut health is a major concern. No worries, because specialty food companies such as American Vinegar Works, with its small-batch, naturally fermented vinegars for cooking and cocktails, and Hidden Gem, which brews an antioxidant-rich, kombucha-like beverage from upcycled avocado seeds called Reveal Avocado Seed Brew, stand at the ready.

Brands reimagining classic dishes included The Great Knead, which debuted allergen-free soft pretzel nuggets; Carbone Fine Food’s onion- and garlic-free marinara “delicato” sauce, geared toward those with digestion issues; and Michigan-based Nutcase Vegan Meats’s “meatloaf” made with quinoa, hemp seed, brown rice and nuts.

Top trends

With more people than ever happy to eat their vegetables, plant-based foods were among the show’s top trends, according to the Specialty Food Association, the trade group founded in 1952 that produces the event. Foods and beverages with sustainable and ethical characteristics were also on the trendspotter’s radar, along with alternative comfort foods, including Current Foods’ plant-based tuna and salmon (made from pea protein), pizza and pasta sauces, grown-up flavor twists (whiskey-infused coffee or sparkling mocktails, anyone?), pepper sauces and global flavors, such as Freshe’s ready-to-eat gourmet fish meals in a can.

These trends even extend to baby food, with brands such as Kekoa Foods and Little Pickins making a splash. The former uses herbs, roots and spices to create its squeezable pouch purees in adventurous flavors like Curry Vegetable Mango and Beets, Fennel and Kale; the latter makes precooked, veggie-packed organic “meal bites” packaged with cute names like Broc N’ Roll and Love You, Tofu.

Some 1,800 exhibitors trotted out emerging and newish specialty food products from around the world at the 66th show. The goal: to connect and promote their products to national and international buyers — often with a tasty sample.

The U.S. specialty food and beverage industry is big business, hitting a whopping $175 billion in sales in 2021, per the Specialty Foods Association. It covers everything from meat, seafood, cheese and refrigerated entrees to snack foods, baked goods, chocolate and other confectionery, and beverages including coffee, water and hot chocolate.

The Italian pavilion, designed to take guests on a culinary tour through Italy via its 300 Italian companies, was especially spectacular. Along with live cooking shows, attendees were treated to samples of Parmigiano-Reggiano and thin slivers of prosciutto di Parma along with slices of pizza. There also were major displays from Japan, Morocco, Australia, Mexico, Turkey, Poland, Korea and a host of other international exhibitors — 54 countries in all.

Representing Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh was well represented among the six State Pavilions, with five specialty food providers in the Pennsylvania exhibit. First-time attendee Jenny Lee Bakery (5 Generation Bakers) offered samples of the ready-to-serve bread pudding the McKees Rocks bakery will unveil later this summer, while Mancini’s — a Pittsburgh classic since 1926 — promoted its soon-to-retail spent grain beer buns (made with Voodoo Brewing Co. spent grain).

Other local products included Sito’s Mediterranean dressing (served at Khali’s restaurant in Bloomfield), Robinson-based Smileycookie.com (which makes personalized Smiley Cookies in custom colors and shapes for gifts and events), and Somerset’s Bumbleberry Farms, maker of hand-crafted honeys and spreads.

“It’s exciting to be back,” said owner Karen Mosholder, who started the honey company in 2011 with 15 hives. She’s been coming to the show since 2015. Making its debut was the company’s honey cream spreads in sweet orange cardamom, chocolate raspberry and lemon-vanilla flavors. With so many sights, smells and new tastes across two levels, “Everyone is in a great mood,” she said.

Upstairs on the more posh Level 3, attendees could check out Liokareas Olive Oil’s array of flavored Greek olive oils, kalamata olives and other Greek pantry items. Also displayed was the Bethel Park company’s award-winning Rx High Phenolic Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, billed as “Your Elixir for Life” because of its reputed health benefits.

Nine notables

With only about eight hours on site, it was impossible for a reporter to see, and taste, everything. But a few items stood out. Here are a few that caught my eye.

• Maple syrup that shimmers

Did the pandemic make you feel sad? The folks at Runamok Maple in Vermont found it did for them. So in 2020, they decided to create a product that would bring joy and “make people smile during the darkest time,” said marketing manager Dan Robbins — a syrup infused with sparkles. Within months, the maple syrup company’s glittery Sparkle Syrup, made with pearlescent mica, was a top seller. Runamok also makes a limited-release Sparkle Tonic cocktail mixer that gives drinks a sweet shimmer.

• Wavy pasta

Everyone cooking at home during COVID-19 jumpstarted growth in the pasta realm, but really, you can only eat so much spaghetti. Sfoglini came up with a new pasta shape it says maximizes the food’s sauce-, fork- and “toothsink”-ability. The curved, ruffled noodles created by Dan Pashman of “The Sporkful” food podcast are called Cascatelli (Italian for “waterfalls”), and took three years to formulate.

• Funny teabags

More Americans than ever are drinking tea. We also adore political parody and satire. Noah Bleich combined the two with a line of organic and kosher tea packaged in whimsical parcels. The TeaBook’s collectible gallery of teabags features underrepresented communities’ historical and political figures, created by artists of diverse backgrounds. Seriously, who wouldn’t love a cup of Vincent Van Goghji Berry Tea or Ruth Bader Ginseng Lemon Green Tea?

• Potato chips for wine drinkers

Wine is often served with cheese and crackers. How boring! Wine Chips bills itself as the one chip in the world specifically designed for wine. The premium lattice-cut chips come in flavors that include Smoked Gouda, Manchego, Blue Cheese, Serrano Cheddar and, for the really adventurous, Spicy Calabrese.

• Gum that’s good for you

Even before the pandemic, Mathew Thalakotur had struggled to remember to take his vitamins. So the former brand manager for Beech-Nut, Procter & Gamble and The Coca-Cola Company decided to turn his chewing gum habit into something that not only was “enjoyable, but with no guilt” but also good for you. In 2020, with help from food scientists and herbalists, he launched Seattle-based Mighty Gum. The immunity-supporting, sugar-free chewing gum is made with vitamins, zinc and the healing botanicals ashwagandha, elderberry and reishi mushroom.

• Crunchy mushrooms

Fried snacks taste so good but we all know they’re also bad for you. Popadelics are crunchy shiitake mushroom caps “redesigned for the modern superfood snacker.” The better-for-you chips are made by vacuum frying, a process that uses air pressure and hot oil to cook food at much lower temperatures, preserving more of its color, nutrients and flavor. Even better, it’s female-founded and owned, and purchases help fund charitable organizations and causes centered around health and wellness.

• Fancy fish

If you like StarKist Pouches for lunch, you’re really going to love Fresche’s gourmet tuna and salmon meals. The sustainably sourced proteins from Portugal come ready to eat in colorful, palm-sized tins, infused with savory herbs and spices. Varieties include Sicilian Caponata, Thai Sriracha Tuna and Moroccan Tagine Salmon.

• Mood-altering drinks

Feeling stressed? “Glide” green tea from The Hemp Division will help you chill. It combines monk fruit with a body-relaxing, mood-elevating infusion of CBD hemp extract.

• Plant-based noodles

As a parent to someone with celiac disease, I’m always on the lookout for gluten-free noodles. Caloless Noodle Zero pasta is made from something I had never heard of — konjac glucomannan powder, a dietary fiber made from the root of the konjac plant. Low-cal and low-carb, they come precooked and ready to go; just rinse and add to your favorite sauce, soup or stir-fry. They come in chili, beef and seafood flavors.