JANUARY 2018 2018 FOOD TRENDS

What American Families are Cooking and Eating

INSIGHT #1 Meal Time Multi-Tasking Takes a New Tact

Anticipating taste adventures waiting to be discovered in the New Year is one of January’s many pleasures. Investigating what lies ahead for Americans’ dinner plates, glasses, and snack choices is also an annual exercise Allrecipes’ research gurus enjoy. To compile this collection of predicted home cooking trends for 2018, our analysts scoured through web analytics data captured during home cooks’ billions of Allrecipes.com visits and results from Meredith’s proprietary food surveys fielded in 2016 and 2017. Read on to discover eight delicious trends we found simmering and ready to serve.

It’s guaranteed the hectic weeknight pace of busy families won’t slow in 2018. Every night is packed with homework assignments, shuttling kids from place to place, and attending after-school activities—all competing with time typically set aside for preparing home-cooked dinners. In 2017, more parents took advantage of the “hands-off” convenience, speed, slow-cooked flavors, and often, the inherent cost savings, gained by preparing meals using electric multi-cookers (Instant Pot®), Crock Pots®, and “Sheet Pans.”

Allrecipes’ Trending “Hands-Free” Dinner Recipes

Pressure Cooker Chili262 made it80 reviews

Carnitas – Pressure Cooker245 made it73 reviews

Valerio’s Pulled Pork Sandwich76 made it29 reviews

Beef Stroganoff for Instant Pot®69 made it17 reviews

Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas 170 made it38 reviews

Greek Lemon Chicken and Potato Bake3K made it416 reviews

Perfect Pressure Cooker Pot Roast425 made it240 reviews

Dijon Pork with Apples and Cabbage59 made it24 reviews

Easy and Convenient Cooking Methods on the Rise

Pressure cooker meals Sheet pan dinners

+29% YoY +67% YoY

C O O K B O T

P R O C E S S I N G2 0 1 6 & 2 0 1 7

S U R V E Y S

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INSIGHT #2 Gone Sour on FlourBlame it on the gluten-free advocates or the clean-eating fans, but eating carbs is going out of fashion fast, which means most of the flour category is on the move downward. However, some exceptions do exist. Almond flour is a must for those pursuing low-carb diets because it’s an ideal ingredient for adding a nutrition boost to recipes for homemade staples and sweets. Home cooks are seeking out this ingredient—or making their own versions—for baked goods and breakfast foods traditionally calling for white, all-purpose, or wheat flours. Of all the types of alternative flours, almond flour is most popular, showing 22% year-over-year growth. Buckwheat flour is also hot right now, rising 14% in the past year.

Allrecipes’ Top Recipes Using Alternative Flour (Ranked from 1 to 8)

Best Buckwheat Pancakes159 made it121 reviews

Almond Flour Bread158 made it40 reviews

Paleo Banana Bread127 made it60 reviews

Paleo Pumpkin Pancakes108 made it44 reviews

Gluten-Free Red Velvet Cake76 made it33 reviews

Perfect Paleo Pumpkin Bread75 made it30 reviews

Almond Flour Pizza Crust35 made it11 reviews

Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins 33 made it15 reviews

Which of any of the following diets have you followed in the past year?

Low-carb

Gluten-free

Atkins diet

Paleo diet

Vegan diet

Keto diet

Whole30 diet

31%

11%

8%

7%

7%

4%

3%

RyeFLOURnow with rye!

WheatFLOUR

S-Wheat!

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INSIGHT #3 Global Sandwiches with Asian Flavors Go MainstreamQuick to make, customizable to match individual taste preferences, and easily eaten on the go, hot sandwiches are hailed as dinnertime heroes. This year’s fastest growing sandwich recipes feature big, bold East-West flavors. As evidence of this cross-cultural culinary trend, recipe views in 2017 surged for Asian-Inspired Burgers (+108% year-over-year) and Asian-Inspired Sandwiches (+67% year-over-year). The popularity of these dishes is driven by desire for meal variety, interest in healthy cooking with chicken and leaner meats, and home cooks’ growing interest in Asian cuisine.

Allrecipes’ Most Popular Asian/Asian-Inspired Sandwich Recipes

Grilled Chicken Pineapple Sliders256 made it64 reviews

Vietnamese Sandwich165 made it119 reviews

Banh Mi Burgers 40 made it19 reviews

Thai-Style Turkey Burger15 made it6 reviews

Overall Millennials GenX Boomers

High fructose corn syrup 63% 55% 61% 73%

Additives /fillers 52% 46% 51% 58%

Trans fats 52% 42% 51% 62%

Sugar 50% 47% 48% 56%

Saturated fats 50% 40% 49% 61%

Sodium 46% 37% 44% 58%

Cholesterol 44% 41% 42% 48%

Preservatives 44% 38% 45% 50%

Food coloring and dyes 43% 38% 44% 48%

Wheat 10% 13% 9% 8%

Which of the following are turn-offs for you when deciding to purchase a grocery product?

INSIGHT #4 Sugar SensibilitiesTo sweeten or not to sweeten? With sugar, that is. This is a question that won’t disappear in 2018. In fact, it’s a trend Allrecipes first noted in 2015 in its annual Health Trends Survey. At that time, home cooks reported using alternative sugars to lose weight (44%), or because they wanted a cleaner diet (39%).

In the past year, healthful eating registered as a lifestyle priority for almost all (96%) respondents in Allrecipes’ 2017 Health Trends Survey. As a measure of this lifestyle, high fructose corn syrup and sugar stand out as key ingredients home cooks seek to avoid when considering grocery products to buy or meals to prepare. This is particularly true of parents with younger children and Baby Boomers, who are especially aware of ingredients and health connections.

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Ol’ Smokey 3000

YoY Searches +39%

Bacon

+125%

Brisket

+76%

Pork Ribs

+11%

Jerky

+11%

What’s most popular inside that backyard smoker?

INSIGHT #5 Home-Smoked for the WinInterest in home-smoked recipes is up 39% year-over-year, kicked off by February’s Super Bowl game and NASCAR’s Daytona 500, the first of a full calendar of events prompting casual gatherings with friends and family. Overall, homemade smoked bacon is the top favorite with home cooks’ searches for ways to make it increasing 125% in the past year. Smoking pork may be a slow process, but it’s also a central theme among hobbyists honing their craft to prepare everything from ribs to brisket.

In autumn and during winter holidays, smoked whole turkeys, along with wings and ribs, are centerpieces at large family-and-friend gatherings. Smoking is a slow process, but it offers make-ahead appeal and juicy, tender rewards for home cooks. Top off these attractions with more than 70 recipes to choose from on Allrecipes.com.

Allrecipes’ Top-Trending ‘Smoker’ Recipes

Bob’s Pulled Pork on a Smoker535 made it87 reviews

Turkey in a Smoker410 made it176 reviews

Sweet Smoked Pork Ribs267 made it74 reviews

Doc’s Best Beef Jerky540 made it216 reviews

Basic Brine for Smoking Meat116 made it55 reviews

Smoked Pork Butt71 made it41 reviews

Smoked Spicy Chicken Wings26 made it3 reviews

Not Your Every Day Smoked Pork Spare Ribs153 made it85 reviews

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INSIGHT #6 Korean Flavor FascinationSizzling tastes such as the Korean chili paste gochujang and one-bowl bibimbap (mixed rice) are making Korean food the latest “hot” discovery to inspire home cooks searching for something new. The demand for one-bowl meals, seafood soups, and stir fry recipes is driving 28% year-over-year growth for the Korean category. Dietary considerations such as high-protein, Paleo, and gluten-free eating are also propelling the trend. Without doubt, the February 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, will expose Americans to even more authentic dishes from Korea.

Allrecipes’ Top-Trending Korean Recipes

Beef Bulgogi1K made it525 reviews

Korean Fried Chicken490 made it56 reviews

Kongnamool (Korean Soybean Sprouts)106 made it35 reviews

Korean Spicy Chicken and Potato (Tak Toritang)248 made it192 reviews

Fried Rice Baked & Breaded Seafood Soups Wok Cooking

DumplingsDeep FriedSoups & StewsOne Bowl

+8%+12%+15%

+107% +40% +22% +19%

Allrecipes’ Fastest Growing Korean Recipe Types and Cooking Styles

+4%

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INSIGHT #7 Latin American Dinner AdventuresGet ready for authentic even farther-south South-of-the-Border cuisine, as in ethnic dishes from South America. No longer is Mexico the only source for hot sauce-spiked dishes with meat, rice, and bean combos. They’re familiar and mainstream, although authentic dishes from the country’s diverse regional cuisines are gaining more attention.

Today, for example, almost all respondents (89%) in the Better Homes & Gardens Food Factor Survey say they like experimenting with new dishes and want to add new flavors to their food. Recipes from Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, and Peru are attracting adventurous American home cooks with their use of economical cuts of meat, along with options for meat-free dishes, stews, hand-held foods, rice dishes, and healthful ingredients such as black beans and squash.

Recipe Search Increases Show the Lure of Latin American Cuisine

Home Cooks Are Pursuing Dinnertime Adventures!

like experimenting with new

recipes/dishes

89%

want to add new flavors to

their food

83%

like to try foods they’ve

never eaten before

80%

like to cook new regional/ethnic foods

73%

preparing more ethnic dishes than

two years ago

31%

Brazil +24%YoY recipe searchesPeru +17%

YoY recipe searches

Venezuela +162%YoY recipe searches

Argentina +26%YoY recipe searches

Mexico +3%YoY recipe searches

FIELD GUIDE

LATIN FOODS

TO DELICIOUS

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INSIGHT #8 Craft Cocktail ResurgenceCocktails are destined to rise again as the “it” drink, especially among millennials. Standouts for their craft beer passion—55% reported beer is their go-to beverage for holiday libations in the Allrecipes 2017 Holiday Survey—millennials also favor bourbon, whiskey, rum, and alcoholic cider. It’s a preference driving traffic up 42% in 2017 to cocktail recipes.

Also, 53% of millennials say they will try new recipes for cocktails, making them the largest group with this inclination. Why the appeal? Cocktails can showcase small-batch, handcrafted spirits by local distilleries and cider houses—and distinguish the home bartender and drinker. Add the appeal of cocktails at casual get-togethers (they raise the host’s status without stress) and the DIY option that millennials also embrace, and this trend is moving.

Millennials GenX Boomers

Beer 55% 50% 37%

Wine 52% 57% 51%

Sparkling Wine 30% 25% 50%

Alcoholic Cider 28% 17% 6%

Liqueurs 27% 25% 20%

Rum 27% 22% 16%

Vodka 25% 28% 21%

Gin 7% 7% 7%

Purchase Behaviors by Demographic Group Allrecipes’ Top-Trending Cocktail Recipes

The Real Mojito941 made it377 reviews

Hot Spiked Cider149 made it107 reviews

Moscow Mule Cocktail 258 made it36 reviews

Cosmopolitan Cocktail44 made it110 reviews

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Please Contact

Esmee WilliamsAllrecipesVice President, Consumer & Brand Strategy

206–436–7416 esmee@allrecipes.com allrecipes.com/cook/esmee @EsmeeWilliams

MethodologyData cited in this Measuring Cup is captured from web analytics based on billions of visits to Allrecipes.com, Allrecipes Dinner Spinner app, and Allrecipes Alexa Skill, along with results from the Meredith Food Research Team’s proprietary surveys fielded during 2017 among independent panels of home cooks. Surveys included the Better Homes & Gardens Food Factor study (2016), and research topics ranged from Healthy Eating Trends (January 2017) and Allrecipes’ 20th Anniversary (June 2017) to Back-to-School (June 2017) and Holiday Cooking Trends (October 2017).

About AllrecipesAllrecipes, the world’s largest food-focused social network, receives more than 1.5 billion visits annually from home cooks who inspire and inform cooking through shared recipes, photos, reviews, collections, profiles, and videos. Since its launch in 1997, the Seattle-based social site has served as a dynamic, indispensable resource for cooks of all skill levels seeking trusted recipes, entertaining ideas, everyday and holiday meal solutions, and cooking instruction. Allrecipes is a global, multi-platform brand with 19 sites, three mobile apps, and 15 eBooks serving 23 countries in 12 languages. Allrecipes magazine, recognized by MIN as the 2013 Magazine Launch of the year, boasts a readership of 7.6 million cooks.

About Meredith CorporationMeredith Corporation (NYSE:MDP; www.meredith.com) is the leading media and marketing company serving American women. Meredith features multiple well-known national brands—including Allrecipes, Better Homes and Gardens, Martha Stewart Living, Parents, Family Circle, My Weddings, Shape, American Baby and Every Day with Rachael Ray—along with local television brands in fast-growing markets. Meredith is the industry leader in creating content in key consumer interest areas such as home, family, food, health and wellness, and self-development. Meredith uses multiple distribution platforms—including print, television, digital, mobile, tablets, and video—to give consumers content they desire and to deliver the messages of its advertising and marketing partners.

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