Get a Taste of the Ten Top Food Trends in 2011

When it comes to cutting-edge food trends, the Food Channel's recently released 2011 Trends Forecast has some intriguing tidbits. Compiled with CultureWaves, the International Food Futurists, and Mintel International, the report predicts the following trends in the next year:

1. Preserving food will make a come-back. Whether you use a canning process, pickling, or preserving, you just might opt for this method in 2011. You can save money, and improve the food's safety if you take careful precautions.

2. More men will put on those aprons and head to the kitchen. All of those cooking shows featuring male chefs definitely have influenced this trend. In addition, in some households, men and women are trading traditional roles, with men becoming the "househusband."

3. Go local. But that doesn't necessarily mean heading to the local farmer's market (although that's a great way to go!). The concept also refers to choosing hand-grown produce, for example, regardless of where it was grown.

4. Too much information (TMI): some consumers are becoming fed up (literally) with all those bans and reductions in everything from trans fat to sodium, not to mention nutritional counts glaring in our faces and inducing guilt at our favorite fast-food restaurants. Sometimes less is more...

5. Food-focused smart phone apps are becoming increasingly popular. Among the examples cited by the Food Channel: Urbanspoon for choosing the perfect restaurant, VegOut to hunt for a vegetarian cafe, and cost-cutters such as grocery coupons and restaurant deals.

6. Even big businesses can succeed in getting cozy with the customers. Restaurants, including chain restaurants, can learn to listen to their customers and give them what they're asking for.

7. Small shops such as bakeries and butchers will become popular again, part of the trend in heading to the local farmer's market rather than buying fresh fruits and vegetables at the grocery store. Specialized attention and going local add to the appeal.

8. Be prepared for your children to discover their taste buds again! Chefs will be working with school districts, improving the flavor and nutritional value of those infamous school cafeteria meals. Good-bye to mystery meat and Tater Tots? Time will tell....

9. Go beyond your usual meals and snacks and try something different. Experiment with new foods and new flavors.

10. In 2011, we'll be craving foods that will strengthen our ability to stay active, strong, and youthful. Baby boomers will be in their mid-sixties, but many of them will keep working, causing them to crave foods that truly fuel them. And that craving goes beyond work: as the Food Channel reports, there's an interest in the ability to stay active in the bedroom as well, with foods sought out to help that goal, too.

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Source: The Food Channel's 2011 Trends Forecast report, compiled in conjunction with CultureWaves, the International Food Futurists, and Mintel International.