6 hot new food trends unveiled at San Francisco’s 2020 Winter Fancy Food Show

Cauliflower puffs, tomato jerky, cashew “cheese,” oat milk ice cream, mushroom “chips” and collagen on tap may not sound like a gourmet feast, but get ready for it — these are the new foods featured at the 45th Annual Winter Fancy Food Show held Jan. 19-21 at San Francisco’s Moscone Center and they’re headed for supermarket shelves in the coming months.

The show, a three-day event open to food industry professionals, showcases more than 80,000 products. It’s not only a marketplace for retailers looking to stock their aisles with the newest and best edibles, it’s also a food-world litmus of all that’s current, trending and attracting attention.

Negotiating aisles packed with 25,000 curious, hungry people is an exhausting, but extremely tasty task. A spoonful of Haig’s new yogurt dip followed by a slice of Bolani flatbread slathered in cilantro sauce, a bite of Hatch Chile-stuffed Texas Tamale, a chunk of Coro’s new mole-flavored charcuterie, then a sip of sparkling Kimono Yuzu water is an amazing gastronomic experience.

But even more exciting is the opportunity to pinpoint ways that the foods we eat are changing through the innovation and imagination of the purveyors who attend the show. Here are details on some trends that are guaranteed to appear at your local market soon.

1 Oat milk

This alternative milk is taking center stage, finding its way into everything from coffee creamer and cheese to yogurt and ice cream. Great oat-based products include Oat Zarella, a soft, meltable mozzarella-style “cheese” that comes in mini-wheels and shreds. The texture is silky, like burrata, and very milky. Founder Jerad Speigel says his cheese “is in high demand with chefs at high-end restaurants who use it for caprese salads and on cheesy flatbreads. They like it because it works — it actually melts like cheese.”

Another standout use of oat milk is Van Leeuwen’s new line of oat milk ice cream, the second vegan addition to the New York food truck-based artisan ice cream lineup. Processed with coconut cream and sugar, it’s every bit as luscious as a dairy-centric ice cream. Planet Oat Original Oatmilk is also having great success with its line of flavored oat milks.

2 Collagen infusions

Collagen-infused libations are making it possible to drink yourself gorgeous. Instead of lathering the skin with collagen, it is now possible to drink it, courtesy of a line of powders from Harmony Proteins, among others, designed to be mixed with water. Each one promises not only younger skin, but also better sleep, digestion, nails and more.

Some infusions headed for market come ready-mixed — there’s even one in the form of a coffee creamer.  And Glow Collagen Infused Water offers bottles of water with a natural Champagne-style fizz that makes it a great sip or mixer.

3 Upcycled fare

Upcycled foods are grabbing lots of attention, as they underscore sustainable, earth-friendly fare. Examples range from Planetarians snacks made with defatted sunflower seeds, the byproduct of vegetable oil extraction, to Ziba Foods Sweet Apricot Kernels, the kernels inside the seeds of Afghanistan fruit grown to make fruit leather.

But perhaps the most unexpected example is The Avocado Leaf Tea Co.’s new line of teas made with leaves that would otherwise be turned into mulch. The Temecula-based company was born when Scott and Sharon Wibbenmeyer bought a piece of land populated with avocado trees. A brainstorm — followed by lots of research and testing — has resulted in healthy teas that taste like avocado.

4 Cauli snacks

Cauliflower snacks have arrived. It isn’t uncommon to see the veggie used as a bread ingredient or rice stand-in, but now cauliflower is being turned into some really tasty snack foods, including puffs, sticks, crackers, dips and even noodles. Standouts worth grabbing when they arrive on store shelves are Rhythm Cauliflower Bites, a trio of organic, crispy freeze-dried bites with just a touch of salt and flavoring, and Vegan Rob’s truly addictive Cauliflower Puffs.

5 Artisanal dairy-free

Dairy-free ice cream has gone seriously upscale. Artisan producers are producing natural versions made with coconut and oat milk that are as delicious and creamy as those made with eggs and cow’s milk. Alden’s has a delicious new line, as does Van Leeuwen. The Bay Area’s cult-fave ice creamery, Humphry Slocombe, also killed the non-dairy ice cream category by serving up two new, deliciously unusual vegan flavors: Toasted Sesame Butter & Chocolate Chip and Coconut & Salty Caramel.

6 New wave veggie snacks

Veggie snacks are vying for a whole lot more space on snack shelves. Following the lead of Harvest Pea Snacks is a landslide of new snacks made entirely of vegetables. Among them: PigOut Pork Rinds made of plants, Shrooms Crispy Mushroom Snacks, Bella Sun Luci Plant-Based Tomato Jerky in a range of flavors, Cynara Artichoke Chyps, Eat Makhana Popped Water Lily Seeds and Everton Toffee Sunflower Chips.

Contact Jolene Thym at timespickyeater@gmail.com.