According to tastecard consumers and chefs, chickpea is crowned the ultimate winning flavour, ingredient, and all-around top addition to dishes-to-come in 2022. The chickpea was revealed to be a clear favourite amongst Brits, with the versatility of this humble pea used for many years throughout cooking and dishes is set to become the biggest taste of 2022.
tastecard also reveals that 39% of Brits admit to consuming vegan food in the past year. With vegan diets infiltrating the mainstream, no wonder the chickpea is voted 2022 taste of the year! For such a common ingredient, it’s now revealed that it’s excelled in popularity for next year…
Each year, tastecard, the UK’s largest dining membership club, carries out several internal analyses to predict the top food trends and predictions for the next year. This year, on top of this, customers had their say in what they look for when eating out and what key flavours could sway them into choosing a certain menu. Over 2,000 people across the country voted on their favourite foods and most discovered flavours.
In a stark contrast to the humble chickpea, 2021 has also been the year in which ‘Food-Tok’ and social media became a place to share the new and wonderful flavours from across the globe. Exposing new foods to new audiences; 39% of Brits said they have not tried but would like to be able to taste the viral ‘cloud bread’, as well as 24%wishing they could try mushroom adaptogens which have grown in popularity, due to a focus on new medicine and herbal stress relief throughout celebrity social media.
A driving force behind the shift in Brits’ eating habits has been social media with 25% of respondents noticing fermented foods and spreads on social platforms.
A spokesperson from an Kalamaki Street Greek comments, “We’ve always known that vegan food would grow in popularity as we’ve continued to see more people asking for vegan and vegetarian options each year. We see the increased popularity of chickpeas as no surprise, they’re a staple in our menu and a staple throughout a lot of vegan-friendly foods. As people are able to experience them in more dishes then just humous we’re sure they’ll simply carry on becoming a key staple in many peoples diets.”
There’s no doubt that multiple national lockdowns and restaurant closures have had an impact on the way the nation eats, but it hasn’t been all bad. 39% of Brits said that during the past year they’ve become more adventurous with their cooking. And as people are able to go out and eat again, they are going to want to try new tastes they might have seen across social media or experienced as a result of being more adventurous. With 3/10 (29%) Brits ordering more online they’ve exposed themselves to new cuisines previously not accessible to them, top cuisines having influence on consumers are: Mediterranean (24%) and South Korean (13%).
