2018 is the national year of food. Since January, there has been a succession in Italy of events, initiatives, and events linked to the culture and food and wine traditions of the Belpaese, all aimed at promoting typical products, the Mediterranean diet, and raising awareness of and promoting rural landscapes, supply chains, and the fight against food waste.
The National Year of Food
Food and wine heritage as part of Italian cultural identity. And, for the occasion, the dedication of this 2018 goes to Gualtiero Marchesithe man who revolutionised the world cuisine scene. But what are the trends of the National Year of Food?
Not just fashions, as one might think from the term trend, but approaches to the sector, studied and analysed by agencies and experts. Lifestyles that change, new frontiers that appear, horizons that open up and styles that consolidate, with a renewed awareness.
Health at the table
It is the first imperative of 2018. An increasingly international and transversal philosophy, born out of the need, now taken for granted over the last 15 years, that food is well-being and that it is increasingly necessary and urgent to eat well and choose ingredients and recipes with awareness.
More transparency, therefore, in the agri-food chain, traceability of raw materials, promotion of local specialities, as well as greater consumer knowledge, educated to demand more information before purchase.
Fermentations and vegan substitutes
2018 will be the year of fermentations, an ancient method of preserving food that is at the heart of many cuisines, such as Korean cuisine. There is also growing interest in the vegan world, and 2018 will also be the year when animal protein substitutes will become more popular.
Healthy food: garlic
Make way for the superfood, to foods that are good for you and among these, for Italy, to fruit and vegetables, but especially to foods such as garlic.
Tea that conquers
Tea will dominate, making a small comeback over coffee, with floral blends among the hottest trends, with a message that goes far beyond mere taste or beneficial properties. Tea spreads a very precise philosophy, borrowed from oriental culture, which aims at the well-being of body and spirit.
Increasingly fusion kitchens
A word that encapsulates an increasingly welcoming approach to cooking. While respecting the traditions and typicality of places, Cuisine opens up to culture, welcoming nuances, suggestions, horizons from distant lands, in a logic that is no longer that of contamination, but of true gastronomic integration.
No to waste
The Year of Food and Attention to Food could not fail to consider the urgency of the message of recovery, reduction of waste, and a return to simplicity, both in quantity and form. The circular kitchen becomes a way of interpreting this rediscovered sensitivity to the right to food, and many professionals in the sector are acting as spokespersons for this message, putting real masterpieces on the table, dishes created from poor and often forgotten ingredients, with almost unthinkable combinations. Because cooking, as we know, is art, creativity, technique and respect.
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