October Food Trends: FrankenSnacks

October 14, 2021October 16, 2021Leave a comment

Flavor fusions that start in the boardroom have varying results, but the releases of these alien appetizers are always fun, and 2021 has plenty to offer.

Indeed, like mad scientists with unending supplies of lab specimens, brands of all types are banding up, testing new waters, and crossing over, creating monster mash-ups of flavors as well as weird preparations like freeze-dried cheese and whipped coffee.

Smartfood and Krispy Kreme, for two, are leading the charge with their limited-time flavor partnership.

Pepsi x Peeps promises a marshmallow flavored soda array in Peep-centric packaging in time for Easter (gross), and three of Jelly Belly’s Fabulous Five flavors represent brand partnerships with Sunkist, Coldstone Creamery, and whatever soda conglomerate currently operates A&W, Dr. Pepper, Crush, and … 7Up? Is 7Up back?

Falling into the category of a more full transformation, the beautiful bean footage at Bush’s Best now includes a highlight reel of bean-based chips and dips, Wendy’s Frostys are now a cereal, and Heinz has entered a new dimension with their sauce blends; especially with Tarchup and Hanch.

What monstrous mixology have you see lately? Leave your discoveries in the comments.

October Food Trends: Baby, I Can See Your Food Glow

October 5, 2021October 11, 2021Leave a comment

Following in the damp footsteps of 2021’s first weird food trend of blood-bag cocktails comes that of glow-in-the-dark food — an oddity that’s been picking up steam since this summer.

Unsurprisingly, the trend comes in tandem with glow parties, but since most of these fetes have been of the at-home, small-crowd variety in recent years the food and drinks have moved to center stage, as opposed to things like glow raves, luminescent treasure hunts, and neon body-painting.

The good news about glowing food is that it need not contain frankengredients to achieve the desired effect. Adding tonic water to gelatin creates glowing frosting for cupcakes, cookies, and other treats when paired with a black light, for instance (it’s the quinine). The same goes for open-faced sliders slathered with a little mustard or a glow-in-the-dark salad with eggs (which cast a yellow glow under black light), lettuce (red), and olive oil (orange). So-called Kryptonite Candy is a little more complicated, but follows the same premise, and could serve as the piece de resistance at any kick-back.

Foods that glow without UV light are harder to find, but do exist; Indian food manufacturer Rexofa has developed lollipops and ice cream that glows when licked, thanks to bioluminescence technology.

And for the time-pressed, there are countless glow-on-the-go options: dozens of brands have jumped on the glow-wagon through their packaging, including Hershey’s, Pringles, Dogfish Head, and Yoplait — I spotted “GloGurt” at Stop & Shop earlier this month.

Share your glowed-up goodies in the comments!

Call for Blogtoberfest Entries!

September 24, 2020September 24, 2020Leave a comment

I always welcome guest posts at The Jump, but I take the collection thereof more seriously from October 1 to All Hallows Eve. The results have been varied and awesome, ranging in topic from witches to zombies to Neil Diamond.

Over the years, Blogtoberfest Guest Post submissions evolved into a full-on contest, with winners, prizes, and the bestowing of appropriate amounts of online glory.

Winners will be decided by readers via an online poll at the end of the month. There’s no length requirement or limit, and posts need not be spooky. October is also the month of harvest, baseball, and Breast Cancer Awareness. It may be that you or your organization has an annual event this month that deserves a little publicity. Whatever the topic – if it says October to you is fair game!

Prizes will be announced soon, and posts are accepted throughout the month, so get writing and send your entries to writerjax -at- gmail.com!

Weird October Food 2018: The DIY Edition

October 5, 2018October 8, 2018Leave a comment

Here we go — my favorite post of the year! The annual round-up of all the weird things I can find happening in the culinary scene during the witching season.

This post always takes a different turn, and this year, it’s a decidedly do-it-your-damn-self kind of list.

Bone In

Take, for instance, the Skeleton Table trend. A few years ago, it was all about Meatheads, but this takes the undead party-platter idea a few femurs further by filling a skeleton’s rib cage with delicious fixin’s. In my research, I found appetizer corpses, dinner bladders, and gut-busting desserts, all laid out in situ.

Thanks for sticking with me through the puns there.

Noodle Nocturne

The trend of black or blackened foods has come up here before, but never before have I stumbled on something so beautiful as Daniel Gritzer’s Halloween Ramen Bowl.

It’s right in the pocket of what I love to write about this time of year — not kitsch, but pure yumminess of the season. Plus, his post lead me to a few other ‘Halloween Ramen‘ recipes, including a pumpkin ramen, Hell Ramen, and Dracula Ramen.

Patient Churro

Another hot take on party food I’ve seen recently are Zombie Nachos — especially of the dessert variety. A little cinnamon, a little sugar, a drizzle of raspberry pie filling, and bwa-ha-ha-la.

Of course, if you’re more a fan of the savory undead, there are several more appetizer-centric versions of the zombie nacho platter.

Sleepy Swallows

There’s never a shortage of creepy cocktail ideas this time of year, and it can be hard to pick just one out of the endless recipes for embalming fluid, witches brew, and pumpkin punch.

I thought this sipper looked pretty smokin’, though (sorry, sorry), with a dash of gothic literary charm: the Sleepy Hollow Cocktail, featuring absinthe, Angostura bitters, and a sprig of rosemary set to smudge. This (frankly delightful) blog also has a Raven cocktail and another called Nosferatu’s Blood, for those looking to make a night of it. But I also found a few other Sleepy Hollow drink recipes, plus an Ichabod Crane, so I this may be a head-start on a great themed party.

2018 October Food Trends Spotted at:

In Katrina’s Kitchen

SeriousEats

Jewels of New York

Shaken Together Life