Get ready for green tea

As I sat down with my family to enjoy a nice meal at a fairly new ramen noodle restaurant in London, I had time to reflect on McCormick’s Flavor Forecast for 2016. On the menu, I spotted matcha tea ice cream, which is one of the top flavour trends predicted by the report. We didn’t wind up having it, as the noodles themselves were filling and we had stuffed ourselves on tempura prawns as well. But I think next time I will give it a try.

This is the upside to the international aspect of dairy. As firms move out from the niche markets to the wider world, expect to see more exotic flavours, or your old favourites in new  combinations. Other predictions from McCormick include Pinoy barbecue from the Philippines, Indonesian grilled pork with banana ketchup sauce and Malaysian Sambal sauce. Turmeric blended with cocoa, cinnamon and nutmeg could be another fabulous ice cream flavour. Or maybe a RTD dairy smoothie.

The report also highlights a rediscovery of peppermint, rosemary, lavender, thyme and parsley. Since we grow most of these in our herb garden here in the UK, they are less about rediscovery, and more about using them in different dishes.

This move towards more variety continues. Salted caramel, once an unusual ice cream flavour, is pretty much a standard now. I can buy a selection of bubble tea ingredients in my local Chinese supermarket, and I suspect it won’t be too long until we’re seeing bubble tea RTD alongside the Starbucks frappucchinos in Tesco’s. And, having found the recipe for Brazilian cheese bread in my latest Nigella cook book, I will be whipping those up soon, now that I’ve tracked down tapioca flour.

As usual, dairy is an international adventure. See you at the noodle bar!