Happy new year. 2014 is over and a new year has begun. What kind of new year did you all have?

The En-eating editorial department looked back on 2014 and predicted the gourmet foods that are likely to be popular in 2015. In 2015, "hybrid" and "health" are likely to be the keywords.

[ "Vegetable dairy products"]

The news that "I don't have enough butter before Christmas!" Ran around is a new place in my memory. It is attributed to a decrease in milk production. It seems that the amount of stock was secured by the urgent import of butter, but this situation may occur with other dairy products. Against this background, "vegetable dairy products" made from vegetable oils and fats are likely to attract attention.

Maybe a plant-based Arekore will be a hit in 2015?
Maybe a plant-based Arekore will be a hit in 2015?

The Glico dairy industry "Almond Effect" was selected in the beverage category of the "Yahoo! Search Awards 2014", which selects people and products whose number of searches has increased significantly during the year. It is a beverage of vegetable milk "almond milk" made from almonds. It is also called the "third milk" after soy milk.

Almond milk is said to be used more than soy milk as an alternative food to milk in the United States and elsewhere. In Japan, the world's major brand "Almond Breeze" was launched in Japan in the fall of 2013, and the interest in almond milk attracted attention through 2014. Its presence is increasing, with the appearance of sweets using almond milk. It is becoming more and more popular among people who are aware of beauty and health, and the range of products may expand further this year.

Will almond milk make it even more present?
Will almond milk make it even more present?

Similarly, "rice milk " is attracting attention as a vegetable milk. This is made from rice. Overseas, it seems to be widely used mainly by people who are allergic to soybeans and almonds in addition to milk. There aren't many products available in Japan yet, so I tried to make it by referring to the recipes of the people who use it. It was.

Rice milk is a hot stock in 2015 hit forecast
Rice milk is a hot stock in 2015 hit forecast

[Hybrid sweets]

Hybrid sweets are a mixture of different sweets (hybrid). The popularity of "croissant donuts" made it a big hit in 2013. The following year, 2014, the momentum has not slowed down, and new products are appearing one after another.

First, let's look back at what appeared in 2014.

・ Croissant x bagel = cragle

"Craigle " is a combination of croissants and bagels made by a bagel shop in New York, USA. Even in Japan, it was sold as "croissant bagels" at convenience stores and bagel shops.

BAGEL & BAGEL "Croissant Bagel Christmas Version"
BAGEL & BAGEL "Croissant Bagel Christmas Version"

・ Croissant x cake

In the United States, "Crupcake ", which is a combination of croissants and cupcakes, and "Crois Bun ", which is a combination of croissants and muffins, are available. " Croissant muffin " was released in Japan as well. The combination of crispy croissant dough and moist dough certainly makes you feel "hybrid".

"Crupcake"
"Crupcake"

As new products in 2015, new hybrid sweets such as "Brooklyn D & D " (Mister Donut), which is a combination of Danish pastry and donuts, are already scheduled to be released. This year too, new sweets that we didn't expect will be born.

Brooklyn D & D will be released on January 7th!
Brooklyn D & D will be released on January 7th!

[Foods with functional claims]

In the "2014 Best 30 Hit Products" published by the monthly information magazine "Nikkei Trendy", "Gourmet" Healthy "Foods" was selected as No. 1. It was noted that deregulation of the food functional labeling system is scheduled for this spring.

To be able to display the "effect" of food
To be able to display the "effect" of food

Under the new system (expected to be "functional food labeling"), it will be possible to display "effects" on fresh foods as well as foods for specified health use (Tokuho), so it is considered to be a healthy ingredient. It is expected that many "functional vegetables" containing a large amount of food will appear. As health consciousness grows, it may be a year when the appearance of the food department changes drastically.

How about. Are there any gourmet foods that you are already paying attention to? The En-eating editorial department will continue to introduce many delicious and fun gourmet topics in 2015 as well. Also thank you this year!