Mushrooms are squeezing their way into 2019 food trends predictions.
The Mushroom Council cited social media habits, chefs, menu developers and sales data to suggest that fresh mushrooms will be used in many ways in 2019.
Look for them “… on top of your pizza, at the bottom of your grain bowl, sliced into your stroganoff or blended into your burger,” the council said in a Nov. 27 press release.
Food Network discovered that “Slow Cooker Chicken and Mushroom Stroganoff” was the most-searched slow cooker recipe on Pinterest, with nearly 300,000 saves.
And in the last 12 months, 42% of consumers bought mushrooms, the likelihood rising with personal income, a progression now in its fifth year, according to The Packer’s 2018 Fresh Trends report.
In that same time, more than 350 restaurants sold their take on “blended burgers” in the James Beard Foundation’s Blended Burger Project, which mixes finely chopped mushrooms with ground meat. Sonic Drive-In became the first fast-food restaurant to serve a mushroom-blended burger, the Sonic Slinger.
These blended burgers provided so much national exposure, grower-shippers and their partners are enjoying higher consumer demand, said Peter Wilder, marketing director of To-Jo Mushrooms, Avondale, Pa.
“Mushrooms are also benefitting from the success of in-store meal kits and home-based delivery options,” Wilder said, “as they are a perfect ingredient for shoppers looking to be a little more daring when it comes to creating healthy, flavorful dishes at home.”
