NEW YORK (AP) – Whether it’s kimchi, beets or broccoli, the pandemic has had a strange impact on food cravings beyond the pleasure of comfortably eating.
For nearly a year in isolation, many people embrace foods that have long been forgotten or rejected for taste, texture, or smell. Some have forced themselves to re-evaluate health-focused foods to help boost their immune systems. And with home cooking at a high level, there is a new adventure in the kitchen.
For Maeri Ferguson, 31, in Brooklyn, it’s all about pears.
After she recovered from COVID-19, she had no normal taste and smell for months. So much food she loved just didn’t satisfy. Now Ferguson can feel sweetness, saltiness and spiciness again, but most foods lack nuance in taste.
No pears.
“I have always passed on pears all my life. Not because I didn’t like them. They just intimidated me, ”Ferguson said. “I didn’t understand the differences between varieties, how to determine maturity. I knew what a bad unripe pear tasted like, but not a good one. “
During the pandemic, a friend gave her a handy cutting machine and she pushed herself to figure out how to spot a good pear. It was one of the first foods she could actually taste.
“I’m a complete convert,” said Ferguson. “I will never forget to bite into a juicy red pear and finally taste that sweet taste and only the weakest sharpness. It was a profound experience, and one that made me cherish a food that I would tolerate on my own. “
While Ferguson may not see pear sales soar, a big winner in the pandemic is fermented foods.
Anastasia Sharova, a chef in Stuttgart, Germany, runs Happybellyfish.com, an online cooking school focused on healthy food. In late 2019, it added fermentation classes, after which the pandemic hit. Suddenly, interest in making kimchi, miso and sauerkraut rose. Kombucha was already on trend and helped popularize home fermentation.
“Health became the number one priority for many last year,” said Sharova. Second, everyone got extra time at home, so it was finally possible to try new things in the kitchen that take time. Third, food fermentation is seen as a hobby in itself and is a great community activity even if your community is on Zoom or just within your own family. “
Thirty-year-old Alicia Harper is now in the fermentation camp. The New York City nutritionist was well versed in the health benefits, but was personally not a fan of the pandemic.
“I thought the fermented flavor was too strong for me and the fermented smell was unpleasant. Since I recently tried them again, my opinion has changed completely. I have now come to love the taste and smell, ”she said. “The pandemic has really made me appreciate my health more.”
Anne Alderete enjoys something she never thought she would do: natto. Natto, made from fermented soybeans, is popular in Japan but considered too slimy and smelly for some.
“I’ve smelled it a lot since I was half Japanese and lived in Tokyo for seven years after college,” said 47-year-old Alderete in Los Angeles. “For a long time I wanted to understand the magic that I just didn’t taste. I was reminded of dirty old socks. “
Now she devours store-bought natto almost every week. One of her favorite ways to eat it is spread on a thick slice of toast topped with cheese and melted in the grill.
“I feel somewhat virtuous when I eat natto because the health benefits are many, but it’s also because it has brought me closer to my roots,” Alderete said.
The long shelf life of many fermented foods is another draw.
While health problems and comfort foods have played a role, one expert believes that changes in the way we eat are also due to the fact that we have more time at home to digest news about nutrition and the food chain.
“With the pandemic, many of us have finally recognized some uncomfortable truths about the food system,” said Ryan Andrews, a registered dietitian who wrote a book on plant-based eating.
“People have learned about the unsafe working conditions in meat packing factories, the unfair wages of agricultural workers, the chronic diseases we all face in connection with food, the inhumane ways we keep livestock in the factory and the immense ecological toll of the industrialized Agriculture. Said Ryan, a consultant for Precision Nutrition, which certifies nutrition coaches.
Suddenly, he said, “The organic lentil and mushroom soup that didn’t sound all that appealing prior to the pandemic became part of the weekly meal routine.”
At the same time, an analysis of Google searches by market research firm Semrush on the strange and wonderful changing food interests during the pandemic pointed to comfort. The company discovered a 17% increase in searches for “peanuts and cola” in December compared to December 2019, and a 33% increase for “prosciutto and melon”. It found a 95% increase for ‘bacon and jam’.
At WoodSpoon, a New York-based app that connects home cooks with hungry customers, the comfort trend is more than apparent. Before the pandemic, there was great interest in healthy offerings and less processed foods. Then it was all about the babka, pasta and short rib.
“In challenging times like these, diners are looking for authentic, home-cooked food and support local chefs. The trend has been going on for a while and the pandemic has taken it to the next level, ”said Oren Saar, WoodSpoon’s co-founder and CEO.
Beets never got a chance from Caroline Hoffman, 25, until the pandemic broke and one day she forgot to buy tomatoes for pizza sauce. Instead, she mixed up some beets and left, overcoming her coarseness factor.
‘I’m addicted now. I made beet hummus, beet pasta and regular beet salads. I’m not sure why I hadn’t discovered this earlier, but now I buy a weekly bag like it’s cereal, ”said Hoffman from Chicago.
Others rejoin their childhood favorites, visiting peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or whipping up grilled cheeses to eat with canned tomato soup. You can also count raisins.
Harry Overly, the “ main imaginative hunter, ” president and CEO of Sun-Maid, said the raisin company saw a 1.4% increase in the number of US households that started eating raisins over the past year.
“We are definitely seeing, especially in the past year, how consumers are leaning towards nostalgia and reconnecting with brands they remember from childhood,” he said.
It’s not raisins that Rex Chatterjee is looking for in the Hamptons beach town of Amagansett, New York. The treat of choice for Chatterjee, 34, and his wife is Oreos and rosé. He occasionally admits to dunking.
“The combination,” he said, “is great and comes with our highest recommendation.”