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NEW FOOD BUZZ
From goat, to skyr, to smoking cocktails, check out some of today's most buzzworthy tastes
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Goat: In search of the other red meat? While goat has forever been a staple among meat eating Islanders, Latinos, and Southeast Asians, it's relatively new to the rest of us, and has been making waves on upscale restaurant menus in recent months. From Berkeley, CA's Cafe Rouge to NYC's Cabrito (a.k.a. "little goat") and Blue Ribbon Downing Street Bar, this barnyard beast might just be the hottest thing to hit the plate. Assumed to have an intense flavor and high fat content by many an uninformed goat critic, goat meat is actually quite mild and is lower in fat and calories than chicken, lamb, pork, and beef - might goat be the new ostrich? Local ranchers are adding goats to the mix, giving those curious diners with a penchant for locally raised animals a new option to try.
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Skyr:
If you're Icelandic, or an avid watcher of Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre Foods, then skyr is old news. But according to one of our trendsetter reporters here in NYC, Whole Foods is bringing this unique treat to the States. Skyr (pronounced "skeer") is a traditional strained Icelandic yogurt that's super rich, thick and creamy, with live active cultures and no fat or sugar. Traditionally, it's made from milk, utilizing the skim milk that is left once the cream has been removed to make butter - hence, the no fat part of this nutritious treat. Often sweetened with agave and a variety of fruits, fans of skyr here in the city rave about Siggi's Skyr, a local skyr made by Nyer Siggi, who grew up on the stuff in Iceland. Siggi's Skyr can be found in NYC at gourmet food shops like Murray's Cheese and Dean & Deluca.
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Smoking Cocktails: Despite the name,
there's no health hazard here - the smoking we're talking about does not involve any cocktail fire. Rather, mixologists around the country are using flame to smoke various ingredients (and even glasses) to give their cocktails a whole new dimension of flavor. Utilizing aromatic woods such as applewood, cherrywood, maple, cedar and hickory, everything from tea to fruits to simple syrup can be roasted over the chips; some of our must-drink NYC smoked cocktails include Tailor's The Waylon, a bourbon and smoked Coke, and Southern Hospitality BBQ's Hickory Smoked Bloody Mary, made with vodka, bourbon, and Bloody Mary mix, rimmed with honey and hickory seasoning.
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And By The Way: We recently highlighted consumers' growing demand for more background information on the products and services they purchase. Speaking to this trend, the COOL law recently passed. Standing for Country Of Origin Label, this new retail labeling law states that retailers must convey the origin of items, including raw beef, goat, pork, lamb, chicken, farm-raised and wild fish and shellfish; fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables; and peanuts, pecans, macadamia nuts and whole ginseng, with a label somewhere on the packaging. While there are quite a number of exceptions among these products, it should be interesting to see if this newfound information will affect consumers' purchases now that this law has passed.
* trendcentral articles are designed to be trend reports, not endorsements * The Intelligence Group is a trend-forecasting and marketing Consultancy focused on Gen X, Gen Y and Tweens. For more information on our services, or to subscribe to our syndicated studies, The Cassandra Report, Tween Intelligence, Latino Intelligence, and Mom Intelligence, contact Alina Goncalves at 212-277-5299 or via email at agoncalves@intelg.com.
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