Purple palate: Albert Bartlett Purple Majesty potatoes, Britain’s first natural fully purple potato
Purple potatoes, purple carrots, beetroots, figs, aubergines? Any takers? Well, you’d better steel yourselves for 2018’s tongue-dyeing food trend. These ultra violet-coloured delicacies are set to dominate our menus this year apart from being chosen as Pantone’s Colour of the Year.
Waitrose has predicted the top food trends that will dominate our eating habits this year;
PURPLE FOODS
PERSIMMONS
PLANT PROTEINS
Cometh January, cometh Veganuary. The demand for conscionable eating continues and, with more of us choosing a vegan, vegetarian and flexitarian diets, it’s little wonder there’s such a buzz around new plant-based proteins. Whether with pulses, shoots, grains, seeds, soy or even algae, everyone from tiny start-up companies to big brands is looking for clever new ways to add a plant-based protein punch.
FIBRE-RICH FOODS
INDIAN STREET FOOD
JAPANESE DUDE FOOD
The light-end of the Japanese food spectrum – such as miso and noodle soup – has already had its moment in the spotlight. Now it’s the return of the indulgent end. Gutsy sharing dishes favoured in the country’s izakaya bars are set to become a big thing. Whether it’s yakitori skewered chicken or deep-fried tofu in broth, the trend will combine the hearty ‘dude food’ of the southern US states with the unctuous, rich and surprising flavours of after-hours Tokyo.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Historically, there has been a mystical or spiritual quality attached to Ultra Violet. The colour is often associated with mindfulness practices, which offer a higher ground to those seeking refuge from today’s over-stimulated world. The use of purple-toned lighting in meditation spaces and other gathering places energizes the communities that gather there and inspire connection.
Complex and contemplative, Ultra Violet suggests the mysteries of the cosmos, the intrigue of what lies ahead, and the discoveries beyond where we are now. The vast and limitless night sky is symbolic of what is possible and continues to inspire the desire to pursue a world beyond our own.
Enigmatic purples have also long been symbolic of counterculture, unconventionality, and artistic brilliance. Musical icons Prince, David Bowie, and Jimi Hendrix brought shades of Ultra Violet to the forefront of western pop culture as personal expressions of individuality.
Source: Pantone Colour Institute
- A selection of images courtesy Waitrose
