From sourdough bread, pasta chips, baked feta cheese pasta, to at-home quesadillas, 2021 was a year of culinary trends. And before that it was the focaccia garden.
Social media can be great platform for those who love cooking, eating, and learning about food. Not to mention, hacks. All these recipes proved – hashtag after hashtag – that there are a few quick ways in which one can make a dish. However, times can change, and some recipes might be swallowed by the internet before they can surface again - rest in peace, dalgona coffee. You are deeply mourned.
So how many of this year’s trends will make it to 2022?
The baked feta cheese pasta
Every cheese and pasta lover apparently swears by this dish. The Italians? Not so much. A quick and easy way to make a meal in a few minutes, the baked feta cheese pasta trend was an absolute hit. One, because it gives you a full bowl. Two, because the dish is made in one large baking tray, so you don’t need to worry about washing too many utensils. It was worth the hype after all. Thank you, MacKenzie Smith, for posting this on TikTok.
However, as much praise as the dish did receive, it got that much backlash as well, claiming that this could be unhealthy to consume in the long run because of the amount of cheese used. Here’s our attempt to make it at home.
The verdict: It will be there in 2022
Pasta chips
Whether you are deep-frying or air-frying pasta, chances are you will see these crunchy munchies next year, too. Pasta chips have been around ever since the summer of 2021, all thanks to @feelgoodfoodie. Her one video sent fans out on a path, where they experimented with different types of pasta, cooking styles, and adding a few spices according to what worked well for them.
Today, several users continue to follow the recipe even now. Check out our recipes for the same!
The verdict: See you in 2022!
Cheetos salad
The dish spells out exactly what it is. Cheetos in a salad. Ruth, or @rxthism, introduced the world to this trend. However, it didn’t stay popular for too long, because Cheetos has been in food long before it found its way into a salad. Read our story to find out more [link to story].
The verdict: Not happening in 2022
Corn ribs
Have you had Japanese tempura? Well, corn ribs are something of the sort, except that it’s grilled or baked to perfection. This was a win-win recipe for all plant-based food lovers out there, especially because it came with a toasty crunch and flavoursome spices. But will it see the light of 2022?
The verdict: Yes!
Nature’s cereal
Breakfast was one for the books, given that this hack was more than just another trend. People wanted to get healthy as much as they wanted to eat nature’s cereal. Several social media users made bowlfuls of ‘nature’s cereal’ by first combining blueberries, blackberries, and pomegranate seeds in a wooden bowl. However, the best part of this dish lies at the end, when you pour coconut water on top of it, submerging the berries. The irony of this dish is that it isn’t cereal, but just a healthy bowl of fruits.
The verdict: Doesn’t look like it might survive into 2022.
The at-home quesadillas folding hack
One of the easiest ways to make a tasty wrap, if you ask us! The trend grew popular after TikTok user Samira Kazan or @alphafoodie, decided to introduce an ingeniously layered quesadilla, all made with a few ingredients placed on a large burrito-sized tortilla. First, you have to cut a slit from the bottom to the centre and then add complementary ingredients to each of the four quarters of your tortilla. So, something on the lines of cheese, meat, vegetables, drizzled in sauce. This is then folded in four quarters, starting with the cut edge. Plus, toasting it makes it much better!
The verdict: 2022, it is!
Frozen honey challenge
If you’ve been following our food stories, you would know which trends got you hungry. But was the frozen honey food challenge worth it? Maybe just initially, especially because ‘The Algorithm’ – a faceless internet deity for many, could boost views, likes, followers… traffic. However, this mastermind wasn’t all for it as well this year, especially because it comes packed with a lot of health concerns. See you on the other side, with dalgona coffee it goes….
The verdict: Definitely not!
TikTok food for all
Recently, TikTok announced that they plan to set up 1,000 kitchens by next year. What will be the food served? These viral trends, of course. The social media platform revealed its plans to open almost 300 restaurants to deliver feta cheese pasta and corn ribs across the USA.
However, the food prepared will be through ‘ghost’ kitchens. A total of 300 TikTok restaurant locations are planned for in March 2022, with 1,000 expected by the end of the year. This initiative was brought up by the company to reinvest its funds with food content creators and culinary talent on the platform, especially since these trends kept viewers hooked during the pandemic that began in 2019.
#FoodTok – a food-related tag continues to be one of the most popular segments of the mobile application, claiming a minimum of 11.6 billion views as of December, this year. While more information is yet to be released by the social media platform, several users have expressed their joy for the same.
Do you have any recipes you would like to share with us? Email us at food@gulfnews.com
