Girl dinner to millet ‘experiences’, sexy food to kitchen science – 2023 was all about culinary reinvention. Whether motivated by misguided attempts at healthy eating, geopolitical happenings or genuine efforts at creating delectable delights, these fun food experiments never failed to surprise. The results were exciting, delicious, confusing and gross – but never boring.
Year of the Millet
There’s no doubt that 2023 was the year of millets. From the G20 summit to movie theatres, it was a top favourite everywhere. And it wasn’t just your average Ragi Mudde and Jowar rotis that were on the plate; chefs made it their mission to make millets as glamorous as possible.
The G20 spread started with foxtail millet leaf crisps topped with a yoghurt sphere and spiced chutney. Sure, the name is something a struggling Masterchef contestant would use to dress up a mediocre dish but attendees praised the chefs (from ITC) for their inventive take on vegetarian food.
Celebrating Global Culinary Traditions with Millet Dishes!
The exhibition featured millet-based dishes from all G20 countries, honoring each participating nation's culinary heritage.#AgriGoI #IYM2023 #ShreeAnna #G20India2023 #G20India @g20org pic.twitter.com/jjzeSg8Ocy
— Agriculture INDIA (@AgriGoI) September 9, 2023
And this innovation wasn’t just limited to diplomats. The Millet Experience Centre in Dilli Haat, launched by the agriculture ministry and NAFED in April 2023, offers millet bhel puri, foxtail millet noodles and even a sorghum burger.
But now that the United Nations-sanctioned year dedicated to the superfood comes to a close, it is time to see whether the millet trend was just a passing moment.
Paneer ice cream – not a joke
Like every year, 2023 had its fair share of ‘healthy’ recipes. And as usual, Instagram chefs targeted desserts. Their experiments ranged from the hard-to-palate cottage cheese ice cream (Yes, Americans were really blending paneer with honey and calling it ice cream) to the certified hit chocolate date bark. The bark works because it’s not pretending to be something it’s not. It’s dates, chocolate, and toppings of your choice such as nuts, sprinkles or more chocolate. If you’re not a fan of chocolate, you could try the froyo bark. Made with berries/fruits and yoghurt, this viral snack takes over social media every few years.
medjool date bark with my raspberry compote, dark chocolate, and topped with crushed almonds and sea salt pic.twitter.com/xP0aHfaxul
— amara (@amaracxo) December 6, 2023
Girl dinner
If you’ve heard the viral audio even once, it’s hard to get the distinctive harmonies of “girl dinner” out of your head. TikTok user Olivia Maher used it early this year to describe her meal of bread, butter, cheese, grapes, pickles, and wine. Like all internet trends, it soon took a life of its own and other women began showing off their meals. It was usually plates that required minimal to no cooking and had small portions of multiple food items. Internet dieticians were quick to hypothesise that it glorifies eating disorders. But Maher puts it best when she says “You’re eating exactly what you want and you’re satisfying all the flavors you’re craving.”
still can't get over my mom's girl dinner.
she won honestly. pic.twitter.com/Hqu8mgFsEq
— pesca, 18 🪷 ﾟ｡ (@pescapudding) December 5, 2023
Graza and Gaza
It’s been an interesting year for olive oil. It has gone from being a company’s aggressive marketing tactic to a symbol of resistance.
‘Fancy’ olive oil brand Graza has been coasting on fame since late last year. Its type-forward design and distinct green squeeze bottles made an (ad-like) appearance on the channels of almost all famous food bloggers, igniting many-a-debate on the internet.
In the second half of the year, olive oil became a way for Palestinians – known for their olive produce – to keep a part of their culture alive amid the Israel-Gaza conflict. People began sharing sources for fresh pressed olive oil from the “homeland”. It’s a reminder that food goes well beyond sustenance.
PSA: Whole Foods has Palestinian olive oil on the shelf! it’s $25 for a big bottle so basically the perfect holiday gift pic.twitter.com/bKyC8hFrRb
— tabitha 🌞 (@thetolerantweft) December 12, 2023
Brand identities that convinced me to buy things as a brand designer, a thread:
First up, Graza olive oil by @ganderers.
(Yes, I did keep the bottle and yes I do pour boring olive oil into the bottle now. What can I say? I like the squeeze and vibes) pic.twitter.com/qxlQk0Mswe
— Jessica Strelioff (@jstrelioff) February 27, 2023
Popular pistachio
Predicted to be a trending food for 2023, pistachios lived up to the hype. From milk to butter, perfume to colour, the green nut’s mildly sweet, woody flavours reached everywhere. Its distinct look, taste (and price) gave it an extra edge compared to other nuts. While India has always had a love affair with pista, it was always paired with ‘star ingredient’ saffron. This new wave of pistachio, however, strips away all other distractions. It’s just you and the ‘smiling nut’.
This homemade pistachio butter is made with freshly toasted pistachios and tastes like a dream! 😍✨It makes morning toast taste extra special. Imagine your next batch of pancakes with a drizzle of pistachio butter on top!🎉https://t.co/62Nd7VwXIp pic.twitter.com/fGAhwxOeKi
— Kathryne Taylor (@cookieandkate) December 12, 2023
It’s not juice, it’s flavoured water
Not drinking enough water in a day? Maybe you would if it tasted like ‘unicorn candy’ or ‘mermaid’. This is the premise of what is, perhaps, the most polarising ‘food’ trend of the year — flavoured water. While it was largely confined to the US, #WaterTok piqued the attention of everyone from YouTube commentators to The New York Times. ‘Recipes’ for water—three pumps of this syrup, one packet of this powder—started as a way for women who were recovering from bariatric surgery to meet their daily water goal. But the trend has devolved into another icon of diet culture. ‘Zero-calorie’, ‘low sugar’ additives in these flavoured liquids could fuel eating disorders.
water tok is actually fucking wild. tfum thats water?? pic.twitter.com/zwIymlQpfP
— heidi 🐊 (@guppiedee) May 19, 2023
Science experiment in your kitchen
Kimchi, mead, hot sauce to yoghurt – fermented foods caught the internet’s attention in 2023, with almost a million people visiting the forum dedicated to fermentation on Reddit. The magic of having food come alive in front of your eyes has an irresistible appeal, and culinary nerds have taken to it like a fish to water. Food content creators and avid posters on the aforementioned subreddit have shelves lined with fermentation experiments like sauerkraut, ginger beer, pickles, kefir, tepache and more. Considering the long gestation period of these items, it’s a trend that’s likely to continue well into the next year.
Discover the ancient art of preserving food that's making a comeback in this week's blog – home fermentation! Why buy when you can have fun fermenting your own? Personalize flavors & turn it into a rainy-day science project for the kids! https://t.co/XnGVAuldUi#BrockEatHealthy pic.twitter.com/GkxM4r2UE6
— BrockEatHealthy (@BrockEatHealthy) December 12, 2023
2023’s egg moment
Eggs have a food trend moment every year. There are Korean drug eggs, cloud bread, tamago, cilbir and more. This year, however, was all about the feta fried egg. From the days of the viral one-pot feta pasta, the salty, crumbly cheese has become a regular on TikTok. In this recipe, it becomes a savoury, crispy bed for the egg to cook on. The 5-minute dish is often topped with chilli oil and eaten with toast. The quick and simple nature of this recipe has helped food writer Grace Elkus’ original one gain over 36 million views on Instagram.
The perfect Feta & Crushed Red Pepper Fried Egg over Avocado Toast 🤝🏾 pic.twitter.com/kgeofHa2xK
— SueWoo (@SueVavoom) July 28, 2023
Sexy food
Indulgent and sinful delicacies have been called food porn for almost as long as the world wide web has existed. And this year, content creators took it a step further. Shirtless men sexualising food and cooking processes have given the internet a collective ick. What starts as a tutorial turns vulgar fast — food is licked, caressed, kissed and slurped. It’s like a car crash, you can’t look away. And in the digital age, anything that garners views is a winner. Maybe we should just be grateful that men are taking an interest in cooking.
Does this count as one of those cringe sexy food videos or should I spank the egg pic.twitter.com/QqTQrv7XKH
— Alex Clippinger is on 🟦☁️ (@Aclippinger) December 12, 2023
Shaved fruit
The summer of 2023 brought with it record-breaking heat. And the internet responded with shaved frozen fruit. Fruits are ‘shaved’ with a grater and often topped with condensed milk for an extra hint of sweetness. Frozen mango and watermelon were the most popular, but any fruit could work for this deliciously simple recipe.
Here's how to make this viral frozen shaved fruit treat! 🍓😋https://t.co/rkAbymArC8 pic.twitter.com/siw8Wzykkf
— Good Morning America (@GMA) July 18, 2023
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)