The Scoop On Food And Wine Trends In '08

Bon Appetit Magazine's Andrew Knowlton Is The Trend-Spotter

(CBS) 

Trend #4: The World's Spice Rack

Each year, adventurous cooks search the spice racks of the world for exciting new flavors.

Here are six that will pack a punch:

Piment D'Esplette: a long, red pepper from the Basque region of France that has a delicate flavor with a touch of mild heat. It's not too hot, but has a nice fruity taste.

Grains of Paradise, also known as Guinea melegueta pepper: biting on the tongue, but when you grind them, they release a sweet aroma. Used in the famous Brazilian dish feijoada.

Vietnamese Cinnamon sticks

Rasel hannout: ground spices perfect for cous cous -- made up of ground anise, fennel, and allspice, ginger, cumin, nutmeg, cinnamon, black pepper, clove, corriander, and cardamon.

Long Peppers: called "pippali" in India. Has a sweet aroma of ginger, black pepper, and has a slight numbing sensation for cloves.

Fennel Pollen

Trend #5: Oysters

The biggest ingredient right now on menus, and increasingly available through mail order, is oysters. The trend is to see the regionality that has popped up. You can got out and see Maine, Washington, Baltimore and Oregon varieties all in one spot. As we become more concerned with eating "locally," there are now wonderful regional varieties that are becoming available.

Trend #6: Heirloom Beans

Is this year's heirloom tomato. The "heirloom" craze is taking over the world of beans. You will now find beans that really taste like beans, and chefs are starting to use them. On the set, we had beans from Rancho Gordo: ranchogordo.com and Republic of Beans: republicofbeans.com.

Trend #7: The Slow Cooker

It's back. All-Clad just released one, and a number of other high-end cookware companies are releasing them. Take the best meat you can find and cook it low and slow. What can be easier on football Sunday? Pop in your ingredients, turn it on, and just move on to other errands in the house or watch TV. The new ones have ceramic inserts, enabling the food cook evenly.

Trend: #8: Meat Cookbooks

Meat is a back in a big way; it's good for you, and the pig is big. The product available is quietly creating the need for a new generation of cookbooks to address this new culinary passion.

On the set: "The Bacon Cookbook"; "The Meat cookbook"; "Pork & Sons"; "Au Pied de Cochon," and other books. Use these books to find a recipe perfect for the slow cooker!

Trend #9: Eco-Friendly Bags

We saw this movement pick up last year, and now many cities are starting to bag plastic shopping bags.

A QUICK LIST OF WHAT KNOWLTON THINKS IS "OUT":

Entrees
Serving unsustainable/out-of-season food
Beets and Goat Cheese Salad
Formal Anything
White Table Cloths
Restaurant Reservations
Mojito
Light Beer
Carb Counting
Trans Fats
Fake Butter
Factory Farmed Meats
Boneless Chicken Breast
Cooking Down to Your Kids (the Kids' meal is out)
Truffle Oil
Sweet Cockails

[cswarren1]

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