Taste and Flavor is the main reason restaurant diners select one menu item over another. Unless food tastes good, no one buys it. Health concerns are also important, but they are secondary to the palate. Diners are now more health sensitive than ever. Even though the latest manifestation of healthful dining, low carb, turned out to be a craze, other health buzz concerns are part of the same healthful eating trend.
MenuMine Trend
MenuMine Trend is a series of articles pertaining to information extracted from the MenuMine Menu Information Database. To signup for this service in the form of a newsletter delivered to your inbox, simply enter your Name/Email Address on the left column.
Foods of the Mediterranean have been shaped over many centuries by trade, conquest, religion and migration. The cradle of Mediterranean cuisine was Persia (Iran) and Mesopotamia (Iraq). Mediterranean culture and foods were then developed in the middle east (Egypt, Libya, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Palestine) before traveling north to Crete, Turkey, the Baltics, the Greek Isles and west to Sicily, Southern Italy and Spain.
Beverages is the only food that fits into every single band of the taste, color and texture spectrum. There are more options in every beverage niche ranging from coffee to carbonated to cocoa and water. Apart from carbonated, there are seven major beverage categories. Coffee beverages, including hot and cold and including specialty and regular account for over one third (35.3%) of menu listings on restaurant menus. Coffee beverages are the fastest growing beverage category. MenuMine, the foodservice industry's menu information database, indicates growth is greatest for coffee (4.7 pts), tea (3.2 pts) and bottled water (2.4 pts).
More than half of all US restaurant chains serve Barbecue, however, hardly any have a pit or a huge grill in the back of the house. Authentic barbecue in the US usually calls for underutilized cuts of meat cooked over a low, open flame for several hours to tenderize the meat, using woods like hickory or maple. Meat is basted with a secret sauce starting with tomatoes and vinegar plus a host of herbs and spices that mingle with smoke to impart that special signature flavor. At home, barbecue usually means an outdoor grilling event with burgers or chicken. In foodservice there are more options. Barbecue offerings partly depend on your geography, partly on your type of operation…and largely how authentic you want to be.
Based on newly conducted primary research, the top rated Comfort Foods served in restaurants today are identified as Lasagna and Pizza. Popular runner-ups are Macaroni & Cheese, Hash Browns and Mashed Potatoes. Research conducted by Foodservice Research Institute has determined that Comfort Foods are most often a prepared entrée rather than a sandwich, salad or appetizer. Another finding is that Comfort Foods generally fall under American-Traditional cuisine or Italian cuisine. As far as ingredients go, about one third of the time, leading Comfort Foods are topped with a cheese or a tomato sauce. Only occasionally are they breaded/battered and/or deep fried.
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Versatility of Mushrooms
The average price of menu items using mushrooms in 2009 is $11.51, up from $10.75 in 2007.
Read More...Prepared Entree Trends in 2009
There is a considerable difference in preparation and average prices between Center of Plate Entrees and Prepared Entrees. COP entrees include a whole cut protein, whether a chicken breast or tender,...
Read More...Peppers Proliferate on Restaurant Menus
Virtually all restaurant chains (85%) and independents (83%) integrate peppers into their creations. On average, chains use peppers in 8 or 9 entrees. Institutional use of Peppers is relatively soft...
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MenuMine Trend
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Emerging Sauces MenuMine has identified more than 2000 unique sauces and toppings in addition to another few thousand unique dressings, marinades, glazes, condiments, spreads, seasonings and dips. Needless to say, tomorrow's flavor heroes are now beginning to creep up from the bottom of usage tables, where they may have ascended from 0.3% to 0.9% to 1.2% and now...
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