Fermented and pickled foods are not just pickles and beer, they include all types of vegetables, teas, and yogurts. Foods of this type are skyrocketing in popularity.
Take for example the menu penetration for Greek yogurt and pickled vegetables where triple digit growth has been seen over the past four years according to Datassential’s MenuTrends database.
There are many benefits to eating fermented foods and while most of them are health related, there are some monetary ones as well. They are high in probiotics that balance your gut to absorb more nutrients, while fermented foods themselves retain more of their nutrients than non-fermented types. This has opened up the flood gates of healthy probiotic rich foods and people are now more willing to try kombucha tea or seed cheese because of the healthy attributes they offer. Pickling and fermenting foods allows them to last longer, meaning you throw out less, saving you money. All this adds up to one thing. Consumers are seeking out these natural health benefits from new sources. Another contributing factor is the increased interest in Asian cuisines. Ethnic products like kimchi and miso are appearing on more shelves and menus as consumers have become more accustomed to these flavor profiles. The perks of fermented foods allow producers to make health claims. This in turn catches the consumer’s eye and palette, growing the trend.
Any way you look at it, it’s time to pucker up and try these fermented and pickled foods, either for health reasons or for their delicious additions to your favorite foods.
But what is the distinction between fermented and pickled foods? Fermented foods create their own self preserving, acidic liquid, while pickled foods are placed into an acidic medium like vinegar for preserving.
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