July 6, 2023
Waitrose’s Annual Cooking Report has revealed the latest trends in food and drink in the UK, with a survey that analysed all things kitchen related!
Find out what people have been cooking, how they like to utilise their time and gadgets in the kitchen, and up-and-coming recipe fads:
Kitchen Skills
35 per cent of people surveyed consider themselves ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’ cooks and a third even believe they are better cooks than their parents! Yet, 46 per cent of respondents said they often let pans boil over on accident and 38 per cent admitted that they have burnt something so badly that the smoke alarm went off. Tsk tsk!
Appliances and Kitchen Tools
The top kitchen gadget that people said they could not live without is the microwave, despite air fryers being so on-trend. The most useful kitchen appliances according to the survey are:
- Microwave
- Air fryer
- Slow cooker
- Coffee Machine
- Food mixer
- Food processor
- Blender
- Electric whisk
- Hand blender
- Rice cooker
Food Trends
The report also unveiled some curious new terminology that could reshape how you think about your use of food and some fabulous new recipes to try out at home…
Nextovers
Unlike leftovers, ‘nextovers’ are dishes made with surplus ingredients leftover from yesterday’s meal – a growing fad on TikTok. Popular nextovers include using leftover meat and veg for a stir fry, making houmous into salad dressing, and repurposing mashed potatoes into fish cakes.
Swalty
Almost as cringy is the phrase ‘swalty’ which is, of course, sweet and salty. Mixing savoury with sweet has proved successful for Waitrose, like their bestselling sweet and salty popcorn.
Cockteals
Another TikTok trend is the tea cocktail – herbal tea spiked with spirits! Mar-‘tea’-nis and Camomile Collins are a couple of examples of this trend, which has over 1.5 million views on the social network.
Spam
Perhaps the cost-of-living crisis has brought this war-time favourite back into action? Sales of canned ham and pork increased by 36 per cent in 2022 and a new national favourite is spam fritters with crushed peas.
Creative kitchens
Almost a third of people surveyed said they are interested in trying new cuisines, and it looks like social media has inspired many to bust out new recipes and invent interesting dishes. So, what are you cooking next? Let us know on Facebook or Instagram!
Bespoke Interiors Newcastle designs bespoke kitchens, bedrooms, and studies throughout the North East, Northumberland and Durham. Get in touch to discuss your home renovation project!
