What do sushi, cupcakes and coffee have in common?
Beyond deliciousness, all were among the top ten food trends of the past decade, according to the editors at The Food Channel.
Staff there also came up with the top flavors, food influencers, people, news topics impacting food and recipes from 2000 to 2009.
Here at The Bee, we're proud that we've provided readers with stories encompassing these top 10 trends and thought it'd be fun to take a look back. The following is The Food Channel's list of top ten trends, most with links to past Bee stories (some stories are no longer available online)
Follow the link below to see the list.
•Sushi - "Fish Upstream." Mike Dunne, who has since retired from The Bee, explored the surging popularity of sushi in Sacramento and surrounding communities in 2007 (unfortunately, the story is no longer online).
•Bacon - We've written about bacon several times in recent years, most recently in a feature Bee food writer Niesha Lofing penned about fresh bacon: "Future has arrived for pork belly, whatever it's called."
•Cupcakes - "Topped with Sweetness" and "Stewart Recipes: Piece of cake." The Bee's Leigh Grogan reviewed Martha Stewart's cupcake cookbook while Niesha Lofing wrote about the quest for perfect frosting.
•Sliders - "Little burgers, big taste." Bee food and wine writer Chris Macias takes us on a trip to check out the area's best little burgers and why they're so darn popular.
•Gourmet burgers made with Kobe or Angus beef - "Humble hamburger a hit with recession gourmets." Business writer M.S. Enkoji explores the trend of quality burgers popping up in fine dining restaurants.
•Superfruits such as Acai, pomegranate and blueberry - "Why we love pomegranates." Bee Home and Garden guru Debbie Arrington took a look at the super-staining superfruit. (online story is no longer available).
•Oils such as olive oils and truffle oils - Given olive oil's popularity, it's no wonder we write about them time and again. Some of the latest stories include "Check your oil," an olive oil taste test led by The Bee's Gina Kim in January 2009 (story no longer online) and "Olive oil making a splash," a story from August looking at olive orchards popping up in El Dorado by staff writer Cathy Locke.
•Whole grains (Kashi, polenta, risotto) - Another trend area that's been visited several times. Most recently, Bee health and fitness writer Sam McManis wrote about a nutritionist on a mission to expand peoples' fiber and whole grain horizons in "Fiber Girl's got a bran-new bag."
•Artisan foods, particularly breads, cheeses and dark chocolates - In "There's such a thing as bad chocolate?" Lofing conducted a blind taste test of artisan and commercial chocolates. In February 2009, Kim explored the world of local chocolate artisans in "The candy, the flavor, the passion."
•Coffees, teas - "Capital area's coffeehouses: Strong hints of independence" by Bee restaurant critic Blair Anthony Robertson explores the upswing in independent coffeehouses and why they're so beloved.
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