The 2012 Flavor Forecast identifies six trends and a dozen or so flavor combinations.
With the dining out public ever more jaded, chefs today are engaged in a flavor combination "arms race" that strives to make their culinary handiwork buzzworthy.
Flavors, however, aren't something that can be successfully mixed together with abandon. Developing new and harmonious taste bud experiences takes time and skill.
Some in the cooking profession are blessed with a sixth sense when it comes to combining flavors, posessing an intuitive grasp of what goes with what. Others who are less gifted must rely on trial and error to find flavors that work together.
A few resources now exist to help chefs in their search for new flavor combinations. The Flavor Bible, a volume authored by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg, is one such resource -- it's a flavor "thesaurus," suggesting what goes with what.
Another source culinarians can turn to is McCormick's annual Flavor Forecast. A global leader in manufacturing flavorings and processing spices, Spark, MD-based McCormick has a business interest in identifying and publicizing flavor trends.
Each year McCormick uses its worldwide presence to funnel information on culinary developments to a headquarters team of chefs and food technologists. That group, in turn, distills the input into trends that seem to be influencing consumer food choices.
The 2012 Flavor Forecast, which was released in early January, identifies six trends and a dozen or so flavor combinations illustrative of those trends.
The trends include cultural authenticity (honoring traditional ingredients), "ultimate" flavors, increased emphasis on vegetables, a quest for simplicity (butter and pure vanilla is an example), and edgy crossover combinations that successfully "break the rules."
McCormick's complete Flavor Forecast, including recipes that illustrate each trend, can be found at www.FlavorForecast.com.