If your favorite place to shop is the natural foods grocery store, the Fancy Food Show hosted by the Specialty Food Association is your paradise. It’s THE place to see what’s hot in the gourmet foods market and what may—or may not—make it to the shelves of your hometown food purveyor. The 2016 Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City did not disappoint. Here are a few highlights:
Sriracha and other heat-forward spices have been all the rage the last few years but a growing number of brands are experimenting with subtler spices and flavors. Italian chocolatier Vanini features dark chocolate with lemon and pink pepper, another variety with rosemary and another with pear and cinnamon. Backyard Safari Company has spice mixes for nuts that are perfect for peanuts: traditional cinnamon glazed, sweet & spicy orange spiced chipotle and savory spiced rosemary and sea salt.
Ginger is also on-the-rise as a clean, light flavor. Ginger beers like Fever-Tree Naturally Light Ginger Beer promotes that it has no artificial sweeteners, flavorings or preservatives; Ona bar in a peanut ginger flavor is fair trade and free of gluten, grain, dairy and soy; and Delighted By dessert hummus is gluten-free and vegan and is available in an orange ginger flavor.
Peanut and peanut butter brands always have a lot to showcase in the specialty food world. Peanut-centric exhibitors at this year’s show included Belmont Peanuts, Eliot’s Adult Nut Butters, Feridies Peanuts, Hampton Farms Peanuts, Homeplate Peanut Butter, Hubs Peanuts, Koeze Peanut Butter, PB Crave, PB & Jams, Peanut Butter & Company, Peanut Shop of Williamsburg, Reginald’s Homemade Peanut Butter, Sir Francis Bacon Peanut Brittle, Tru-Nut Powdered Peanut Butter, Whitley Peanut Factory and Virginia Diner Peanuts.