LEILA FADEL, HOST:
A new year means new food trends. So goodbye putting pistachios on everything, and goodbye swicy.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Wait, hold on. How am I just hearing about swicy?
FADEL: Well, Michel, that's so 2025 now.
MARTIN: Burn.
FADEL: NPR's - (laughter) NPR's Neda Ulaby explains what swicy was and what might take its place.
NEDA ULABY, BYLINE: Among the foods and flavors predicted to be trendy in 2026 are cabbage, black currant and cinnamon rolls. That's according to food oracles, chefs, industry analysts and food influencers. Here's one touting pandan, a vivid green plant from Southeast Asia with a toasty vanilla flavor.
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DREA GOLDI: Pandan is like - and pandan is going to be everywhere, everywhere.
ULABY: Influencer, Andrea Cabrera, who's known as Drea Goldi on her TikTok channel.
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DREA GOLDI: I feel like, especially if you have a coffee shop or something, like, you better start with the pandan foam. You better start with the pandan cheesecake.
ULABY: Other predictions for 2026 include fiber maxing, adding more fiber to everything. Mike Van Houten is vice president of commercial excellence at Nestle. He says last year one of the big trends was food that is swicy.
MIKE VAN HOUTEN: It's the combination of sweet and spicy.
ULABY: Like hot honey chicken or spicy margaritas. But swicy apparently is evolving.
VAN HOUTEN: Swangy and swavory are going to be the next wave.
ULABY: Swangy...
VAN HOUTEN: Swangy, this idea - sweet, spicy, converging with tangy.
ULABY: So think vinegar as a forward flavor and more chutneys. Swavory combines sweet and savory, so like miso caramel, chile plum or tahini-flavored ice cream. Other big trends for 2026, according to experts, include creative tiramisus with flavors like banana and peanut butter and jelly. And expect the rise of flavors like guava and black sesame and using celery in desserts.
Neda Ulaby, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF HERB ALPERT AND THE TIJUANA BRASS' "LOVE POTION NO. 9") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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