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Bob Weeks began his publishing career in the early 1970's and served in several different capacities with Bill Communications and Freed Crown Lee Publishing before becoming Publisher of Dairy Foods and Prepared Foods magazines at Gorman Publishing. In 1991 he set out on his own, establishing Weeks Publishing Company with the successful launch of Food Product Design Magazine which subsequently became and remains today the preeminent food development and R&D focused publication/information source. Bob continued as Publisher of Food Product Design as well as Culinology magazine after being acquired by Phoenix-based Virgo Publishing LLC. in 2005. His 23 years in food publishing have established Bob as one of the foremost thought leaders in the food industry.

09/02/2009

Hibiscus in Your Future?

It has long been accepted that most new food trends start as concepts on the menus offered by white-tablecloth restaurants, usually operated by famous or near-famous celebrity chefs. If one of their "new" ideas takes off, it will be picked up on by the major chain restaurants, followed by food manufacturers incorporating that "new" flavor or product into their retail/grocery lines. If it's a really "hot" idea, the cycle can be accomplished in a very short time, say nine months or so.  More often than not, it will take anywhere from a year to eighteen months.

With the above in mind, look for beverages and desserts on your grocery store shelves in the next several months with a hibiscus flavor profile. Produced from the calyx, the outer shell of the flower, it has a sour lemony taste that works well in many beverages associated with Africa and Latin America, and is popping up in desserts as chefs begin experimenting with its use in fruity pastry offerings.

It has been a while since any "new" flavors have burst onto the scene, and while there is no guarantee that this one will have any great staying power, hibiscus is primed and ready for its time in the spotlight. It will be interesting to watch.

 

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