Newswise — CHICAGO—On average, consumers prepare about five evening meals at home each week, (Food Marketing Institute, 2015). In the December issue of Food Technology magazine published by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), contributing editor A. Elizabeth Sloan, PhD writes about the latest trends in home cooking behavior.
1. When deciding what to cook for dinner on a weeknight, 36 percent of consumers are concerned with how easy it will be to prepare a meal, followed by cost, and then healthfulness (FMI, 2015). 2. Frequency of cooking at home appears to increase slightly with age. Millenials prepared dinner at home an average of 4.5 times per week in 2014; Generation Xers 5 times, Baby Boomers 5.1 and those 65-plus, 5.2 (FMI, 2014).3. The number of consumers who like to try new recipes increased by 32 percent over the past five years (Packaged Facts). 4. 18 percent of U.S. households regularly use a slow cooker (NPD Group, 2015). 5. More than 95 percent of households own at least one grill (Grilling Attitudes & Usage Study 2014).6. Millennials are more likely than other age groups to have kitchen gadgets such as a blender, panini press, soda maker, pizza oven and electric rice cooker. 7. Pickling, fermenting, fire roasting, smoking, sous vide, and cast iron preparation are the top culinary food preparation trends for 2015 (National Restaurant Association, 2014). 8. Garlic, onion red/green pepper, avocado, jalapeno peppers, balsamic vinegar, chives, and feta cheese are the top flavors/ingredients most popular in consumer’s households (Gallup). 9. Refrigerated entrees, frozen stir-fry dinner kits, packaged meal kits, and regenerated heat-and-eat potatoes/pasta were the most popular convenience foods among Millennial meal preparers (Gallup). 10. Keeping up with cultural and family cooking traditions is very important to one in four meal preparers (Packaged Facts).
Read the article in Food Technology hereAbout IFTFounded in 1939, the Institute of Food Technologists is committed to advancing the science of food. Our non-profit scientific society—more than 17,000 members from more than 95 countries—brings together food scientists, technologists and related professionals from academia, government and industry. For more information, please visit ift.org.
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