If there’s one thing this year has taught us, it’s that home is where the heart is. We’ve all spent much more time indoors, and with that there have been culinary and cooking trends springing up across all corners of the internet and showing us a whole new level of #kitchenlife. Here are some of the most fun.
Next-level pantry organisation
#pantrygoals is a hashtag that will send you into a world of beautifully organised pantries. People are pouring their loose pasta, cereals and multicoloured grains into beautiful glass jars and sticking fancy labels in cursive font to them, turning the boring old pantry into something both aesthetically pleasing and very, very organised. Nothing here goes without a label – spices, the individual sections of your (immaculate) cutlery drawer, the kid’s snacks, even food in your fridge.
Meal prepping
With many of us switching to working from home, cooking a family meal every night from scratch is hard work. Enter meal prep, which has become the cost-saving, time-saving, stay-healthy hack for so many. You will need:
– A meal plan for a week and an afternoon to prep. Make a large batch of overnight oats for breakfasts and add fruit and seeds on top. Batch cook three or four big meals and separate into lunch and dinner portions. For snacks, box up handfuls of nuts and chop veggies to have with your favourite dip.
– A good set of knives for all of your pre-chopping, slicing and carving. Wiltshire Staysharp Knives have been trusted in Australian kitchens since 1969, and the brand’s recently redesigned Carving Knife is the crème de la crème of tools. The high-quality, stainless steel design has a self-sharpening functionality, which helps make food prep easy and quick. It’s particularly good for slicing cooked meats, boneless roasts and poultry, and comes complete with a 10-year warranty, so you never have to worry about your knives becoming blunt again.
– Lots of Tupperware containers, mason jars and reusable food wraps.
– Pens and labels.
Video cook-a-longs
Social distancing has seen a rise in people finding creative ways to connect children on playdates and keep up with friends. One of these is to simultaneously make a recipe with your friends via video call, using Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp or any other service that lets you video call. Choose a simple recipe (for children, a packet mix cake is perfect), line up everything you need – including chopping boards, knives and mixing bowls – and get cooking together!
The bread bake-a-thon
Isolating during the coronavirus outbreak has seen a trend for lots of people making bread, with many cooks sharing their banana bread and sourdough bread creations. With more time at home, we’re turning to the comforting act of sifting flour, kneading, perfecting recipes and, in the case of sourdough, learning a new skill, as this bread really is an art form that takes practice to perfect.
Whipped coffee
In lieu of ordering your usual latte from your favourite café, DIY whipped coffee has become a social media trend that’s turning people into baristas in their home. You may have seen some mesmerising videos of people making Dalgona coffee (or whipped coffee), which is created by mixing equal parts instant coffee, sugar and hot water and beating it until it reaches a creamy, thick consistency. It’s then spooned over a glass of milk with ice cubes in it to make a delicious-looking coffee.
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