These days Instagram feeds are blowing up with food trends from around the world, from dalgona coffee to pancake boards. Let’s explore where these trends started, where you can try them, and tips for creating your own versions at home.
Dalgona Coffee
From Tik Tok to YouTube, it seems as though everyone is going crazy for dalgona coffee right now, but what’s the story behind the latest caffeine craze? Dalgona coffee originated in South Korea and began to go viral after people there started uploading videos of their creations during the coronavirus lockdown in early 2020, and the trend has since spread across the globe.
Dalgona is a type of Korean candy made from sugar and baking soda that first became popular in the 1970s and 1980s. Although most dalgona coffee today doesn’t contain the candy, you can find this sweet beverage on the menu at many coffee shops throughout Seoul, and at the Café Cha, you can buy coffee that follows the traditional recipe and contains dalgona.
To make your own dalgona coffee simply whisk one tablespoon each of instant coffee, sugar, and water until it becomes thick and creamy. Pour milk into a glass and then spoon the coffee mixture on top, and you will have an Instagram-worthy beverage ready to drink.
Cinnamon Rolls
Another food item sweeping across social media right now is home-made cinnamon rolls. These sweet buns have been a staple item in Scandinavian countries for many years, with recipes being passed down by families for generations. In Sweden, there is even a national cinnamon roll day, on October 4th!
You’ll find variations of the cinnamon roll in cafes and shops throughout Denmark, Sweden, and Finland. In Gothenburg, Sweden, the Café Husaren in the city’s Haga district is famous for their giant cinnamon rolls that are around 30 centimeters in diameter!
There are plenty of recipes online teaching you how to make your own cinnamon rolls, you can choose which variation you want to try. For example, recipes from the US often include rolls with icing on top, whilst in Finland, the shape of cinnamon rolls are more triangular than their Swedish counterparts.
Pancake Boards
Pancake boards are the latest craze in brunch items, picking up in popularity in early 2020. The boards originated in Australia before going viral and are now one of the top trending foods on social media.
Pancake boards are all about the presentation, the pancakes are arranged in a visually appealing style and surrounded by items for the fillings such as fresh berries and chopped bananas, crispy bacon, and pots of jams and whipped cream.
Focaccia Art
Bread baking has become a popular hobby in the last couple of months, with people sharing their home-made loaves all over the internet. Focaccia bread has emerged as one of the most photogenic among home bakers, with “focaccia gardens” becoming so popular the New York Times even published an article about them.
A focaccia garden is a bread decorated with cherry tomatoes, herbs, and peppers, that give the appearance of flowers in an edible garden. Although this trend started in the USA, focaccia bread is a traditional Italian food and is a style of flatbread usually served as an appetizer, snack, or side accompaniment to a main meal.
The Recco area in northern Italy is said to be one of the best places in the world to eat focaccia bread, and its focaccia with cheese called focaccia con formaggio is a famous local specialty that can be bought in restaurants and cafes.
To make your own focaccia art, you’ll need to add your decorations to the dough before placing it in the oven. Play around with arranging the different vegetables until you have a ready to bake art project!
Souffle Omelette
Another food trend from Korea is the souffle omelet, which recently caught global attention after the recipe was featured by Buzzfeed. This breakfast dish has proved to be a big hit because it requires few ingredients.
The main differences between a regular omelet and a souffle omelet are that the eggs are separated in the souffle version and require a longer time for whisking to make them extra fluffy.