These devices were the chocolate fountains and turkey fryers of 2011. Tiny desserts also don't stand a chance, even - if not especially - with retailers pushing waffle iron-like countertop baking appliances for churning out small cupcakes, whoopee pies and cake pops. Meatballs are yummy, but it's hard to get excited about a ball of meat. Nutella wants it bad, but probably won't quite get there. Macaroons are trying, but fussy French cookies are an unlikely contender in this country.

Bacon and cupcakes have had their moment. Meanwhile, foodies struggled to crown a new 'it' food. Don't have a truck cruising your 'hood yet? Don't worry, the moment has nearly passed. We continued to swoon over food trucks, the more esoteric the better, even using Twitter to track the movements of our favorite mobile eateries. Worrisome obesity rates and food safety concerns didn't slow America's fetishizing of food. Despite new regulations signed into law in January, the nation suffered its deadliest known outbreak of food-borne illness in more than 25 years when listeria-contaminated cantaloupes sickened 146 people in 28 states, killing 30 of them. Government health officials decided pyramids were too perplexing and scrapped them in favor of a new healthy eating icon, 'My Plate' - a circle divided into different sections for fruits, vegetables, protein and grains.įood safety also was a hot topic. Just don't ask people where those ingredients fall on the food pyramid.

The first lady spent 2011 forging alliances with restaurants to offer healthier foods, and even enticed Wal-Mart and other retailers to get more fresh and healthy items into regions where such foods are scarce. This fall, the government gave cartoon characters a hall pass when it comes to pushing sugary cereals and similar foods, caving to food industry pressure while crafting guidelines aimed at toning down the marketing of junk food to kids.īut childhood obesity remained on Michelle Obama's radar. Maybe kids can get some healthy eating tips from Tony the Tiger and Toucan Sam. And how does one make that kooky chocolate biscuit groomsman cake?

Or did it just feel that way? Because though only a tiny fraction of Americans suffer sensitivities to this wheat protein, the multibillion dollar industry of foods, cookbooks and magazines touting their gluten-free cred this year would suggest an epidemic.ĭidn't notice? Perhaps you were too busy chugging raw milk, herding your backyard flock of chickens and hunting down nearby sources for heirloom vegetables, all popular pastimes buoyed by growing demand for so-called 'local' foods - a market the government predicted this year would generate some $7 billion in sales.Īnd so went the year in food, a period marked by some unusual dietary dichotomies.Īt the same time sharply rising food prices made it ever harder for American families to get dinner on the table, our nation was seized by an almost obsessive need to know just how many courses would be served at Prince William's wedding. 2011: The year I officially became the last American to still eat gluten.

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