2018 Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco Roundup

February 08, 2018

It’s fitting that the Specialty Food Association's 2018 Winter Fancy Food Show was held in San Francisco. A town known for it’s diverse new technology—why not diverse new foods? Here’s some of the more interesting trends and items seen at the 2018 Fancy Food Show.

Vegan Jerky 
This year, there were several non-meat jerky alternatives shown. As a recent vegetarian myself, I was oh-so-happy to taste the wonderfully sweet-salty-smoky flavor or jerky that I had missed. I tried a soy-based jerky from Unisoy, and a mushroom-based jerky from Pan's Mushroom Jerky.

Both had textures that were far better than traditional meat jerky—the texture was very uniform from piece to piece and just chewy enough. No break-off-your-fillings jerky here (not that I'm speaking from experience or anything... ahem...). If you're expecting it to taste exactly like a slab of cow, you'll be disappointed. Personally, I actually preferred the more subdued umami from the mushrooms and the distinctive smokiness of jerky. It's a winner, folks!

 

Read article here.