The Year in Food

"How do you measure a year? In cups of coffee, yes, but also in the rushed early-morning breakfasts, the many trips to the grocery store, the slow dinners spent with friends. Each tells a story of how we filled our days. Some of this year's food preferences reflect how Americans' lives have changed. As my colleague Yasmin Tayag explained in May, diners serving the classic American breakfast-eggs, potatoes, and coffee-were once a staple of affordability."

"It's not just prices that have changed; so, too, have Americans' taste preferences. In August, Ellen Cushing wrote about how food is becoming spicier. More than half of American consumers are likely to buy an item described as spicy-up from 39 percent in 2015, she reported. Then there are the fried-chicken sandwiches. Consumption has increased 19 percent at American restaurants, threatening the burger's long-held dominance."

Food choices and routines—cups of coffee, rushed breakfasts, grocery runs, and slow dinners—provide a way to measure a year and reflect daily life. Classic American breakfasts of eggs, potatoes, and coffee once served as affordable staples, but supply shortages and tariffs have increased costs and made dining out for breakfast require tighter budgeting. American taste preferences have shifted toward spicier flavors, with more than half of consumers now likely to buy items described as spicy. Fried-chicken sandwiches have surged in restaurants, growing 19 percent and challenging the burger's dominance. Wraps and particular sandwich forms have also regained popularity.

Read at The Atlantic