VOA文化艺术2023--Culture Researchers: More Americans Interested in ‘Bold’ Food Tastes

Culture Researchers: More Americans Interested in ‘Bold’ Food Tastes

Researchers who follow trends say more people in the U.S. are interested in "bold" food tastes than ever before.

That means an increasing number of Americans enjoy foods from Mexico and Asia while Italian foods like pizza and pasta are not as popular.

Pizza and pasta are still the most popular foods among Americans of all ages. But they have dropped in the opinions of younger people.

Mike Kostyo is an analyst¹ at Datassential, a research company in Chicago, Illinois. He works to identify new things that are becoming popular.

People who want to go into the restaurant business are his customers. In the past, he said, it was easy to suggest that customers open a restaurant that served Italian food.

But now, he said, the choice might not be so easy. As a new generation of Americans starts spending money at restaurants, they are choosing Mexican and Asian foods.

Generations have different tastes

Datassential's latest food report shows that Americans aged² 27 to 42 often choose Mexican food over Italian when they are thinking of going out to eat. Those who are even younger, in Gen Z, like Mexican food the most. Those in Gen Z are younger than 23.

That means if you visit the U.S., you may start seeing more places to buy foods like tacos than pizza or lasagna.

"Before, you know, if you were opening kind of a classic, everybody loves it, restaurant, it would have been a pizza operation. I think in the future, it's going to be a taco operation."

Kostyo noted³ that among all Americans, Italian food still holds the top spot. The Baby Boomer generation still likes Italian food. Baby Boomers are between 57 and 75 years old. But Mexican food and Asian food, such as ramen noodles from Japan, are rising fast.

He said many young Americans are influenced by what they see on social media services such as Instagram. People often take photos of their food and share them with friends.

Kostyo recommends that a businessperson who wants to open a restaurant near a college or university should think about a place that serves tacos instead of one that serves pizza.

The researchers note that more Americans like the taste of foods from Asia and Latin America than ever before. That is because the number of people in the U.S. from Asia and Latin America is larger than in the past.

More Latin Americans and Asians

The 2020 Census⁴ showed the Latino population grew by 23 percent in only 10 years. Asians make up over 6 percent of the U.S. population.

Kostyo said many Americans have neighbors or friends from Asia or Latin America. So, they might be introduced to these new foods more often.

The change from Italian food to Mexican food, Kostyo noted, came much faster than he expected. "This is the first time we have ever seen...this change happen in a generation," he said.

Kostyo noted that American tastes are changing. In the past, many Americans were not comfortable with spicy⁵ foods. "Every year, their capacity for bold flavors increases, so I think that's also driving some of these changes, as well."

Asian food – from places like China, Japan and Thailand – is known for bold flavors. And a recent report from the Pew Research Center shows Asian food trends.

Sono Shah helped write the Pew report. It said that 71 percent of Asian restaurants in the U.S. serve foods from either China, Japan or Thailand.

People from those countries make up only 33 percent of the U.S. Asian population.

"Chinese restaurants were the most popular, so they're found in every state," Shah said. He added that every state has at least one Japanese or Thai restaurant.

Chinese food, he said, has been in the U.S. for a long time. Japanese restaurants have increased because of the popularity⁶ of sushi, an uncooked fish dish. But there are many more Thai restaurants compared to the number of Thai people in the U.S.

"Eleven percent of all Asian restaurants are Thai. In this piece, we mentioned, you know, the Thai government has sponsored programs abroad to kind of increase the number of Thai restaurants throughout the world as a form of diplomacy⁷."

Shah said many people first experience a culture through its food. So, if people like Thai food, they might gain a favorable opinion of Thailand.

While you may find more Asian restaurants in the U.S. than in the past, it is worth noting that they are centered in cities and states where a lot of Asian people live. So about 45 percent of all Asian restaurants are in California, New York, Texas, New Jersey⁸ and Washington.

One final finding about the food interests of Americans? They may fall back on what they see as traditional or "comfort" foods in difficult times. While Kostyo found that young people are interested in trying different foods than their parents, many chose Italian food when asked: "What would they eat if they could only eat one kind of food for the rest of their lives?"

Words in This Story

trend –n. the direction of change in public opinion; things that are growing in popularity

bold –adj. strong; very easy to notice

analyst –n. a person who studies a subject in an effort to be an expert in it

customer –n. a person, group or business that pays for a product or service

classic –adj. something considered the best of its kind often because of traditional values

operation –n. a business

go-to –adj. producing the desired or needed result

capacity –n. the ability to produce or withstand something

flavor –n. the taste of something

sponsor –v. to support; to pay for in an effort to make something successful

1 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

2 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

5 spicy   

adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的

参考例句：

• The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
• Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。

6 popularity   

n.普及，流行，名望，受欢迎

参考例句：

• The story had an extensive popularity among American readers.这本小说在美国读者中赢得广泛的声望。
• Our product enjoys popularity throughout the world.我们的产品饮誉全球。

7 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

8 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。