Any on-trend restaurant menu will contain at least one out-there ingredient, as delicious as it is mysterious. Thanks to this sneak peek at 2025’s headline flavours, your taste buds will be pumped to try them – and your food nerd credentials will be glowing
This garlicky sauce is set to go mainstream in 2025. It’s a creamy emulsion of garlic and olive oil from Lebanon, where it’s a popular accompaniment to a host of meat-based dishes including rotisserie chicken, shawarma and grilled, meat-stuffed pittas known as arayes
Sour yet fresh, sweet yet bitter, this wrinkly yellow citrus fruit packs a surprisingly complex punch. But even though yuzu – a relation of a mandarin orange – has been the darling of Michelin-starred chefs for a while, it has yet to hit the mainstream. Next year, this looks set to change – Mintel has named it one of its flavours to watch for 2025.
.png)
Not just for gin and venison, juniper berries are set to be big in 2025, particularly in alcohol-free drinks such as flavoured waters, cold-pressed juices and herbal teas. Their piney, peppery, citrussy notes work well in soft drinks, lending them freshness and complexity while reducing the need for sugar or sweeteners.
Another budding source of ‘sour power’ in the kitchen is the sour cherry – a catch-all term for a number of cherry varieties that have been loved for centuries in their countries of origin, but are only now coming to the fore in the UK.
The flavour and scent of the South American jungle-born tonka bean has been beguiling bakers and chefs, who grate it onto desserts, soups and even mashed potatoes, or use it to infuse custards, crème caramel and ice creams.
Billed as the harissa of 2025, pilpelchuma is a Libyan chilli paste – a wonderful blend of roasted peppers, garlic, cumin, and a hit of chilli that adds a kick to any dish and lends itself perfectly to the nation’s growing taste for heat.
Hot, savoury, crunchy and aromatic – no wonder crispy chilli oil has set our palates on fire. Waitrose Cooks’ Ingredients Chilli & Garlic Sauce joins a growing line of variations on this blend of chilli flakes, oil, garlic, soy sauce and other ingredients which can include peanuts, fish sauce and shallots.
