Seen at the Show (Day 3)

The Winter Fancy Food Show ended its three-day run at San Francisco's Moscone Center today. A trendspotting panel of food writers and experts combed the exhibit halls in search of the top five trends for 2011 ( View Release).

Among the trends identified were:

• Chocolate for Breakfast, including tea, Belgian waffles, granola and hot chocolate on a stick.
• Foods for Healing, such as ancient teas, aloe and cucumber drinks, plus micro-batches of healthful beverages.
• New Noodles, made of ingredients such as yam, kelp, farro and spelt.
• Heat with Flavor, including ingredients such as ghost peppers and wasabi paired with yuzu.
• Creative Chips, made with ingredients such as pinto bean, naan, peas, mung beans, kale and wild rice.

Nearly 80,000 specialty foods and beverages were on display during the Show. Additional trends included citrus flavors, especially lime; flax as an ingredient in chips, snacks and chocolate; and oils made of tea seeds.

Here are some of the innovative products spotted today by the editors of Specialty Food Media:

1. Finger Limes. (pictured top right) Also known as citrus caviar, these limes were first discovered in the Australian bush and domesticated about 30 years ago. Shanley Farms grows them in California and has released its first crop of commercially sized finger limes. The interior pulp of the fruit has a caviar-like appearance and a tart citrus taste. They pair well with seafood dishes and can also be used in cocktails, desserts and salads.

2. Roselle Preserves. (pictured right) AgroMas produces a line of preserves made of fresh Malaysian fruits and flowers including roselle, a species of the hibiscus flower. It is rich in vitamin C and amino acids.

3. Chocolate with Flax or Lime. Newtree offers a dark chocolate bar made with roasted flaxseeds, linseeds and puffed rice grains. The company also features a milk chocolate bar made with lime granola for a tart taste. Green tea extract is added for antioxidants.

4. Tea Seed Oils. (pictured right) Arette Foods offers a line of oils made with organic wild tea seed oil, made from handpicked seeds of the young tea plant, Camelia Oleifera. It is a good source of omega 3, 6 and 9 fatty acids as well as vitamin E and other antioxidants. The oil has a smoke point of 485 degrees. Bien Padre Foods also produces a green tea oil under its Oila organic brand.

5. Salute Sante Oil Presses. Salute Sante offers Komet Oil Presses made with special technology that does not allow nuts and seeds to be crushed and ground in the press chamber where the extracted oil can mix with impurities.

6. Gooseberry and Gold Preserves. French company La Ferme d'Alizee introduces a gooseberry preserve made of fruit grown in Africa. The preserves contain speckles of 24-carat gold flakes, and are targeted toward gift sales.

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