Winter Traditions: Old and New

As we bid farewell to the 20teens, we welcome in the next 10-year span that will someday be labeled by historians to explain the nature of events and trends that will have occurred.  

Predicted trends for 2020 include rethinking many of the foods we associate with traditional recipes and fond memories. Happy hour is getting a makeover with mocktails and non-alcoholic beverages becoming more popular. Kids’ menus are looking more like foods adults might choose, and consumers are finding all kinds of plant-based alternatives for meat, dairy, wheat flour and sugar. Environmentally sustainable practitioners are embracing regenerative agriculture as well as new designs for non-plastic packaging.

Even small changes like this can be difficult. We all love traditions. They offer a sense of security, something to count on especially when life is a bit chaotic. But looking back over the last 10 years, I realize how much traditions change to accommodate diets, location, jobs, available resources and family structures, often with little thought. It’s the feeling of belonging that we really carry with us. As family members move on and circumstances change, the memories recalled by the making and partaking of old family recipes bring us together regardless of who is making them or how, even if we can’t physically be together.

Looking ahead to the 2020s, the Edible Western NY team has exciting and thought-provoking stories to tell and recipes to offer. But it’s important to us to know what readers are looking for when you pick up the magazine. With that in mind, please feel free to send us a note and tell us how we are doing, how we might improve and what kinds of stories you would like to see over the next 10 years. I would be delighted to hear from you.

Cheers to the old and the new,