The chefs and pasta lovers who will take part in the first edition of “Al Dente” (http://aldente.worldpastaday.org), have been inspired by the following 6 main trends that will mark pasta consumption from now to 2050.
They were detected by Unione Italiana Food in Italy after a one-day-long full immersion gathering of professionals (university professors, sustainability experts, sociologists, journalists, nutritionists, pasta makers, designers, chefs, food bloggers and experts in future food scenarios) who discussed about the future of pasta in the framework of world food evolution and tried to imagine the trends that will mark the consumption of this worldwide loved food over the next decades.
1.I EAT TRADITIONAL, pasta with tomato, the flagship of the Mediterranean diet in the world – Millennials have already defined it as the pasta of the future. Spaghetti with tomato are the embodiment of conviviality and eater-tainment: they are much more than just a simple dish, they represent a global lifestyle, alongside the uniqueness and quality of durum wheat pasta.
2. I EAT ETHICAL, pasta, vegetables and sustainability – Sustainable food par excellence, pasta will be more and more often accompanied by home-grown products, in the spirit of a new “green” trend. Many traditional recipes – from ragù to Carbonara – will make way for new vegetable-based classics within few decades. Those will be organic and anti-waste recipes for a more responsible and sustainable approach benefitting the environment and human health.
3.I EAT GLOBAL, pasta fusion, a world of contaminations – Versatile and glocal. If there is some food able to adjust to the several cultural and food traditions of the world, surely pasta will have to accept more and more often the challenges of taste globalization and Ego Food. We will stop surprising if people in Arabic countries do not use guanciale for Carbonara though they still continue to prefer it cooked “al dente”, an essential aspect at all latitudes of the globe.
4.I EAT DIFFERENT, pasta with ingredients to be discovered – First was whole wheat pasta; then legumes (peas, beans, chickpeas) meal, spelt or kamut pasta. But the future will be different – so say experts – and there is already someone foreseeing spirulina tagliatelle or pennette with inspects, maybe even 3D-printed. In a world where innovation runs faster and faster, surely pasta will have to meet less and less standardized but more and more advanced consumption demands over the next decades.
5.I EAT SIMPLE, more and more basic and healthy pasta – Less is more. From smaller portions to shorter lists of ingredients, the future will be in the name of simplicity. A new balance among taste, health and cooking skills will revolutionize our eating patterns. Healthy will win over gourmet: simple and basic sauces, express and healthy meals for different eating occasions.
6.I EAT CONSCIOUS, the correct information challenge to reaffirm that pasta is good, safe and sustainable – The future of pasta also involves correct information. On the one hand, there is customers’ legitimate desire to search and receive information by food producers and to choose by better knowing the product; on the other hand, there is an unstoppable and uncontrolled flow of fake news confusing customers. For pasta to continue having a pivotal role in world nutrition, it is necessary to clarify what is true and what is not.
