A Look Back on the Year of the Cronut & Other Food Trends of 2013

There were a lot of food trends that came and went this year – the horse meat scare near the start of 2013, strange yet wonderful taco shells (bacon weave anyone?), and the Scandinavian invasion, but nothing comes close to Dominique Ansel’s Cronut. Here’s a look back at the darling of the pastry community, and other food trends and stories of 2013 .

1. Here Is The Famous Cronut In All Its Glory: In May of 2013 this humble pastry took New York, nay, THE WORLD by storm. The crazy lines and black market ensued.

2. The Cronut King’s New Science Project: Frozen S’mores: After the Cronut, Dominique Ansel created other wonderful desserts, including the Frozen S’more. Although never as popular as the Cronut, they are still important food icons of 2013

3. What’s Up With Strange Hybrid Burgers?: In a post-Cronut world, hybrid foods rose to power quickly. In 2013 we saw the likes of a RAMEN BURGER and a umami Cronut burger. Both were scary. Both were probably delicious.

4. The Pumpkin Spice Empire Takes Over M&M’s, Shows No Sign of Stopping: In 2013 the Pumpkin Spice Empire took over new, and strange foods, including these innocent M&M’s.

5. 4 New Cookbooks For Your Favorite Paleo: You’re not alone – my Facebook page too was slowly taken over by friends trying the Paleo diet on for size. It doesn’t look like it will stop in 2014.

5. 13 Easy Microwave Mug Cakes That Are All Grown Up: Although you might not know it, the other dessert trend of 2013 was the rise of the microwave mug cake. That’s right: A single-serve cake you can make in a mug in the microwave. Genius, or kinda gross?

6. What’s Up with Insane Bloody Marys?: In 2013 there was a lot of talk about Bloody Marys, especially the ones that had pizza, pretzels, and sandwiches as a garnish.

7. The Next Big Thing? Cocktails Made With Kale, Spinach, and Arugula: Also cocktails with vinegar (shrub). Those were super huge too.

8. Food Trend: Beer-Flavored Ice Cream: 2013 brought us a lot of delicious, crazy ice cream flavors, including BEER flavored options. Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream became wildly popular, too.

9. What’s Up With Baking Eggs in Avocados?: Thank Pinterest for this one. Baking things, really anything, but especially eggs, in avocados became a thing.

10. The Story of Sriracha: The threat of the shortage of this hot sauce made it even more valuable. This one isn’t really a “trend” but more a lifestyle.

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From December 21 through January 3 we are rounding up our favorite (and your favorite) posts from the past year. We’ll also share guest posts, special holiday features, and a sparkling Winter Glam Cocktail Party, the final installment in our 2013 Gatherings from The Kitchn. Happy Holidays!