Culture Researchers: More Americans Interested in 'Bold' Food Tastes
2023-06-24
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1Researchers who follow trends say more people in the U.S. are interested in "bold" food tastes than ever before.
2That means an increasing number of Americans enjoy foods from Mexico and Asia while Italian foods like pizza and pasta are not as popular.
3Pizza and pasta are still the most popular foods among Americans of all ages.
4But they have dropped in the opinions of younger people.
5Mike Kostyo is an analyst at Datassential, a research company in Chicago, Illinois.
6He works to identify new things that are becoming popular.
7People who want to go into the restaurant business are his customers.
8In the past, he said, it was easy to suggest that customers open a restaurant that served Italian food.
9But now, he said, the choice might not be so easy.
10As a new generation of Americans starts spending money at restaurants, they are choosing Mexican and Asian foods.
11Datassential's latest food report shows that Americans aged 27 to 42 often choose Mexican food over Italian when they are thinking of going out to eat.
12Those who are even younger, in Gen Z, like Mexican food the most.
13Those in Gen Z are younger than 23.
14That means if you visit the U.S., you may start seeing more places to buy foods like tacos than pizza or lasagna.
15"Before, you know, if you were opening kind of a classic, everybody loves it, restaurant, it would have been a pizza operation. I think in the future, it's going to be a taco operation."
16Kostyo noted that among all Americans, Italian food still holds the top spot.
17The Baby Boomer generation still likes Italian food.
18Baby Boomers are between 57 and 75 years old.
19But Mexican food and Asian food, such as ramen noodles from Japan, are rising fast.
20He said many young Americans are influenced by what they see on social media services such as Instagram.
21People often take photos of their food and share them with friends.
22Kostyo recommends that a businessperson who wants to open a restaurant near a college or university should think about a place that serves tacos instead of one that serves pizza.
23The researchers note that more Americans like the taste of foods from Asia and Latin America than ever before.
24That is because the number of people in the U.S. from Asia and Latin America is larger than in the past.
25The 2020 Census showed the Latino population grew by 23 percent in only 10 years.
26Asians make up over 6 percent of the U.S. population.
27Kostyo said many Americans have neighbors or friends from Asia or Latin America.
28So, they might be introduced to these new foods more often.
29The change from Italian food to Mexican food, Kostyo noted, came much faster than he expected.
30"This is the first time we have ever seen...this change happen in a generation," he said.
31Kostyo noted that American tastes are changing.
32In the past, many Americans were not comfortable with spicy foods.
33"Every year, their capacity for bold flavors increases, so I think that's also driving some of these changes, as well."
34Asian food - from places like China, Japan and Thailand - is known for bold flavors.
35And a recent report from the Pew Research Center shows Asian food trends.
36Sono Shah helped write the Pew report. It said that 71 percent of Asian restaurants in the U.S. serve foods from either China, Japan or Thailand.
37People from those countries make up only 33 percent of the U.S. Asian population.
38"Chinese restaurants were the most popular, so they're found in every state," Shah said.
39He added that every state has at least one Japanese or Thai restaurant.
40Chinese food, he said, has been in the U.S. for a long time.
41Japanese restaurants have increased because of the popularity of sushi, an uncooked fish dish.
42But there are many more Thai restaurants compared to the number of Thai people in the U.S.
43"Eleven percent of all Asian restaurants are Thai. In this piece, we mentioned, you know, the Thai government has sponsored programs abroad to kind of increase the number of Thai restaurants throughout the world as a form of diplomacy."
44Shah said many people first experience a culture through its food.
45So, if people like Thai food, they might gain a favorable opinion of Thailand.
46While you may find more Asian restaurants in the U.S. than in the past, it is worth noting that they are centered in cities and states where a lot of Asian people live.
47So about 45 percent of all Asian restaurants are in California, New York, Texas, New Jersey and Washington.
48One final finding about the food interests of Americans?
49They may fall back on what they see as traditional or "comfort" foods in difficult times.
50While Kostyo found that young people are interested in trying different foods than their parents, many chose Italian food when asked: "What would they eat if they could only eat one kind of food for the rest of their lives?"
51I'm Dan Friedell. And I'm Jill Robbins
1Researchers who follow trends say more people in the U.S. are interested in "bold" food tastes than ever before. 2That means an increasing number of Americans enjoy foods from Mexico and Asia while Italian foods like pizza and pasta are not as popular. 3Pizza and pasta are still the most popular foods among Americans of all ages. But they have dropped in the opinions of younger people. 4Mike Kostyo is an analyst at Datassential, a research company in Chicago, Illinois. He works to identify new things that are becoming popular. 5People who want to go into the restaurant business are his customers. In the past, he said, it was easy to suggest that customers open a restaurant that served Italian food. 6But now, he said, the choice might not be so easy. As a new generation of Americans starts spending money at restaurants, they are choosing Mexican and Asian foods. 7Generations have different tastes 8Datassential's latest food report shows that Americans aged 27 to 42 often choose Mexican food over Italian when they are thinking of going out to eat. Those who are even younger, in Gen Z, like Mexican food the most. Those in Gen Z are younger than 23. 9That means if you visit the U.S., you may start seeing more places to buy foods like tacos than pizza or lasagna. 10"Before, you know, if you were opening kind of a classic, everybody loves it, restaurant, it would have been a pizza operation. I think in the future, it's going to be a taco operation." 11Kostyo noted that among all Americans, Italian food still holds the top spot. The Baby Boomer generation still likes Italian food. Baby Boomers are between 57 and 75 years old. But Mexican food and Asian food, such as ramen noodles from Japan, are rising fast. 12He said many young Americans are influenced by what they see on social media services such as Instagram. People often take photos of their food and share them with friends. 13Kostyo recommends that a businessperson who wants to open a restaurant near a college or university should think about a place that serves tacos instead of one that serves pizza. 14The researchers note that more Americans like the taste of foods from Asia and Latin America than ever before. That is because the number of people in the U.S. from Asia and Latin America is larger than in the past. 15More Latin Americans and Asians 16The 2020 Census showed the Latino population grew by 23 percent in only 10 years. Asians make up over 6 percent of the U.S. population. 17Kostyo said many Americans have neighbors or friends from Asia or Latin America. So, they might be introduced to these new foods more often. 18The change from Italian food to Mexican food, Kostyo noted, came much faster than he expected. "This is the first time we have ever seen...this change happen in a generation," he said. 19Kostyo noted that American tastes are changing. In the past, many Americans were not comfortable with spicy foods. "Every year, their capacity for bold flavors increases, so I think that's also driving some of these changes, as well." 20Asian food - from places like China, Japan and Thailand - is known for bold flavors. And a recent report from the Pew Research Center shows Asian food trends. 21Sono Shah helped write the Pew report. It said that 71 percent of Asian restaurants in the U.S. serve foods from either China, Japan or Thailand. 22People from those countries make up only 33 percent of the U.S. Asian population. 23"Chinese restaurants were the most popular, so they're found in every state," Shah said. He added that every state has at least one Japanese or Thai restaurant. 24Chinese food, he said, has been in the U.S. for a long time. Japanese restaurants have increased because of the popularity of sushi, an uncooked fish dish. But there are many more Thai restaurants compared to the number of Thai people in the U.S. 25"Eleven percent of all Asian restaurants are Thai. In this piece, we mentioned, you know, the Thai government has sponsored programs abroad to kind of increase the number of Thai restaurants throughout the world as a form of diplomacy." 26Shah said many people first experience a culture through its food. So, if people like Thai food, they might gain a favorable opinion of Thailand. 27While you may find more Asian restaurants in the U.S. than in the past, it is worth noting that they are centered in cities and states where a lot of Asian people live. So about 45 percent of all Asian restaurants are in California, New York, Texas, New Jersey and Washington. 28One final finding about the food interests of Americans? They may fall back on what they see as traditional or "comfort" foods in difficult times. While Kostyo found that young people are interested in trying different foods than their parents, many chose Italian food when asked: "What would they eat if they could only eat one kind of food for the rest of their lives?" 29I'm Dan Friedell. And I'm Jill Robbins 30VOA's Dora Mekouar wrote this story. Dan Friedell adapted it for Learning English. 31___________________________________________________________________ 32Words in This Story 33trend -n. the direction of change in public opinion; things that are growing in popularity 34bold -adj. strong; very easy to notice 35analyst -n. a person who studies a subject in an effort to be an expert in it 36customer -n. a person, group or business that pays for a product or service 37classic -adj. something considered the best of its kind often because of traditional values 38operation -n. a business 39go-to -adj. producing the desired or needed result 40capacity -n. the ability to produce or withstand something 41flavor -n. the taste of something 42sponsor -v. to support; to pay for in an effort to make something successful 43__________________________________________________________________ 44We want to hear from you. Have you seen changes in food tastes where you live? 45Here is how our comment system works: 46Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.