Health

Five Unexpected Food Trends
By Joanna Prisco, PARADE

From wedding buffets to football stadiums, American food fads are full of surprises.

1. The Bride Cuts the Cupcake
Many brides and grooms are skipping tiered wedding cakes in favor of childhood favorites like cupcakes. "Red velvet and chocolate are most popular," says Patty Rothman, owner of More Cupcakes in Chicago. Meanwhile, Brooklyn-based baker Sarah Magid says her biggest request is an organic spin on another childhood staple: Twinkies. "I also have made silver-dusted Ring-A-Dings," she says. Other sweets such as doughnuts and s'mores are popping up on wedding buffets, too. And some couples say, "I do" to Cracker Jacks and lollipops. Talk about happy endings.

2. Cooks Hit the Books
With the economy still tight, cooking classes have never been hotter. Would-be chefs are flocking to professional cooking centers like Le Cordon Bleu schools, where enrollment is way up across the country. And for thrifty amateur cooks who want to learn the basics quickly, retail stores are getting in on the craze. Ikea, Whole Foods, and Williams-Sonoma offer mostly free classes ranging from fresh pasta-making to knife-handling skills.

3. Go Greased Lightning
If you're looking for gourmet food in Portland, Ore., you may want to hit the road. More than 170 gourmet food trucks and carts there serve up inventive streetside specialties including the schnitzelwich, a lightly breaded pan-fried pork cutlet with paprika spread on a ciabatta roll; a shredded beef burrito that tastes like pastrami; and Belgian fries doused with gravy and cheese curds. Hungry lunchtime diners track the trucks online or wait on a corner for something tasty to roll by.

4. Buy Me Some Peanuts and...
Snacks at live sporting events used to mean lukewarm pretzels and popcorn. But American appetites are changing. Yankee Stadium opened this past season with dry-aged prime rib and a sushi station. Kiosks were multicultural at the U.S. Open, offering Indian, Italian, and Mexican. In other arenas, regional specialties are de rigueur: Fans at the Kansas City Chiefs' Arrowhead Stadium get a toasted club stuffed with layers of smoked brisket and zesty BBQ sauce. And inside Quicken Loans Arena, home of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Iron Chef's Michael Symon recently opened B Spot, a burgers-and-bratwurst outpost. Score!

5. Put a Lid on It
Dust off your grandma's kettle, because canning is back. According to Jarden Home Brands--maker of Kerr and Ball brand mason jars--sales of canning equipment are up 30% this year. Some people are "putting up" food to save money on grocery budgets, while others are attracted by the health aspects of homemade goods. There is also a social aspect to canning. At the end of August, cooks gathered in simultaneous countrywide canning fests organized by Canning Across America, with chefs from New Orleans' John Besh to Seattle's Heather Earnhardt contributing recipes like Sugar Plums in Syrup and Tomato Apricot Jam. Yes, we can.