The
Latin
FLAVOR By Mike Kostyo
America Diversifies When describing the diversity of the country’s population, we frequently turn to food metaphors. The “melting pot” metaphor entered popular use in the 18th century and was revived in the early 1900s when a play by the same name was first performed. Then another phrase hit the scene – America was a “salad bowl,” with multiple cultures contributing different flavors and ingredients to society. Whatever your preferred metaphor, it’s perhaps not surprising that we use food to symbolize this diversity. For many, food is often their first introduction to another culture. In 1944, The New York Times introduced readers to pizza and three years later they predicted that it “could be as popular a snack as the hamburger if Americans only knew more about it.” Today pizza is America’s favorite food according to Datassential’s FLAVOR database, which tracks thousands of foods, flavors and ingredients. And America continues to become even more diverse. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Hispanic population of the United States – the country’s largest ethnic or racial minority – reached 57.5 million last year and it’s expected to reach 119 million by 2060. In states like New Mexico and California, Hispanics are already the largest ethnic group. These demographic changes have wide-ranging impacts on how we eat and drink, no matter our ethnic background. Latin flavors and ingredients are growing across menus and becoming far more available at retail. For many younger consumers, “Latin cuisine” isn’t ethnic cuisine at all – it’s simply what they eat and drink. In fact, you can see many of these changes showing up on drink menus already. 66
in the Mix Magazine
Explosion The Growth of Latin Beers Two years ago, financial news organization 24/7 Wall Street made headlines when they crunched the numbers on the fastest-growing beer brands in the U.S. and reported that the top two brands were both Mexican beers: Dos Equis and Modelo Especial. The organization said that Modelo’s growth reflected the growing power of the Hispanic market, noting that the brand “released hardly any English-language advertising.” Many craft beer brands are taking notice. In Florida, Boricua Beer is brewing craft beers specifically aimed at the Hispanic market. In San Diego, the new $80 million Mercado del Barrio complex will be home to Attitude Brewing Co., which plans to source Mexico-grown hops and eventually distribute to Mexico. Southern California