Juniper Lattes? Pine Sodas? Food Is Taking Us Back to the Forest.

Forget protein-loading and fibermaxxing.Maybe what America really needs is the edible equivalent of a nice walk in the woods.Order a Smoky Mountain Latte at K Brew in Knoxville, Tenn., and a barista will steam sage and juniper into your milk.

Craft soda fans can choose between Forest Water’s Alpine and Meadow flavors.Miles from any wilderness, at the elegant restaurant 425 Park in Manhattan, $28 will buy you a Forest Old Fashioned made with pine liqueur, spruce tips and alpine bitters.And Torani syrup’s flavor of the year? Forest Pine.The word “foraged” has landed on menus at Sweetgreen and other chain restaurants.

Research and development teams at the biggest food companies are keeping a close eye on the forestification of the American palate and going deep on nature-derived ingredients.Although PepsiCo has no immediate plans to sell Americans Lay’s potato chips with the wild mushroom flavors popular in parts of Europe and Asia, don’t count it out.“Across markets, we’re seeing consumers show more interest in outdoor-inspired, botanical and earthy flavors,” said Ashley Doolin, a product development scientist at the company.America’s walk into the woods follows an era dominated by international flavors and tropical tastes like dragonfruit, the warm bakery vibe of Generation Z’s “little treats” culture and the sweet-spicy mash-up that birthed a thousand hot honey pizzas.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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