Dole Packaged Foods recently released its 2018 Fruit Pairings, an annual prediction of unique flavor trends. This year’s theme, “Ancient Inspirations,” pairs frozen DOLE fruit as blackberry, mango, cherry and pineapple with spices, grains and ingredients from around the globe. To ensure that the dishes are approachable and appeal to a wide range of patrons, the Dole culinary team has chosen to reinvent familiar menu items with these exciting flavor combinations.

This year’s featured recipes incorporate fruit into classic dishes with an international twist. Examples include:

Blackberry Cobbler with Blackberry Crème Fraîche, pairing DOLE IQF Blackberries and DOLE Chef-Ready Frozen Blackberry Purée with dairy in a traditional dessert

Poblano Chile Relleno with Mango, taking classic Mexican flavors like onion, garlic, poblano and cilantro and infusing them with DOLE Chef-Ready Cuts Diced Mango and DOLE Chef-Ready Frozen Mango Puré

Sorghum Fried Chicken Sandwich with Cherry Slaw, featuring a sweet-and-tart combination of DOLE IQF Tart Cherries and DOLE Pineapple Juice, adding dimension to a sorghum molasses-marinated fried chicken

Egyptian Breakfast Hash, combining DOLE Chef-Ready Cuts Diced Peaches with Middle Eastern ingredients like chickpeas, dukkah spice, thyme and parsley

From authentic global to fusion cuisine, the trend shows no signs of stopping:

• 63% of chefs say ethnic-inspired breakfast is a hot trend for 2018
• 62% consider ethnic condiments to be a key trend
• 52% say fusion cuisine is hot in 2018

According to James Bickmore-Hutt, Culinary R&D Manager and Corporate Chef, DOLE frozen fruit pairings are just the tip of the iceberg. “As patrons become more comfortable trying authentic global ingredients, chefs can expand their repertoire to include even more exciting dishes. More than anything, we hope our ‘Ancient Inspirations’ recipe ideas give operators the confidence to get creative and truly set their menus apart from the competition.”