10 Gen Z Food Trends Boomers Just Don’t Understand & 10 Boomer Foods Gen Z Find Gross
10 Gen Z Food Trends Boomers Just Don’t Understand & 10 Boomer Foods Gen Z Find Gross
How Food Tastes Change Over The Ages
Every generation has its quirky food preferences. When it comes to Gen Z and Boomers, there is a true culinary culture clash. What Gen Zers would describe as "food that slaps," Boomers would think fit for only rabbits, opting for their Vienna Sausages and meatloaf instead. Here are 10 Gen Z food trends that boomers just don't get and 10 foods Boomers love that Gen Z find gross.
1. Plant-Based Diets
Plant-based diets with a focus on health, wellness, and sustainability are more popular than ever before. For many, it just makes sense to eat this way, but somehow, it's still always so complicated trying to explain to grandma that chicken salad counts as meat.
2. Butter Boards
Butter boards are beautiful works of art with artisan butter on cutting boards, but don't try to serve them at a family gathering. You'll have to explain a hundred times over to your grandfather that it's just butter, and he'll be even more shocked at the price you spent per pound.
3. Mocktails
Gen Zers are more aware of the health effects of alcohol than previous generations and are trending towards no or low alcohol lifestyles. For most Boomers, however, alcohol is a normal part of their daily lives, so serving them your latest alcohol-free creation will just have them asking why there's no booze in it.
4. Clean Eating
Gen Zers are more aware of the health and sustainability of their food choices than any previous generation. Boomer, however, grew up with Spam and sprayable cheese, so they might not fully understand your preference for Green Goddess Bowls.
5. Functional Foods
The concept of "functional foods," or foods that offer health benefits beyond basic nutrition, like guarding against chronic diseases, is a confusing concept for Boomers. If you've ever let the words slip out of your mouth near an older adult, you're probably familiar with the look of confusion it creates.
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6. Rat Snacking
Perhaps the most Gen Z food trend at all is rat snacking, the practice of making unconventional food combinations out of anything you can scavenge in the house. Your grandmother would be absolutely appalled if she witnessed some of the "meals" you create.
7. Girl Dinners
Girl dinners are casual snack-based meals that don't require traditional cooking: something akin to adult Lunchables. Your grandparents, who grew up on hearty family dinners like meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and other sides, would consider this unacceptable.
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8. Chaos Cooking
Chaos cooking has taken over TikTok. It's a term used to describe the creative experimental dishes that depart from traditional recipes, fusing flavors and different global cuisines. No doubt, Boomers who appreciate a meal of meat and potatoes would find these exciting dishes strange.
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9. Pickle Obsession
GeZers' obsession with intense and bold flavors is encapsulated by the fact that pickles are trending hard. Boomers can likely get behind pickles too, but not in the unhinged way that Gen Zers are, like paired with soda or sweet snacks.
10. Dry Yogurt
One of the strangest recent Gen Z food trends is the practice of draining yogurt to make it thicker to create a denser, more scoopable yogurt that's more visually appealing with a higher protein content. Boomers wouldn't understand the waste factor.
Now that we've covered Gen Z food trends that Boomers would be scratching their heads at, let's talk about Boomer foods that Gen Zers find repulsive.
1. Vienna Sausages
Vienna sausages are those cans of small processed weiners you always see on the shelf but never even consider buying. Boomers love them, but they're pretty much the opposite of "clean eating."
2. Spam
Spam was developed as an affordable, non-perishable meat option during the Great Depression and went on to be included in army rations. It became a global staple, but to Gen Zers who didn't grow up with it, it just looks like a disgusting block of flesh-colored "meat product."
3. Boloney Sandwiches
Grandma always seems to have baloney slices in the fridge, either out of nostalgia or habit, ready to be made into sandwiches. Gen Zers, however, would always opt for higher-quality cured meats.
4. Rice Pudding
For Boomers, rice pudding is a delicious treat. For Gen Zers, however, it's associated with one of two things: hospitals and retirement homes.
5. Sardines
Sardines are such a delicacy for boomers, it's not uncommon to see them eat them straight from the can. However, despite their excellent nutritional profile, Gen Zers find their little faces and overwhelmingly fishy flavor repulsive.
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6. Deviled Ham
Added to the long list of shelf-stable processed meat products that the Boomer diet was basically built on is Deviled Ham, finely ground ham in a can that they would combine with herbs, mayo, and mustard for sandwiches. You can expect Gen Zers, however, to be sceptical of any canned "meat product."
7. Meatloaf
Meatloaf was a staple of any American dinner table back in the mid-20th century. However, a confusing blend of ground meat, spices, and other ingredients like eggs and breadcrumbs that are shaped into a loaf, baked, and smothered with ketchup is hardly Gen Z's idea of a healthy family dinner.
8. Ambrosia Salad
One of the most puzzling foods that Boomers can't seem to get enough of is Ambrosia salad, a combination of canned pineapple, mandarin oranges, marshmallows, coconut, and whipped cream. For Gen Zers, salads are usually healthy, green, and contain fresh ingredients.
9. Fruit Cake
Fruit cake is an extremely dense, bready cake that Boomers obsess over at Christmas time. It's packed with dried fruits that are soaked in rum for weeks or even months, imparting a strong alcohol flavor that Gen Zers generally find overpowering.
10. Gelatin Salads
Boomers had a thing for suspending fruits and even vegetables in Jello to create what they thought was a pleasing centerpiece to their dinner party table. However, Gen Zers would just see them as jiggle monstrosities.
