We've become a nation of at-home baristas in 2020

2020 has been a strange year, but it seems that we've used this time to not only teach ourselves new skills, but also become far more aware of how we source, produce and eat the food we put on our tables.

According to the Waitrose Food and Drink Report, we've not only changed our behaviours, but also brushed up on our reading when it comes to food.

Here's what we've learned from the report:

'Cooking is the new commute'

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Pexels

While many of us once used the journey to-and-from the workplace to provide a buffer between our work and home life, we've now turned to cooking in order to provide that buffer. This is particularly interesting, as not only are we cooking more, but also being more sustainable with our food choices.

According to Waitrose, homegrown produce (that produced in the UK) is now the preference for their shoppers, suggesting we're being more wary of supporting our produce growers. Not only that, but this trend has also extended to British seafood (perhaps spurred on by all the Brexit fishing talk) where sales have tripled in the past six months.

We've started making our own coffee

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Unsplash

Apparently, we've filled the void from coffee shops closing down by simply making our own. Sales of coffee bean-to-cup machines have grown by 64% over the last year, while sales of coffee beans have grown by 44% at Waitrose.

This is a particularly interesting trend, as it shows that when we can't simply buy what we want, we teach ourselves to make it instead. With take out coffees on the way to work and coffee dates nigh-on-impossible for most of the year, as a nation, we've had to adapt and learn new crafts.

Thankfully, learning to make barista-grade coffee at home has never been easier - check out our guides to making the perfect coffee at home below:

Everything you need to make great coffee at home

Start your day the Italian way with a Moka Pot

Our culinary tastes have changed

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Pexels

Asian food appears to be very 'in' right now. Perhaps we've been making up for our lack of in-person travelling by exploring different cuisines, but either way, the stats don't lie. According to Waitrose, sales of Chinese Rice Vinegar, Japanese Rice Vinegar and Miri Rice Wine are all up 180% or over during this year.

In complete contrast to the above statement, we've also learned to work with what's on our doorstep. Foraging for local food such as Blackberries and Sloes has increased, likely due to it being an outdoors pursuit at a time when many of us are feeling very couped-up in our homes. We've also turned to pickling to preserve our homegrown or foraged foods, with searches for "pickling" up 222% on Waitrose.

We're doing more cooking at home

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Pexels

Along with the mention above of how 'cooking is the new commute' it would appear that we're doing more and more cooking for ourselves, since restaurants are shut and we don't always want take-out.

Slow cooking, in particular, has seen a rise in popularity, thanks to the fact more of us than ever are working from home, meaning we can keep an eye on our dishes as they develop. Cuts of meat used for slow-cooked dishes are also often cheaper and offer great value, which is especially important during times when we are watching our pennies.