Food trends that made waves in November, from hasselback mania to rice paper desserts

Barfi: the Diwali sweet that swept us away 

While October embraced Halloween trends, November was all about the Indian celebration of light over darkness, Diwali. Social media lit up accordingly, showcasing the Diwali sweet of Barfi or Burfi, with 279.7 million views on the #barfi hashtag and 55.1 million views on the #burfi hashtag, showing off recipes and taste-tests.  

“It’s very popular because it’s very simple,” says Sonal Arora of Guru’s Masters of Indian Cuisine restaurant and Om Namah Indian Grocery Store in Coffs Harbour, NSW, with the store stocking specially curated boxes of the sweets. “People used to make all those things at home, but now – obviously - things are more commercialised and people have less time, so they buy them,” Arora shares with InSeason. “But it’s showing up on social media because it’s a treat a family can make at home or celebrate and eat together.”  

With a base made from milk, sugar and various combinations of nuts, flavours vary widely from region to region – and on social media some of the variations aim to be particularly wild, using ice cream bases to create everything from mango to caramel versions.   

“The professional ones might be tastier or prettier,” laughs Arora “but it’s not about that, it’s about being together, being connected and learning something about your culture.” Whether that is in making the sweet with family, or discovering new versions of the dish. 

Food gifting is ramping right up 

Christmas themed food continues strong, but now the focus is narrowing in on food gifts. We don’t mean canapés and ‘bring a plate options’ (a whole other ball game), this trend is very specifically about making or buying food that is a gift, to wrap and give to loved ones.   

“Giving gifts is what we do during Christmas, and food is a big part of that, because we feast,” says TV personality and acclaimed pastry chef, Anna Polyviou. Currently starring on Channel 10’s Dessert Masters, Polyviou is known for her long history of creating epic Christmas food activations (including life-sized gingerbread trains) and her gingerbread house gifts, that in past years have been filled to bursting with lollies, iced with traditional frosting, wrapped and ready to gift.  

Knowing how much effort goes into something like a pudding or handmade Christmas cookies makes them a gift people can get really excited about, according to Polyviou.  

“I think it’s fantastic to share food gifts – because it’s all about sharing,” she says, pointing out that it’s also interactive, “smashing a gingerbread house is half the fun,” she laughs. “Food gifts are perfect because you also need them at Christmas time. You need a dessert or a centrepiece, so it makes a great gift.”  

#FoodGift currently has 7.7 million TikTok views, along with the more general #ChristmasFood hashtag (which also covers food gifts) with a whopping 940.3 million views. Various combinations of the two reveal a treasure trove of Christmas food gifting ideas that will easily stick around well into the New Year.   

 Hasselback isn’t such a hassle 

Again, with all the Christmas/Thanksgiving foods doing the rounds, it’s no surprise that side-dishes to complement roasts are too. Potatoes are the star player here – with anything potato related always rating highly on social media, from the crunchiest roasties, to the creamiest mash. Right now, hasselback potatoes are front and centre on social media, with the #hasselbackpotatoes TikTok tag toting up over 53 million views. We’re also branching out and getting creative with any fruit or veggie that can be ‘hasselbacked’. On TikTok pumpkin and squash are leading this trend, with #hasselbackpumpkin scoring over 623k views, along with  #hasselbacksquash’s 343.2k views. Apples, zucchinis and tomatoes are all in on the action, along with chicken.  

Anything wrapped in rice paper is catching attention 

Banana with peanut butter and chocolate, rolled in rice paper and air fried is just one example of what people are wrapping in rice paper. This social media trend is proving that there are no limits to what can be wrapped in a lightly soaked rice paper wrapper to create textures from chewy to crispy and crunchy. Content creator Harrison Tran regularly shares fun and easy rice paper recipes with his 54k TikTok followers, with ideas including rice paper wrapped blueberry cobbler regularly scoring upwards of 50k views.   

“People love the rice paper recipes for the same reason I do - they are simple, easy, quick, and brand-new twists on classic recipes,” he tells InSeason.  

But for Tran it’s not all a flash in the pan. “I wasn’t even aware of the rice paper trend until recently - my family has made these foods my entire life. Vietnamese Chả Giò egg rolls are made of rice paper instead of spring roll pastry. Growing up, my mum would make a variety of Vietnamese food and treats for us using rice paper, and we would fry fun and crazy foods like ice cream, too,” he says. Additionally, his Texas upbringing encouraged him to branch out and push the limits. 

“That’s my goal - to bring my cravings up a notch,” and the creativity has clearly struck a chord with social media audiences. On TikTok alone #RicePaperRecipe currently has 20.1 million views, #ricepaperhack has 112.9 million, but #ricepaper alone sits at 1.3 billion views and includes all the tricks and more trend-based hacks.  

Other trends to keep an eye on:  

1. Old-school flavoured cream cheese in 3D shapes (Christmas trees, bells, balls) 
2. Hot chocolate bombs  
3. Baked cheeses and fancy garlic breads 
4. Whisking red wine to aerate it – and other wine hacks 
5. Christmas leftovers recipes