The Return of Simplicity

In the wake of COVID-19, the relationship people have with food is ever changing. As certain items become harder to get in stores, and with many trying to avoid stores all together…finding easy, simple recipes to make is pure gold.  

Whether it’s your favorite food publication sending out their daily newsletter or your favorite influencer posting their dinner from last night—nine times out of ten they highlight how “versatile” these recipes are. Giving space for interpretation and substitutions is crucial since many Americans don’t have the same supplies that they had pre-pandemic.

One recipe that ticks all of these boxes? Banana Bread.

If you weren’t making banana bread before, you’re definitely making it now. Banana bread is that staple that combines accessibility, simplicity and comfort into one single bread loaf. Ridiculously easy to throw together, CNN found that “web searches soared 54%” for banana bread in the first 30 days of quarantine. Banana bread will forever hold a special place in history as the dish that defined this moment in time, even though it rose to popularity decades earlier.

Even if you aren’t making banana bread or have already made six, people are finding much-needed happiness in creating sourdough starter kits and pancake cereal.  From yeast shortages, to finding the perfect home hack to recreate the dishes everyone misses the most…the world is coming together to bake, cook, and share. Americans (as many around the world) are spending more time in their kitchens. Those who were never chefs have become chefs and those top-notch bakers down the block are only getting better by the day.

The question is, will this trend continue past the pandemic? Are we entering a new age of home cooking and simplistic recipes? Or will this fade as quickly as our favorite takeout spots and signature delis begin to open back up? Only time will tell.

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