Jimmy Nardello peppers have a sweet, fruity flavor and buttery texture. | Photo: Shutterstock
Fruity sauces and milder peppers are poised to trend on menus in a couple of years.
That’s according to Restaurant Business sister company, Technomic, which uses time-series modeling to determine future menu trends. “The predictive model—which is built on artificial intelligence—leverages historical menu trends, social listening tools and consumer sentiment to forecast how ingredients, flavors or dishes will trend in the coming years,” said Lizzy Freier, senior director of Menu Research & Insights at Technomic.
In the last couple of years, fiery peppers have been all the rage—the hotter the better. Heat-seeking diners are still craving those, but it looks like we can expect to see a more milder pepper variety called Jimmy Nardellos catch fire.
“Jimmy Nardellos are currently the second-fastest-growing ingredient on menus, with mentions up 140% year over year, per Technomic Ignite Menu data,” said Frier. “These fire-free peppers are being served similarly to shishitos, by themselves and often blistered. They are also featured alongside chicken entrees.”
The peppers originated in the Italian village of Ruoti in Southern Italy and can be traced back to Giuseppe and Angella Nardello who grew them in their garden. When the couple immigrated to the U.S., they carried some of the pepper seeds with them. Jimmy was one of the Nardellos’ 11 children, and he continued to cultivate the peppers, donating the seeds to the Seed Savers Exchange before his death in 1983.
The heirloom Jimmy Nardello peppers are red in color and prized for their sweet, fruity flavor and buttery texture.
Sweet heat, aka “swicy,” has been ubiquitous on menus lately. While the popular flavor profile is not going away that quickly, come 2027, it looks like fruity flavors will be the stars on the sweet front.
In the Technomic Ignite Menu database of 7,000 operators, fruit sauces and condiments are on the rise year over year: Lingonberry sauce {+67%), fig sauce (+60%), fig jam (+53%), mango puree (+52%), and pomegranate vinaigrette (+51%).
Sauces highlighting indulgent, comforting ingredient combinations are also on the upswing. Broccoli cheese sauce and caramelized onion sauce are gaining ground on the savory side and pecan praline sauce on the sweet side.
Citrus sauces are in growth mode as well. Chile citrus and lemon pan sauce are both up 100%, along with more unique citrus preps including Key lime sauce (+75%) and yuzu kosho (+48%).
“Sauces provide a great solution for innovation and adventure,” said Frier. “You can promote a whole line of LTOs with just one sauce as a point of differentiation.” Operators have already jumped on the trend, as the data shows. Sauces have increased in menu mentions 8% over the past year, and there’s a long runway for more innovation.
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Pat plans and executes menu, food and drink stories for Restaurant Business and hosts the weekly Menu Talk podcast. She provides in-depth coverage of chefs, trends and menu innovation.
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