Another Prediction

In a recent entry on Cybele's Candyblog there's a comment (which I wrote) that got me to thinking...

I'm sure it's been around for awhile and I'm just learning about it, but evidently "single plantation" chocolate is now the choice of connoisseurs. The idea, obviously, is that like vintage wines, chocolate from one source can have more distinctive properties than "varietals," or combinations of chocolates from many places. The old arguments remain, mostly about consistency, but I strongly encourage this advance.

I just wonder ... what's next?

I've never thought very much about vinegar, but not that many years ago it developed a following and the market was flooded with all kinds. There arose a group of vinegar afficianados and whether or not they actually looked down their noses at us, the world of vinegar was never the same.

If I had to guess what commodity would next get this treatment, my money would be on soy sauce. Like vinegar, it's in everyday use and there are differences, and I wouldn't be a bit surprised if designer and high-end soy sauces were the next big thing.

Of course, I could be completely wrong and it's likely that true soy sauce lovers already have an devoted underground. I wouldn't know. But, if not soy sauce, logically there isn't a reason for just about every staple to develop a cultish following.

Peanut butter wouldn't be exempt from this, nor would beets. I can well imagine that in the next hundred years all sorts of things, from almonds to wheat, could become exlusive. Sure, there's still be the old varietals for the hoi polloi, but those with a discriminating palatte could enjoy limited editions. Yes, the 2067 crop of Mountain's Breeze brocolli may be a bit to acidic for many, but that's the chance you take.

But my money's on soy sauce.