Not surprisingly Salsa continues to pull ahead of Ketchup at a blistering pace with some familiar Mexican items not far behind — Tortillas replacing standard "Wonder Bread" and potato chips across the country getting a Mexican makeover with chile and limon flavors.
Not long ago the conventional wisdom was that Hispanics would assimilate to American culture, instead we are seeing the American culture, in certain cases and geographies, adopt parts of Hispanic culture. We see this in music, entertainment, recent presidential elections, but on a national level, its especially visible with food.
And Hispanic marketing experts and consultants are inventing new terms, such as Ambicultural™, to define how many in the US now easily mix and blend two cultures throughout their day, in family, work and leisure.
Money quotes:
"From queso fresco to chorizo, traditional Hispanic foods - or even just the flavors of them - are making their way into our everyday diet, particularly among the millennials - those born between the early `80s and the turn of the century. Generation Y's Hispanic community was born into an American culture but still holds onto its traditions, often eating white rice and seamlessly switching between English and Spanish."
"As immigrant and minority populations rewrite American demographics, the nation's collective menu is reflecting this flux, as it always has. And it goes beyond the mainstreaming of once-esoteric ethnic ingredients, something we've seen with everything from soy sauce to jalapenos."
"This is a rewrite of the American menu at the macro level, an evolution of whole patterns of how people eat. The difference this time? The biggest culinary voting bloc is Hispanic."
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