Pandan to overtake avocado and matcha as the hot new food trend, according to Nigella Lawson

This unusual ingredient looks set to infiltrate our Insta feeds

(iStockphoto)

A staple in many millennials’ diets, the avocado has become one of the most popular foods of the moment – but that could all be about to change.

In the thick of the food industry, TV chef Nigella Lawson makes it her business to know what’s coming next and it seems that the green fruit might have finally had its day.

Instead, she insists that a new, obscure food could soon be taking over our Insta feeds: pandan.

A sweet, pungent, east Asian leaf which is likened to vanilla, Lawson believes that pandan looks set to swarm kitchens all over Britain and is already gaining traction in the States, The Times reports.

“I think it’s going to be the new matcha,” she said, referring to the cult ingredient that’s been served in everything from lattes and tea to brownies.

“I may be wrong, but we seem to be interested in that. It’s not in Waitrose. I don’t know where it is in this country yet. But I notice more and more people in America baking with pandan essence. Which comes from that leaf.”

Pandan is already used to flavour desserts and cakes (iStockphoto) (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Otherwise known as screw pine, pandan is a herbaceous plant that grows in southeast Asia and is often used to flavour desserts and drinks.

In some instances, it’s also ground into a paste and used in savoury dishes to flavour rice or wrap up food.

It turns out that the unfamiliar ingredient has already reached our shores with restaurants such as the Grill Ox Club in Leeds selling pandan ice cream while others sell pandan pancakes.

Given that sales of avocado once rose by 30 per cent after she was featured on TV smashing one on toast, this endorsement could see foodies everywhere making a mad dash for the plant.