Food Processing - June 2008 - (Page 70)

To o p s s co o p s By Diane Toops, News & Trends Editor grilling more popular than ever one reason for grilling’s popularity: people trying to eat healthier. L iving in an apartment in downtown Chicago, I rarely have the opportunity to chomp into a thick, rare burger hot off the grill. There’s nothing more mouthwatering. Yes, I admit to grill envy. Grilling behaviors have changed, according to the 19th Annual Weber GrillWatch Survey of 1,000 grill owners, conducted by Greenfield Online for Weber-Stephen Products Co., Palatine, Ill. Thirty-one percent of American grill owners are grilling more than they were a year ago because they’re “trying to eat healthier.” Respondents say they are grilling leaner meats (39 percent), more vegetables (38 percent), more poultry (34 percent) and more fish (22 percent) than they did a year ago. Six percent are cooking more meat substitutes, such as veggie burgers and tofu, and 5 percent are cooking more fruit. Women are significantly more likely to grill vegetables (43 percent vs. 33 percent) and more fruit (7 percent vs. 4 percent) than men. More than half (57 percent) grill throughout the year. Those who use outdoor electric grills (65 percent), gas stand-ups (61 percent) and smokers most often define their “grilling season” as year-round than charcoal grill owners at 53 percent. Seventy-one percent say they fire up their grill “at least once a week” during their grilling season (up from 69 percent last year), and 47 percent fire it up “at least a few times per week” compared to 43 percent last year. For the first time, survey researchers asked how many hours a week Americans grill during their grilling season. While the overall average is 4.4, one-third say they spend five or more hours grilling each week. While 95 percent of respondents say they grill dinner “on a regular basis,” 37 percent say they now grill lunch and 2 percent grill breakfast or brunch regularly. While respondents say hot dogs (81 percent) and burgers (75 percent) are the easiest foods to grill, they say fish is the most challenging (44 percent) followed by shellfish (38 percent). When asked which foods they’d like to know how to cook better on the barbie, respondents most often cited beef roasts (24 percent) and beef brisket (20 percent), followed by whole chicken and whole turkey at 19 percent each, ribs and pizza at 18 percent each, pork roast/tenderloin at 16 percent and cakes at 14 percent. Although most grilling experts say otherwise, cutting into food remains the top method that Americans use to decide when to take their food off of the grill (58 percent). Other popular methods include seeing “if it looks done” (44 percent), “poking it with a fork” (30 percent) and just plain “winging it” (21 percent). Twenty-two percent use the more advisable methods of timing their food (22 percent) and/or using a thermometer (19 percent). Americans fire up their grills on just about every major holiday. The Fourth of July again tops the list at 86 percent, followed by Labor Day (74 percent), birthdays (73 percent), and Memorial Day (69 percent). Fifty-two percent of grill owners cook outside on Father’s Day compared to 45 percent on Mother’s Day. American grill owners report they entertain family or friends in their home an average of 10.7 times a year - slightly more than the nongrill owner average at 9.6 times. In addition, grill owners used their grills seven out of the 10.7 times they entertained during the year. Weber Grills estimates 83 percent of U.S. households own one or more grills. Now, if only a few of them would invite me to dinner. E-mail: dtoops@putman.net blog with diane Diane shares her opinion on food industry matters with anyone who will listen or read. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, she dishes up commentary, news and other scoops. First give her a read, then give her a piece of your mind: at www.foodprocessing.com/toopsblog. FoodProcessing.com 70 • Food Processing June 2008 http://www.foodprocessing.com/toopsblog http://foodprocessing.com

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Food Processing - June 2008 Editor's Plate NewsBites Show Report The Trends Rollout Food Biz Kids Consumer Taste Test A Bevy of New CEOs Ingredients Packaging Plant Operations MRO Q&A New Supplier Products Toops Scoops Contents

Food Processing - June 2008

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