Officials at Carolina Turkey say their new line of all-natural deli meats and cheeses will help redefine and re-energize these categories for grocery retailers.

While cow’s milk is the most common type of milk used to make cheese, milk from other mammals is often used by artisan cheesemakers. About 75% of all specialty cheeses rely on cow’s milk only, according to the American Cheese Society. Goat (44%) is the next popular, followed by sheep (20%) and buffalo (3%).

Recently, some locally owned specialty gourmet stores have opened with olive oil and vinegar tasting bars complete with dozens of gleaming stainless-steel tanks called fusti containers.

"My main objective when customers walked in was to educate, get them to try it. Over time, you discover how you like using the oils and it becomes fun trying them with different foods - kind of like getting a new smartphone and figuring out what it can do," says Stappenback.

From roadside stands to fine dining, barbecue dishes are some of the hottest items on the menu. In fact, barbecue dishes are found on nearly 60 percent of all U.S. menus tracked by Chicago-based research firm Datassential, and they've seen 13 percent growth in quick service and midscale restaurant settings since 2005.

Retail flatbreads of all flavors reach $286 million in U.S. sales in 2014, according to data from Nielsen Scantrack, with pita bread the top seller. Americanized flatbreads and pizza crusts – not described as pita, nann or other ethnic descriptor – totaled $96.7 million in 2014 sales, but they're just the tip of the culinary iceberg.

Oh Snap! Dilly Bites are a new grab-and-go healthy snacking option for pickle fans

The United States is the standout growth market in the North American cheese category, with an average value growth of 3.5 percent over the past five years.

The USA is the largest consumer in North America as around 90% of Americans use pickles in their daily diets as a complimentary food item.

Fats in the diet are highly controversial. You’ll see people arguing about animal fats, seed oils and almost everything in between. But one of the few fats that most people agree is healthy is extra virgin olive oil.

Artisan cheeses, made in small batches using traditional methods, are increasingly popular on menus and in markets.From the gooey goodness of homemade mac and cheese, to freshly cut wedges of farmstead feta, Americans are reaching for artisan cheese at a briskly increasing pace. 

What you may not know is EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) is one of the healthiest “superfoods” you can consume. Mediterranean diets have been the key success for many of the worlds longest living cultures, a key ingredient in this diet is a high consumption of EVOO.

Restaurateurs may have once taken bread for granted, but no more. They’ve discovered that bread, as humble and relatively inexpensive as it may be, can be a powerful menu differentiator. Proof: Eight out of 10 consumers say the quality of the bread is key to creating a great sandwich.