1. Grandma’s Hot Maple Syrup

Move over hot honey… Hot maple syrup is where it’s at. This ridiculously moreish concoction won’t only take your greek yogurt breakfast to a new level but it’s also brilliant for dips and marinades, or drizzled over summer fruit. It’s made with premium Grade A Canadian maple syrup and gently infused with the rare wiri wiri pepper from Guyana. These unusual little peppers are also the main ingredient in Grandma’s other products (two hot sauces) and soon to be available as natural flakes. £10.95 for 200ml, available from Grandma’s Hot Sauce and Amazon.com.

2. Nuccy Almond Coco Flow

The game-changer in Nuccy nut butters is the added coconut, which rounds out the flavour and means no salt is needed. Because there are no added nasties, you need to give the mixture a good stir each time, but you’re rewarded with a moreish spread for your toast. It’s great dolloped on your morning muesli too. Our star jar: the almond one. £7.19 for 170g, available from Nuccy and Holland and Barrett

3 & 4. Korean gochujang and soju

The Japan Centre, the UK’s biggest online Japanese supermarket with three stores in London, has launched a Korean range. Our picks are the gochujang – the fermented chilli paste that’s hot, full of umami and a moreish essential in Korean cooking – and the soju, Korea’s national drink. Traditionally distilled from grain, chilled shots of it add to the vibe if you’re inviting friends to try your as-authentic-as-possible Korean cooking. There are fruit flavoured versions but we rate the original highest. 7Drops Original Fresh Soju, £6.99 for 360ml; Delief Gochujang, £4.99 for 300g, available from Japan Centre

5. Citizens of Soil olive oil

Citizens Of Soil supplies small-batch organic extra-virgin olive oil from across the Med – Greece, Croatia, Spain… You can buy a 500ml bottle plus pouch to decant when the supply runs dry or if you’re a real olive oil nut, you can get a monthly subscription. Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil Starter Pack, £35 for 500ml bottle, plus 500ml pouch (or £15/month for a 500ml subscription), available from Citizens of Soil

6. The Governor Premium Unfiltered Extra Virgin Olive Oil

If you’re really looking to impress, The Governor is an early-harvest organic extra-virgin oil costing from £39.50 for 500ml. Wait, come back… It’s made with ‘high phenolic’ lianolia olives from ancient trees on a small farm on Corfu, which means it’s a powerful antioxidant. With grassy aromas and a peppery finish, it’s quite the dinner party star turn. Plus 10% of each sale goes to The Pink Ribbon Foundation for breast cancer. £39.50 for 500ml, available from The Governor Extra Virgin Olive Oil

7. Yee Kwan ice cream

Cult ice cream brand Yee Kwan makes delightful ices and now the Sheffield company has started delivering nationwide, so everyone can try its intriguing flavours – including durian, lychee, chocolate miso and our fave, black sesame seed. Yay to Yee! From £2.50 for a 100ml tub (minimum order £28), available from Yee Kwan Ice Cream

8. Shepherds Purse Organic Yorkshire Blue

North Yorkshire-based artisan cheese producer Shepherds Purse is on a roll. It won golds at the World Cheese Awards in 2017 and 2019, and Mrs Bell’s Blue won 3 stars at last year’s Great Taste Awards. Now it’s released another wonderful blue cheese, Organic Yorkshire Blue. Made by the Bell family in Thirsk, using milk from the Acorn Organic Dairy up the road, it’s a minimum-eight-week-matured beaut, with vivid veining, a perfect crumbly-meets- unctuous texture and a softly umami flavour profile with herbaceous notes. Get some in – your cheeseboard will thank you for it. From £6 for 170g, available from Shepherds Purse

9. Wylde Market produce

Have you tried Wylde Market yet? It’s an online farmers’ market that opens on Fridays at 5pm, then closes at 2pm on Wednesdays. Your box is delivered on the Friday. And as with all markets, you’re advised to get there early – when it’s gone, it’s gone… The food, from fish to fungi, is meticulously sourced with regard to quality and sustainability. Our food editor Tom tried the napa cabbage kimchi and declared it “very, very good” (he rarely allows one very, let alone two!). Visit Wylde Market

10. Cook frozen ready meals

It was one of the first B Corp companies (meaning it makes a big effort as a business to be as sustainable as possible), it employs ex-prisoners among its workforce and has 94 high street shops. So why, we wondered, had we never tried Cook? Well now we have, and we were impressed. The huge range is cooked by hand in four kitchens. The small sample we tried were all good – best being the lasagne al forno (£19.50 for four) and the saag paneer (£3.25). New dishes include roasted cauliflower & aubergine dahl and jerk chicken with pineapple salsa (below). Home delivery at Cook Food; click and collect from Cook shops; limited selection at 1,000-plus indie retailers

11. Tracklements Special Edition Zingy Burger Sauce

No less a personage than chef and restaurateur Mark Hix has help created this new burger sauce from Tracklements. It has the tang of gherkins, the sweetness of ketchup and a mustard sharpness, blended into a pleasing whole. No nasties on the ingredients list, either. It’s a shoo-in for your storecupboard as we move into barbecue season proper. £4.10 for 290g, available from Tracklements and also in independent delis and farm shops

 

Hot on the supermarket shelves

12. McCain Air Fryer Quick & Crispy French Fries

These new air fryer french fries might sound like a gimmick, but they cook in a possibly record-breaking five minutes. They’re also impressively crisp outside and soft inside – as all good chips should be. From £3 for 750g, available from Asda and Iceland.

13. Aagrah Foods curry pastes and spice mixes

The pastes from Aagrah Foods make a Friday night curry so easy. Pair with a kebab using their spice mix and we think you’ll agree the Yorkshire restaurant chain is giving takeaways a run for their money. Aagrah Seekh Kebab spice mix, £1.40 for 35g; curry pastes, £3.30 for 270g, available from Tesco

14. Tim Tams

The mere mention of Tim Tams (new in the UK) will turn many an Antipodean expat misty-eyed with nostalgia. According to our Kiwi colleague, Claudia, the Aussie biscuits are similar to a Penguin “but way better”. £2.50 for 9 (Original/Dark Chocolate/Chewy Caramel), available from Waitrose and Ocado.

15. Haagen-Dazs Macaron Vanilla & Blueberry

Cool down and cone up with the newest flavour in the Häagen-Dazs x Pierre Hermé family: vanilla & blueberry macaron. The tart blueberry and blackcurrant swirl balances and wakes up the ultra-creamy vanilla, but it’s the chewy macaron shells from the iconic French pastry chef that make this tub memorable. It’s also available as a lolly. £5.40 for 420ml, available from Tesco

16. Asma Khan ready meals

She’s famous for Darjeeling Express, her London restaurant, where an all-women team cooks home-style Indian recipes – and now you can get a taste of Asma Khan’s delicately spiced cooking, even if you’re nowhere near the capital. We loved the keema lamb muttar (minced lamb with peas). £3.50 to £6.50 for 300-400g, available from Ocado

17. Ocean Spray Pink Cranberry Juice Drink

Did you know there were pink cranberries? They’re less tart than red ones. Now you can try their juice, along with red and white berries, in this new drink from cranberry juice meisters Ocean Spray. It’s an essential for a sea breeze cocktail, plus 5p from each carton sold goes to the Pink Ribbon Foundation, a breast cancer trust. £1.85 for 1 litre, available from Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s

Discover the rest of the delicious. team’s tried and tested food and drink recommendations.