7 of the best food & drink buys to try this autumn

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Inject some oomph into your autumn cooking and eating with the delicious. team’s tried-and-tested pick of new products, from producers big and small. In the shopping trolley this month are superb peanut butters, sweet Italian treats and a jalapeño relish you’ll want to eat with everything…

7 of the best food & drink buys to try this autumn

7 buys to inspire your tastebuds this October

1. Good karma

If you’re a fan of good tea leaves, you may like to try some from The Karma Tea Co. The teas are sourced from small farms across South Asia by tea expert Alison Tran, with fair trade and sustainability high up her agenda, but that wouldn’t mean much if they weren’t good – and they are. Managing editor Les Dunn, posh brew enthusiast, particularly liked the Glacier Green from eastern Nepal. It’s full bodied without becoming tannic, and you taste more flavours on successive brews (another benefit of using proper tea leaves). Glacier Green, £6.50 for 40g, available from Karma Tea Co

2. Nutty beyond belief

Posh tea is one thing, but is it possible to have a weekend treat peanut butter? Yes, and we’ve found it. Look at the ingredients of ManiLife’s new organic peanut butters and you’ll see two things: peanuts and salt. That’s it. Take a taste and you have to recalibrate your understanding of peanut butter. It genuinely is on another level. The butters aren’t weirdly runny, either, for lack of palm oil. They use ‘high oleic’ (high in mono-unsaturated fat) peanuts from a small farm in Argentina. Whether you’re a crunchy (it’s properly crunchy) or smooth fan, you’ll be delighted. And if you find a better peanut butter anywhere, we want to know about it. Organic peanut butter (smooth, below, and crunchy), £4.50 for 275g, available from ManiLife

3. Half term treat

If you’re taking a child or three to London’s Natural History Museum this month, look out for these nibbles by Biscuiteers, inspired by the museum’s collection. With a gingerbread base and satisfying snap, they’re more than just good looking. Suddenly, eating a woolly mammoth doesn’t sound like such a challenge… From £13.95 for a small letterbox (£41.95 for a tin), available from National History Museum gift shop and Biscuiteers

4. Versatile and sooo moreish

Combining tang, sweetness and crunch, these garlic cloves fermented in Somerset honey add punch and flavour to so many dishes. Serve the cloves with cheese or in a toastie, or chop and sprinkle in a salad. The garlicky honey lifts dressings and stews, and it’s great brushed over chicken before roasting. £12.95 for 350g, available from Durslade Farm Shop

Hot on the supermarket shelves

We’ve swept the supermarkets for the best new products to look out for right now…

5. Pickle power

Vadasz is already responsible for the best sauerkraut you can buy in the supermarkets, but this new jalapeño relish is their best yet. Crunchy, sweet, salty, hot and sour, it’s the perfect dip, sandwich inclusion or cheeseboard show-stealer. Food editor Tom Shingler has been eating it with a spoon. From £4.50 for 400g, available from Waitrose and Sainsbury’s

6. Dairy delight

Tims Dairy has done it again with the launch of its Greek Style St Clement’s Orange & Lemon yogurt, sparky with citrus flavour and smooth creaminess. Great on its own, even better served with a steamed syrup pud or used as a fresh lemony-orange filling for a victoria sponge. Wonderful stuff. £2.50 for 450g, available from Ocado and Waitrose

7. Sealed with a kiss

Proper baci di dama (lady’s kisses) usually require a trip to Italy (or a good Italian deli, at least). But Crosta & Mollica’s new Chocolate & Hazelnut Baci are just as good as those found in their country of origin, made using Piedmont hazelnuts. They’ll turn coffee breaks into something speciale. £3.15 for 140g, available from Tesco