Tasty Tuesdays: 10 Foodie Products You Need to Buy This WeekBy Angelica Malin
Another week, another chance to stock up on some cupboard essentials. We chomped our way through a whole load of products to find ten things really worth your time and money this week – from lemon drizzle gin (yes, really) to veggie sausages, we’ve got you covered. Happy snacking, chums:
What: Urban Fruit has launched a brand new product, drum roll please.. Make way for their 100% natural coconut chips. You’ll find yourself crunching your way to work and munching all the way home (warning: they’re super-moreish!). Whether you’re looking for something naturally sweet or fancy a snack with a spicy kick, there’s a flavour to suit your mood and they can be found on supermarket shelves from this month.
The Lowdown: Made from 100% coconuts, these crunchy coconut chips are all natural, triple toasted (never fried!) and full of fibre to give you that healthy island glow. Available in two flavours; Sriracha Chilli, with a sprinkle of coconut nectar and a kick of sriracha chilli. And Straight Up, naked but with a sprinkle of sea salt and coconut nectar. The team at Urban Fruit believes in hanging onto all the good stuff and like all of their snacks, these contain absolutely no refined sugar, no sulphites, no concentrates – just straight up simple goodness. Each bag of coconut chips is vegan friendly and gluten-free.
Stockists: Tesco
What: Elderbrook is not another sugary squash to hit the supermarket shelves, nor is it claiming to be a health drink. The not squash cordial brand is the creation of two ex-innocent employees, David Folkman and Craig Jones born from the simple fact that water, whilst keeping us alive, just isn’t exciting.
The Lowdown: With a range of better-for-you cordials blended with natural ingredients and no refined sugar, Elderbrook is a feel good and refreshing new way to jazz up your glass of water, or add a splash of fun to your favourite cocktail. Elderbrook is available in nine flavours including Pomegranate, Cherry and Cardamon, Lime, Mint and Baobab and Valencia Orange, and Apricot and Goldenberry.
Stockists: Order online
What: HECK is a young start up sausage and burger company based in North Yorkshire – second and third generation pig farmers turned food producers. HECK create sausages, burgers, (meat) balls and other family favourites, whether you’re a meat lover, veggie, flexi, vegan, healthy or gluten/dairy-free – there’s a product for everyone.
The Lowdown: HECK doesn’t just produce meaty eats, recently they’ve introduced a new vegan and vegetarian range. The Super Greens Balls are HECK’s very first vegan-friendly balls packed with chickpeas, chestnuts, cashew nuts, quinoa, spinach, courgette and kale. Secondly, there’s Nuts About Cheese Sausages, made with cashews, two cheeses, flax and chia seeds, plus a dash of chilli, and Gourmet Goat’s Cheese Burgers – patties of quinoa, goat’s cheese and caramelized onion.
Stockists: Tesco, Waitrose, Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s
4. For Cakes: Whoopsie Daisy Bakery
What: Baker and Cake Decorator Daisy Brydon, of Daisy Brydon Creations (EST. 2012) has launched her sister company, Whoopsie Daisy Bakery and is lining the shelves of Selfridges Food Hall Bakery with exciting new flavours of Whoopie Pies.
The Lowdown: Bake Me Well is based on the very British Bakewell Tart – almond shells filled with black cherry Italian meringue buttercream topped with an almond glaze and glace cherry. For the peanut lover, try the Charlie Brown’ – salted caramel shells filled with home made salted caramel Italian meringue buttercream and chocolate, topped with peanut brittle. The Ladies in Lavender – lavender shells filled with fresh lemon Italian Meringue buttercream topped with a candied lemon and lavender is a must try.
Stockists: Selfridges Food Hall Bakery
5. For a New Flavour: Sipsmith
What: Pioneers of the gin revival, Sipsmith was London’s first copper distillery for nearly two hundred years, on a mission to bring back London Dry Gin to the city where it earned its name. Sipsmith combines modern technology with traditional recipes and techniques of yesteryear. All Sipsmith spirits are made by hand and in small batches, driven by the belief that this is the only way to craft spirits of such high quality. We love.
The Lowdown: Growing in popularity in the 1930s and positively booming by the 1950s and 60s citrus gins were once all the rage, with lemon gin and orange gin made by several London Distilleries. So, in the spirit of where old meets new, and adding a little inspiration from their triple juniper technique for V.J.O.P, Head Distiller Ollie and Master Distiller Jared, experimented with multiple dimensions of lemon-related inspiration. This recipe takes a classic London Dry backbone and layers on sweet, sun dried lemon peels, lemon verbena from Jared’s garden for aromatic sweetness on the nose.
Stockists: Marks and Spencer
6. For Gluten-Free Beer: Bellfield Brewery
What: Bellfield Brewery are the UK’s first dedicated gluten-free brewery, producing beer in small batches, using traditional brewing methods combined with non-traditional ingredients; the perfect combination of science and art. Bellfield Brewery is a new, family-run brewery with a mission: to brew certified gluten-free beer that tastes great. And boy, it doesn’t disappoint.
The Lowdown: All of their beers are brewed with love, produced by people, not machines. They use the simplest ingredients: Scottish water, malts from Crisp and Fawcetts, the best hops they can source from around the world, carefully chosen yeasts, and passion. The range includes the Bohemian Pilsner, a noble classic Czech pilsner, pale with a light body, slight background bitterness, and gentle floral tones from the finest Saaz hops leading to a soft refreshing finish. And not forgetting, the Lawless Village IPA.
Stockists: Online, Amazon and various online beer shops.
What: Kinomi source the highest quality organic nuts and pair them with just the right combination of Japanese flavours and global spices dreamt up by founder, Hiromi Stone. Kinomi are hand-roasted in small batches, then tossed with Hiromi Stone’s signature, gluten-free soy glaze, and finally sprinkled with experimental spice blends for a range of subtle, refined and sophisticated snacks packed full of natural nuttiness.
The Lowdown: The Porpori Almonds are organic Spanish almonds, coated in a blend of smoked red jalapeno and Indian amchur giving them a subtle tart, tropical finish. The Wakuwaku Cashews are coated with an intriguing blend of Norwegian arctic seaweed and Iranian sumac that mimics the flavour of yukari, and the Pikapika Pecans have been coated with a palmyra flower sugar, kaffir lime and kampot white pepper glaze.
Stockists: Order here
8. For a Grab-and-Go Snack: OOMPF ENERGY
What: OOMPF ENERGY has your training nutrition covered with their new range of energy products. Focusing on ingredients which are natural, nutrient dense and energising, OOMPF ENERGY offer a healthy alternative to the highly processed options available in the current market.
The Lowdown: Each item is individually cold pressed to better retain nutrients and flavour, as well as aiding digestion whilst on the move. Available in 7 flavours – Awesome Acai, Cacao Charge, Goji Go Go, Oh so Pistachio, Orange Oompf, Pecan Pow and Very Berry, all products are all free from gluten, wheat, dairy, lactose and refined sugars.
Stockists: Online here
9. For the Ultimate Porridge Topping: Real Health
What: New to the market this month is Real Health’s 100% pure MGO rated Australian Manuka honey – a completely natural honey packed to the brim with health benefits. Real Health Manuka honey is 100% raw and unblended, insuring its natural health benefits remain as pure and wholesome as the day the bees created it.
The Lowdown: Manuka honey is a single flower honey made only from flowers from the Leptospermum tree more commonly known as the Tea Tree plant, native to Australia. Australian Manuka Honey is naturally more potent, sometimes three times as more, than that of New Zealand. This is because MGO favours the warmer climate of Australia. Real Health Manuka Honey is available in four potency ratings; Antibacterial Grades MGO 100, MGO 300 and MGO 500 and Super Antibacterial Grade 830 MGO. And if that goes totally over your head – it tastes really good.
Stockists: Order online
10. For a Condiment: La Maison Maille
What: Autumn marks the start of the mushroom season when woods and meadows are filled with a variety of wild mushrooms, including the most prized of them all: black truffles and ceps. To celebrate this, La Maison Maille has created a new limited edition mustard for the autumn months, combining these two sought-after varieties to create a flavour marriage of mushroom royalty.
The Lowdown: Building on the iconic status of the seasonal Maille Chablis white wine and black truffle mustard, this new luxurious mustard is served fresh from the Maille pump and features the earthy flavour of black truffles, balanced by the distinctive taste of ceps. Perfect for the colder weather, the new mustard has a woody, smoky flavour that will enhance and complement a variety of warming dishes such as creamy risottos, fresh pappardelle and roasted guinea fowl or chicken.
Stockists: La Maison Maille, Piccadilly Arcade, London and maille.com.
