olive summer supermarket awards 2019
The olive supermarket awards are all about making your life easier. We created them to find the best ready-made products to ensure hassle-free summer entertaining, so check out the winners here
Looking for easy BBQ food to make al fresco dining easier this year? Check out the best supermarket summer food for summer BBQs and picnics (here are our favourite spots for a picnic in the UK). From BBQ chicken to hummus and the best vegetarian products, we’ve got summer entertaining covered. We also have our vegan supermarket awards, including dairy- and meat-alternatives and sweet treats.
If you’re cooking yourself, here are our best BBQ recipes to try this summer.
PRODUCT RECALL: Zorba Delicacies Ltd is recalling a number of hummus products due to the possible presence of salmonella. Please see the notice from the Food Standards Agency for more details: food.gov.uk
Best BBQ condiment
Gold: By Sainsbury’s Spicy BBQ Sauce, £1.20/500g
A crowd-pleasing classic BBQ sauce with smoke and spice.
Click here to buy your BBQ sauce
Silver: Aldi Skeeters New York Steakhouse BBQ Sauce, £1.29/350ml
More like a burger relish than a sauce, we loved the crunchy textures and sharp flavour notes.
Best BBQ sausage
Gold: Tesco Finest Pork, Red Leicester Cheese and Jalapeño Hot Dogs, £2.50/400g
Packed with real melting cheese and with a keen kick of heat, these spicy hot dogs are exactly what you want for a family barbecue.
Gold: Aldi Ashfield Farm British Bangers with Thatchers Traditional Cider & Bramley Apple, £1.99/400g
These juicy sausages had a good balance of herbs and real cider flavour, with a crisp skin.
Best BBQ show-off product
Gold: Waitrose Buttermilk Chicken King Kebab, £8/924g
A no-fuss, fiery sharing kebab with a lively smoked paprika and chilli marinade.
Stock up on chicken kebabs here
Gold: Co-op Garlic and Herb Spatchcock Chicken, £6/1.135kg
A showstopping whole chicken with juicy meat, crispy skin and good garlic flavour.
Best show-off salad
Gold: Waitrose Scrumptious Summer British Quinoa Salad with a Raspberry Vinaigrette, £2.20/170g
This fresh salad marries crunchy beans and other delicious green veg with bouncy barley, quinoa and a sharp, fruity dressing.
Best vegetarian/ vegan BBQ product
Gold: Waitrose Vegan Whirls: Italian-style and Spanish-style, £4/400g
It’s hard to believe these aren’t made from meat given their good bite, umami flavour and caramelised skin.
Check out vegan BBQ products here
Best burger bun
Gold: Aldi Specially Selected Brioche Burger Buns, 79p/4 pack
These soft and gently sweet American-style buns with their glossy sheen are the perfect burger bap.
Silver: Iceland The Big Triple, 69p/2 pack
This quirky, great-tasting bun is sliced in three for wow-factor stacks.
Click here to buy Iceland's triple bun
Best seafood product
Gold: Booths Lemon and Pepper Salmon Kebabs, £2.30/skewer
Tender chunks of salmon paired with sweet peppers for a fresh-tasting kebab.
Silver: By Sainsbury’s Teriyaki-Glazed British Mackerel Fillets, £2.35/180g
Juicy fillets of fish with just the right amount of sweetness from the sauce.
Stock up on BBQ fish products here
Best BBQ burger
Gold: Aldi Specially Selected The Perfect Burger, £2.49/340g
A solid all-rounder with juicy, well-seasoned meat in a generous patty.
Silver: Lidl Deluxe Aberdeen Angus Beef Burgers, £2.19/340g
A decent burger with the right mix of meat, fat and real beef flavour.
Best veggie/vegan burger
Gold: Sainsbury’s Love Your Veg! The Smoky ‘Jack’ Quarter Pounders, £2.50/227g
With a bouncy texture and good char, these mushroom and jackfruit burgers will convince anyone.
Silver: Co-op Incredible Burgers, £2/210g
We loved the savoury, meaty flavour in these frozen soya burgers.
Bronze: Asda Vegan Cheese and Red Onion Quarter Pounders, £1.75/227g
These meat-free marvels will go down a storm with cheeseburger fans.
Best BBQ ribs
Gold: Waitrose Slow Cooked Red Eye Pork Ribs, £5/535g
Smoky pull-apart ribs with a sharp mustard heat.
Click here to buy Waitrose ribs
Best hummus
Gold: Asda Beetroot Hummus, £1/170g
Pass the breadsticks and dig into this vibrant hummus with real sweet and earthy beetroot and creamy chickpeas.
Buy a pot of beetroot hummus here
Silver: M&S Pesto Swirl hummus, £2/200g
A salty, garlic kick from the hummus is made better with a winning pesto swirl.
Bronze: Co-op Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Hummus, £1.20/170g
A classic creamy dip that everyone will love made with high-quality olive oil.
Best ice cream
Gold: Spar Peanut Butter Ice Cream, £2.25/480ml
Crunchy peanut nuggets and swirls of caramel made this a standout favourite.
Silver: Waitrose 1 Caffe Macchiato, £3.69/500ml
A grown-up, rich coffee ice cream.
Stock your freezer with Waitrose ice cream here
Bronze: Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Madagascan Vanilla Ice Cream, £3/500ml
Velvety ambrosia in a bowl.
Buy the winning vanilla ice cream here
Best summer dessert
Gold: Asda Extra Special Baked Lemon and Mascarpone Cheesecake, £3/493g
Decadent mascarpone, crumbly base and zesty curd in one showstopper.
Click here to buy your summer cheesecake
Silver: M&S Our Best Ever Trifle, £5/900g
A classic trifle with rich vanilla custard, soft sponge and fresh raspberries.
Best pork pie
Gold: Waitrose Scrumptious Summer 2 Pork and Egg Gala Pie Slices, £3/235g
These good-looking pre-sliced pies have a bright, creamy yolk and great-quality texture and flavoured pork.
Silver: Tesco Large Melton Mowbray Pork Pie, £2.50/440g
A classic pie with crisp pastry, top-notch meat and distinct jelly layer.
Bronze: Co-op Melton Mowbray Pork Pie, £1.30/140g
A mini pork pie with a good crust, well-seasoned meat and soft jelly.
Best fancy sausage roll
Gold: Waitrose 1 Dry-Cured Bacon and Cheddar Sausage Rolls, £2.79/4
Golden flaky pastry encases a proper, moreish bacon and cheese filling.
Buy the winning sausage rolls here
Best meat-free picnic snack
Gold: Co-op Irresistible Somerset Vintage Cheddar and Balsamic Vinegar Onion Quiche, £3.50/400g
This picnic-ready quiche holds its shape well and has a super-creamy, seductively wobbly filling and strong cheddar tang.
Best scotch egg
Gold: Lidl Chef Select Scotch Egg, 75p/227g
A no-frills egg with a buttery yolk and golden breadcrumb coating. An essential pack for all summer picnics.
Best BBQ chicken wings
Gold: Ocado Firecracker Chicken Wings, £4/1kg
Sticky, tender wings that deliver on their spicy promise.
Stock up on chicken wings here
How we chose the winners
The olive team chose 18 categories to showcase products that will enhance a summer BBQ or picnic. The supermarkets were invited to select the products they wanted to put forward in each category (we only allowed one entry per category, so they had to choose carefully). Every product was prepared according to pack instructions and our panel of judges tasted them blind, rating each on taste, texture and appearance. We awarded gold, silver and bronze winners. In some categories, where the standard was high, we awarded joint winners.
It’s easy to find the products, just look out for these labels in supermarkets
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