Huilerie Beaujolaise Calamansi Vinegar
We absolutely love this small-batch vinegar from French artisanal producer Huilerie Beaujolaise. With a bright and tangy vibrancy akin to tangerine, this vinegar almost tastes like a shrub, or drinking vinegar. Ubiquitous to Filipino cuisine, calamansi is a citrus hybrid between kumquat and mandarin orange.
Super Sarap Sauce
Sarap is the Tagalog word for “delicious” or “tasty,” and Super Sarap Sauce, small-batch Filipino condiment made in San Francisco, certainly lives up to the name. Savory, tangy, sweet, citrusy and a little peppery, this powerhouse sauce is unlike anything we’ve ever tasted. The pairing of calamansi, a tart citrus that combines lemon, lime and orange flavors, with mushroom, tamari and sugar adds salt, acid, umami and brightness to any dish. If we were to liken it to anything else on the market, it’s closest to a mixture of ponzu and Worcestershire sauces—but the comparison doesn’t do it justice. And with a relatively thin consistency, it’s easy to mix into sauces, dressings, use as a marinade, coat noodles, tacos, eggs or french fries.
Empress Pineapple Miso Hot Sauce
Made and bottled in Taiwan, this small-batch hot sauce features Taiwan-grown pineapples sourced from family farms and a hint of miso. Inspired by the flavor of tacos al pastor, savory miso, fruity chilies and bright, acidic pineapple combine to make a mild-to-moderate hot sauce. It’s excellent in a marinade, thanks to pineapple’s natural ability to tenderize; we love it in grilling and basting sauces. It’s also wonderful on pizza, thanks to its smooth and pourable consistency.
Mount Mansfield Maple Products Maple Syrup
This incredibly rich syrup has notes of butterscotch, honey and toasted sugar, with a heady base of vanilla and dried fruit. A member of our kitchen team likened its richness to a melted Werther's candy. It’s medium-bodied, which means it can easily be drizzled, but never too watery like store-bought versions. Compared to others, this one has a strong “true maple” flavor to it—nothing like more run-of-the-mill syrups that often have an off pine taste.
King Foods Kabosu Dressing
A popular Japanese citrus closely related to yuzu, kabosu is the star ingredient in this tangy dressing. Prepared by accomplished chef to the Japanese royal family and head of King Foods, Takashi Hidie, it combines satisfyingly acidic kabosu juice with sugar, vinegar, EVOO, dashi and bonito powder for a tart and smoky result with the right amount of sweetness. We don’t just reserve this light dressing for salad, though—use it to marinade meat or as a dipping sauce, add it to rice and noodles or drizzle on steaks, burgers and sandwiches.
King Foods Onion Dressing
Onion is the star ingredient in this well-balanced dressing. Prepared by accomplished chef to the Japanese royal family and head of King Foods, Takashi Hidie, it combines the popular allium with oil, vinegar, honey and garlic for a slightly sweet, onion-forward result with just the right hit of acid. We don’t just reserve this pleasantly thick dressing for salad, though—use it to marinade meat or as a dipping sauce, add it to rice, noodles, steaks, burgers and sandwiches.
King Foods Carrot Dressing
Carrots are the star ingredient in this unique dressing. Prepared by accomplished chef to the Japanese royal family and head of King Foods, Takashi Hidie, it combines carrots with honey, vinegar and garlic for a tangy and savory result that strikes a lovely balance between sweetness and zest. We don’t just reserve this pleasantly thick dressing for salad, though—use it to marinade meat or as a dipping sauce, add it to rice and noodles, steaks, burgers or sandwiches.
Soom Premium Tahini
Many supermarket tahinis are over-roasted, which gives them an unpleasant, bitter flavor. They are also too thick and hard to stir into a creamy blend. Soom's tahini has a full, nutty flavor as well as a pourable and well-balanced texture, made from roasted and pressed premium white sesame seeds that have an ideal oil-to-protein ratio.
Pure Indian Foods Alphonso Mango Puree
Rarely have we seen a mango puree in supermarkets and, if we do, it’s often full of sweeteners and additives. Made from Alphonso mangoes, which are renowned in India for their natural sweetness and buttery-smooth texture, this puree contains no added sugar or preservatives—it’s just pure, juicy mango. About five fresh mangos are packed into every jar of this luscious puree and its silky texture is pourable, yet decadent like yogurt, and has a rich, bright flavor that balances sweet and tart, akin to snacking on refreshing mangoes at their peak season.
Haci Bekir Turkish Coriander Sweets
Nihonichi Shoyusco Jalepeño Hot Sauce
Nihonichi’s Jalapeño Shoyusco Hot Sauce was wildly different from any other hot sauce our testers had ever tried before. It’s produced in Japan by a revered shoyu manufacturer that traces its roots back to the 1700s. To make their soy sauce, they ferment soy for up to two years in 100-year-old cedar wood vats, unlike the stainless steel tubs other producers use. Once brewed, the soy sauce is combined with balsamic vinegar, which serves as a unique base, lending depth to the light, bright addition of jalapeño heat. There’s a welcome thread of garlic rounded out with white pepper for an addictive, truffle-like quality. Its’ spicy, bright and packed with umami—what’s not to love? It disappears so quickly in Matthew Card’s, Creative Director of Recipes and Products, house, that he buys three bottles at a time.
Villa Jerada Harissa
Villa Jerada’s Harissa No. 1 is our favorite version of this North African red pepper paste for its bright, complex flavor. While many store-bought varieties have a one-dimensional spicy flavor, this harissa layers acidity and fruitiness with preserved lemons, a touch of vinegar and tomato paste for a lively, tangy condiment. Villa Jerada uses just enough high-quality Moroccan olive oil to make the harissa spreadable and smooth without diluting its flavor, as opposed to conventional brands that contain a high proportion of water and vegetable oil.
Namikura Red Miso
Red Miso is stronger, saltier and more assertively flavored than yellow or white miso due to its six-month aging process and has a higher proportion of soybeans for a richer taste. This particularly interesting version has sweet flavors reminiscent of sherry and milk chocolate that are perfect for pairing with red meat and other robust dishes.
Enokida Jozo Chili Miso
Saucy and full of subtle—not overwhelming—chili flavor, Enokida Jouzo's Chili Miso is a peppery twist on a typical umami-packed miso. With a texture perfect for spreading or glazing, this slightly sweet miso is made from rice malt and Japanese green chili peppers. Add this zippy flavor bomb on top of rice, mixed into noodles, on vegetables, fish, chicken, meat and more. Based in the Gunma Prefecture at the foot of Mt. Akagi in Maebashi City, a city known for its fermented foods, the company has been in business for over 100 years.
Cruzilles Pâtes de Fruits Gift Tin
Delightfully fruity, with a crunchy sugar exterior that melts into a tender gummy center, these French Pâtes de Fruits from Cruzilles are full of distinct fresh berry flavor. A traditional French confection, pâtes de fruits have to be made with a high percentage of fruit puree and pulp (Cruzilles uses up to 75%), which gives the jellies a bright fruitiness. They have a higher moisture content than supermarket jellies—so they are not dry, tough or overly chewy—and the light sugar coating prevents stickiness and adds a light crunch. Try all three flavors: Raspberry, Strawberry and Blueberry, made from high-quality berries picked at peak freshness and packaged in an adorable metal pail.
Irish Black Butter
A conserve of apples, cider, brandy, and spices, Irish Black Butter has a uniquely deep, caramelized apple flavor with subtle spice notes and an almost earthy, smoky finish. It’s made by cooking down the country’s famous Armagh Bramley apples until they developed a rich molasses-like quality and warm complexity; the apples themselves have a Protected Geographic Indication recognized by the European Union. Irish Black Butter has an excellent smooth, spreadable texture that is a bit thicker than store-bought apple butters; it isn’t silky or gelatinous on the tongue but rather has a very fine granularity like any good homemade apple butter. We absolutely love this award-winning paste for its depth of flavor—it’s the best apple butter you’ll ever have.
Woon Kitchen Stir Fry Sauce
Packed full of savory, umami flavor, Woon Kitchen’s Stir Fry Sauce is a quick and satisfying addition to noodles, vegetables, rice, meat and more. Based in LA, the mother and son duo behind the company began selling Chinese comfort dishes at a pop-up restaurant. Immensely popular today, Woon Kitchen now has a brick-and-mortar location where they sell the same comfort food and some of the ingredients that make it—including their stir-fry sauce. Packaged in an easy-to-squeeze bottle, perfect for controlling your drizzle, this sauce combines a punch of oyster sauce and the funk of mushrooms, balanced out by a hit of sugar and salty soy sauce. It coats udon noodles and vegetables evenly, or makes a fantastic marinade for grilled meats.
Koy Pantry Tomato Paste
Koy Pantry’s Tomato Paste is well seasoned, deeply rich and comes in a wide-mouthed jar for easy measuring. Made in Hatay, Türkiye, from local tomatoes harvested at the peak of freshness, the only other ingredient in this savory paste is salt, which is used to break down the produce and turn it into a smooth, spreadable paste that doesn’t run. The resulting flavor is outstanding—slightly acidic, sweet and fruity with a punch of a umami and a hint of salt. The robust tomato flavor makes it the perfect candidate for any range of cuisines or dishes, from pastas and stews to beans and marinades. Plus, because it comes in an easy-to-scoop jar, you’ll be able to spoon out every last bit—and won’t get any of the metallic taste you may find from canned or tubed versions.