olive summer supermarket awards 2018

Best BBQ condiment

Gold: Asda devilish habanero chilli sauce, 90p/155ml

This is one for heat lovers, with a strong chilli kick and fiery fruity notes.

Silver: Aldi jerk marinade, 85p/280g

Plenty of allspice and a little sweetness make this jerk sauce the perfect marinade for a jointed chicken or cauliflower steaks, or even as a dip on the side.

Best BBQ burger

Joint gold: Waitrose black garlic beef burgers, £4.29/454g

With a meaty texture and garlicky undertones, we can’t wait to start flipping these burgers at our next BBQ.

Buy Waitrose black garlic beef burgers here

Joint gold: Aldi Specially Selected West Country cheddar beef burgers, £2.69/454g

We loved the tang of cheddar, it made these cheesy burgers an instant hit.

Silver: Iceland two luxury wagyu beef quarter pounders, £3/227g

Classic juicy burgers with coarsely ground meat, which gave them a decent springy texture.

Find Iceland wagyu beef burgers online here

Best vegetarian/vegan BBQ product

Gold: Sainsbury’s caramelised onion shroomdogs, £2.25/350g

We couldn’t believe these vegetarian shroomdogs didn’t have meat in them. The crisp casing is filled with herby onions and mushrooms, and is the closest thing we’ve tasted to a meat sausage.

Buy Sainsbury's shroomdogs here

Best vegetarian burger

Gold: Ocado spiced mushroom and cauliflower burgers, £2.49/227g

The cauliflower and mushrooms mean these burgers have a great texture and hold their shape well when cooked. They have a deep, savoury flavour that will keep hungry guests happy.

Get a great deal on Ocado veggie burgers here

Silver: M&S veggie lentil and beetroot burgers, £2.50/240g

With a good crust and chewy texture, this veggie burger had a subtle beetroot flavour and vibrant colour.

Buy M&S veggie burgers here

Bronze: Asda edamame, asparagus and mint burgers, £1.50/230g

Packed with vibrant veggies, these burgers will bring a welcome freshness to any BBQ.

Find Asda veggie burgers online here

Here are our best vegetarian and vegan burger recipes to make including:

• Spicy lentil burgers

• Vegan black bean burgers

• Vegan BBQ jackfruit burgers

• Spiced falafel burgers

• Allotment burgers

Best BBQ banger

Gold: Asda Extra Special hot & smoky hot dog sausages, £2.25/400g

These juicy sausages had a subtle spice and smoky flavour. We loved that they’re a hot dog/sausage hybrid.

Get a great deal on Asda hot dog sausages here

Silver: Waitrose six triple oak smoked sausages, £4/600g

We think these smoky bratwurst-style bangers would be great eaten with a slick of your favourite mustard.

Buy Waitrose sausages here

Best burger bun

Gold: Aldi Specially Selected brioche burger buns, 79p/4 pack

Super squidgy, these classic buns would soak up the juices of a burger really well. We loved the rich but not-too-sweet flavour.

Silver: Asda sliced brioche burger buns, 80p/4 pack

Puffy, light and springy, these buns have a slightly sweet flavour that would work well with both burgers and bangers.

Buy Asda burger buns here

Best show-off salad

Gold: Asda turmeric chicken salad bowl, £2.75/240g

There are lots of interesting elements to this salad, from the tender chicken to the puréed squash and crisp salad ingredients. The contrasting textures makes each mouthful a delight.

Silver: Waitrose rice, yellow split pea and pistachio salad with cashew nuts and cardamom dressing, £2.50/185g

Packed with rice and crunchy nuts, and covered with a spicy cashew nut dressing, this hearty salad would be great at a picnic.

Find Waitrose salad online here

Best BBQ ribs

Gold: Waitrose slow-cook Japanese BBQ boneless ribs, £6/530g

Meltingly tender meat with a tangy sour glaze, these ribs really stood out from any others we sampled this summer.

Silver: Co-op slow cooked BBQ sticky ribs, £4/460g

These are the best classic ribs we tried, with peppery spice from the generous rub and a juicy texture.

Best seafood product

Joint gold: Booths Greek-style tuna steaks, £3.50/100g

For an easy win on the BBQ, these classic tuna steaks impressed the judges with their thick meaty texture and great spicy dressing.

Joint gold: Co-op mackerel fillets with sea salt and pepper, £2.99/180g

Mackerel works so well on the barbecue and these handy fillets were well seasoned and easy to cook – making the most of that sea-fresh flavour and juicy flesh.

Best BBQ chicken wings

Gold: Booths hot and spicy chicken wings, £4.25/810g

If you're after some classic chicken wings pick these as they come with crisp skin, juicy meat and a gently lingering spice.

Silver: Asda Route 66 Carolina and Memphis BBQ chicken wings, £5/1.4kg

The introduction of some distinctive Carolina and Memphis spices to these succulent wings won over our judges.

Buy Asda chicken wings here

Bronze: Waitrose BBQ chicken wings, £4/700g

These tender chicken wings are coated in BBQ sauce and are sure to be a crowd-pleaser.

Buy Waitrose chicken wings here

Best fancy sausage roll

Joint gold: Waitrose 1 dry-cured bacon and cheddar sausage rolls, £2.79/188g

These sausage rolls are generously packed with chunky meat, smoked bacon, tangy cheddar and surrounded by a golden puff pastry casing.

Find Waitrose sausage rolls online here

Joint gold: Co-op Irresistible cheese and bacon sausage rolls, £2.75/188g

You get a real whack of cheesy flavour from these sausage rolls, which the judges unanimously loved.

Silver: Asda Extra Special West Country cheddar and smoked bacon pork sausage rolls, £1.85/188g

We thought that these sausage rolls looked great – their light pastry cases packed with peppery meat.

Buy Asda sausage rolls here

Best BBQ show-off product

Gold: Waitrose buttermilk chicken king kebab, £8/924g

These juicy chicken kebabs are sure to go down a treat at your next barbecue with their smoked paprika coating – bags of flavour!

Buy Waitrose chicken kebab online here

Silver: M&S stout-glazed salt beef with piccalilli £6/414g

This salt beef is a great choice if you’re after something a little bit different to serve at your next BBQ thanks to its super-tender meat and stout glaze.

Bronze: Co-op Mexican half chicken, £4/647g

This juicy BBQ chicken with a subtle yet fruity sweet glaze would be great for a small-scale family BBQ.

Best scotch egg

Gold: Co-op Irresistible hand-finished scotch egg, £1.39/140g

This traditional scotch egg had a homemade feel to it, packed with sausage meat and a crisp textured crumb. We won’t tell it’s shop bought, if you won’t...

Best hummus

Joint gold: Co-op extra-virgin olive oil hummus, £1.19/170g

With a really smooth texture and lovely balance of tahini and olive oil, we couldn’t stop going back for more.

Joint gold: Sainsbury’s roasted beetroot and mint hummus, £1.55/200g

Packed with clean and distinct flavours thanks to the beetroot and herbs, this vibrant hummus was lighter than others we’ve tried, and pretty to look at as well.

Get a great deal on Sainsbury's hummus here

Silver: Waitrose World Deli turmeric hummus, £2.60/150g

If you want a complete change from straight hummus, the turmeric, pickle and sweet pomegranate flavours in this pot is the way to go.

Buy Waitrose turmeric hummus here

Best ice-cream

Gold: Asda Extra Special Cornish sea salted caramel ice cream, £2/500ml

The salty and sweet flavours are well-balanced in this rich, creamy ice cream. Beware, the pot won’t last long!

Get a great deal on Asda ice cream here

Silver: M&S rhubarb and custard ice cream, £3/500ml

All of our judges felt like children in a sweetshop trying this ice cream – everyone particularly loved the real bits of rhubarb.

Bronze: Co-op Irresistible Swiss white chocolate and salted caramel ice cream, £3.99/480ml

With a whole biscuit on top, this ice cream felt really fun and we think it’ll soon become a firm family favourite.

Here are our best ice-cream recipes to make at home including:

• Roasted banana caramel swirl ice-cream

• Brown butter ice-cream

• Chocolate and black pepper gelato

• Instant mango fro-yo

• Maple honeycomb ice-cream

Best pork pie

Gold: M&S hand-finished outdoor-bred pork and smoked bacon pie, £3.50/280g

A must for any picnic basket, the crisp pastry case on this pie was generously packed with well-seasoned meat and had a distinct jelly layer that we loved.

How we chose the best summer product winners

The olive team chose 16 categories to showcase products that we felt are musts for the perfect summer barbecue or picnic. We invited all the big supermarkets to select the products they wanted to nominate in each category (just one entry per category, so they had to choose carefully).

Each product was prepared according to the pack instructions and our expert panel of judges blind-tasted them, rating each on taste, texture and appearance. We then awarded gold, silver and bronze awards – 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