These Are My Favorite (Edible and Non-Edible) Culinary Discoveries of 2024
As Lifehacker’s food editor, I’m proud to be your door to interesting cooking tips , helpful cookbooks , and trendy appliances , but there are some things that don’t fit into those categories that I’m excited to tell you about. There are snacks, kitchen accessories, and even apps that have improved my relationship with food. Here are my favorite food finds of 2024.
Edible finds
Let’s start with the most remarkable finds that you can actually eat. These products made my list because they topped the charts in taste.
She’s a cookie
Every store-bought cookie has some appeal, but let’s be honest: some are better than others. Ona cookies are the best bag cookies I’ve eaten all year, they are gluten free, dairy free, grain free and paleo safe. I believe I have none of these restrictions or diets and I couldn’t get enough of these tiny bite sized cookies. I liked the chocolate flavor best for its fudge, and the oatmeal flavor came in second for its warming spices and chunky oaty texture.
Bettre Bowl
Frozen meals can be hit or miss, but Bettre’s Bowl practically knocked it out of the park in my book. Both the Birria Rice Bowl and Chipotle Chicken Bowl were easily reconstituted in the microwave and served as a solid portion for a decent price at $3.99 each. The most remarkable thing is that the taste was incredible. You can find Bettr Bowls on sale at Aldi and Instacart.
Real primordial soups
When you have big canned food brands to compete with, you can’t beat everyone with “just another” soup. True Primal soups definitely give the eater something special to come back for. The flavor is savory and filling, and manages to avoid blandness without relying on a ton of salt. The same people who make Ona Cookies, these soups are also gluten-free, grain-free, and paleo-safe.
Big Picture caramel with goat’s milk from the farm
I mentioned these caramels in My Favorite Cooking Gifts , and they are worth mentioning again because the flavor and texture of these caramels are perfect. Flavors like maple cream and cocoa latte are not harsh or artificial, but subtle and authentic. The caramel itself is soft, not something that needs to be chewed. Plus, this Vermont farm gives back to every goat lover for the milk they produce to make their signature chocolates and caramels.
Incredible, Inedible Food Finds
These are my favorite useful tools for making food more affordable and reducing waste, and a fun tool that I enjoy all year long.
Too good to go
Too Good To Go is an app that connects you with restaurants, bakeries, fast food chains, and grocery stores in your area that are selling their surplus or soon-to-be-tossed (but not spoiled!) food at a huge discount. . It started as a sustainability effort in Copenhagen and (fingers crossed) is constantly expanding as more companies join in. Read more about this here . The app is free , so check it out.
Dreo BaristaMaker Milk Frother
I always make room for coffee in the morning, and although I usually keep it simple, sometimes I crave steamed milk. Not just milk shaken out of one of those whiskey-like things, but heated and frothed. The problem with steamer attachments is that they can overcook plant milk (which is what I use). However, the Dreo BaristaMaker has settings that allow you to make the perfect microfoam from milk, plant-based or otherwise. My partner absolutely loves it and uses it almost every day.
Reusable beeswax bread bag.
Keeki bread bags (pictured above) are made of natural linen fabric with a special moisture-saving ability: the inside is coated with beeswax. If I have a large loaf of bread that I know I’ll be snacking on, I can just throw it in my Keeki bag and pull the drawstring tight. The beeswax lining helps keep the bread moist, making it last longer than a paper bag and preventing mold, which can easily occur in a plastic bag. Simply knock out the crumbs and wipe the inside, and this eco-friendly bread bag can be reused endlessly.
Reusable cheese bags.
I love cheese all year round, but from November to February I get quite a collection. I stopped using crumpled up original plastic packaging as a storage method for these Formaticum Reusable Cheese Storage Bags . They are designed to regulate the humidity in the bag to keep your cheese fresh longer. Besides all this, they look much neater than a box full of half-dried strings of cheese in plastic wrap.