Walk into a grocery store and survey the bounty; it seems almost impossible that there’d be room for even more products. But as sure as the day is long, packaged food companies are going to release new products to spice up our carts. We don’t try all of them, but we try a lot of them. Over the past 12 months, we’ve taste tested new flavors of mac and cheese, new Cheetos and Doritos, and ten new flavors of Mountain Dew (they truly never rest!). These were the best new products we tasted in 2024.
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The concept of hot dogs that spurt hot cheese when you bite into them is jarring, I know. But if you can get past your goo aversion, you have to try Oscar Mayer Stuffed Dogs. They come in two varieties—classic Oscar Mayer franks stuffed with chili-tinged cheese and smoked sausages that look like classic Oscar Mayer franks stuffed with cheese and bits of jalapeño—and they’re both 10 out of 10 products. I was partial to the jalapeño cheese dogs, which are imbued with a little bit of smoke to complement the creamy cheese and mild, peppery heat. Truly, the next time you’re in the mood for a hot dog doused with cheese sauce, buy these instead.
We all know that Milanos are sandwich cookies for grownups, but we didn’t know just how much Pepperidge Farm could up the sophistication quotient until these London Fog Milanos hit stores. Even if you’re an Earl Grey tea skeptic (It’s bitter, I know, I know), you’ll like these cookies, which consist of dark chocolate and an Earl Grey-flavored creme sandwiched between the light, crispy Milano biscuits you know and love. They’re very bergamot forward, and that bright, citrusy flavor blends beautifully with the chocolate and the ting of vanilla in the cookies themselves. They taste so, so good dunked in coffee. These cookies were a limited release, but we hope Pepperidge Farm, in their benevolence, see fit to bring these babies back.
Howdy! I’m Gwynedd, Sporked’s managing editor. I live in Los Angeles and have access to the best tacos the U.S. has to offer—but I’m a sucker for a crunchy Old El Paso taco night every now and then. I’ve been at Sporked since 2022 and I’m still searching frozen mozzarella sticks that can hold a candle to restaurant sticks.
Why you should trust me: I’ve been a journalist for 20 years (yikes), a consumer of food for 40-plus years, and I’m truly hard pressed to think of foods I don’t like (or that I can’t tolerate at the very least). Oh and one time I cooked my way through Guy Fieri’s cookbook and wrote about the journey through Flavortown.
What I buy every week: Trader Joe’s Original Savory Thins. Fat free plain yogurt (usually Fage or Nancy’s). Honeycrisp apples. Sweet cream coffee creamer for my at-home Americanos. A frozen cauliflower crust pizza and some jarred mushrooms to top it with. Old El Paso Stand ‘N Stuff taco shells and Gardein Ground Be’f, even though I think “be’f” is a nightmarish contraction.
Favorite ranking: Stouffer’s frozen dinners. I don’t own a microwave (I get my cancers the old fashioned way!), so I love taste testing things that I don’t really buy to eat at home.
Least favorite ranking: Soy sauce. Don’t get me wrong, I love soy sauce—but consuming that much sodium in one sitting is probably illegal in some countries. Our frozen enchilada taste test was a close second; the smell of microwaved corn tortillas still haunts me.
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!
Gwynedd Stuart
Luke Field
I know taste is subjective but I was no fan of either of those products.