#Top 8

A COMPREHENSIVE SERIES OF ARTICLES ON THIS TOPIC

Curried red lentil tomato and coconut soup - delicious vegetarian food on grey background, top view. Flat lay served healthy lun
Top 8: Scoop up these winter-warmer soups in your local supermarket
"Our next survey on November 28 is our annual ‘battle of the bakers’ mince pies. Join me then..."

Fri, 14 Nov, 2025

Chocolate and hazelnut spread on bread slice isolated on white background
Top 8: Balance sweetness and nutrition with these shop-bought nut spreads
When testing this week’s Top 8, we prioritised a good proportion of nuts, a secondary source of protein (like seeds and wholegrains) that adds satisfaction and keeps hunger at bay.

Fri, 17 Oct, 2025

Orange jam in glass jar and fresh fruits on a black background.
Top 8: Which of these shop-bought marmalades has the juice?
Most people enjoy the extra texture (and a fractional amount of fibre) that shredded peel gives, along with depth of flavour, and a hint of bitterness that begs to be mollified by thick butter on hot toast. 

Fri, 03 Oct, 2025

Homemade yogurt
Top 8 fat-free yogurts for a healthy snack option
Fat-free yogurt is delicious and far better than ultra-processed foods after school.

Fri, 05 Sep, 2025

Top 8: Snack smart with these shop-bought nuts
Top 8: Snack smart with these shop-bought nuts
Bursting with nutrients, a balanced diet should include a wide variety of nuts, which all have their own nutritional benefits and add to our armoury of foods to fight infection.

Fri, 22 Aug, 2025

Bratwurst or Hot Dogs on Grill with Flames
Top Eight: sizzling sausages — an extra link to our diet
Sausages are a highly-processed food. The preservatives mixed with the meat really cannot be avoided if we are to be sure the meat is safe to eat when kept on shelves or at home for a few days

Fri, 08 Aug, 2025

Paper cups with delicious ice cream and vanilla pods on wooden board, closeup
Top 8: Get the scoop on the best of shop-bought ice creams this summer
For this week’s Top 8 supermarket shopping expedition, I enlisted the help of the seven- and 12-year-olds to choose from the shelves. They and their three-year-old brother, along with an eight-year-old cousin, were happy to taste them all.

Fri, 25 Jul, 2025

Hummus in plate, bread pita - dip food
Top 8: These shop-bought hummus meals are a taste of the Middle East
"All our samples pair well with fish and are delicious served in pitta bread with shredded lettuce, and tomatoes."

Fri, 11 Jul, 2025

Woman holding bread on cutting board in kitchen
Top 8: Which of these sourdough breads rises to the occasion?
Why choose sourdough bread over regular bread? Are supermarket options worth buying compared to those from private bakers? We tasted eight different varieties from supermarkets to find the best.

Fri, 27 Jun, 2025

The Gaelic Football Show: big questions ahead of a blockbuster weekend
S The Gaelic Football Show: big questions ahead of a blockbuster weekend
James Horan, Maurice Brosnan and Paul Rouse look ahead to a huge slate of games in the championship.

 Listen | Tue, 10 Jun, 2025

 Listen |
Top 8: Chutney and relish options for the perfect summer sandwich
Top 8: Chutney and relish options for the perfect summer sandwich
Give your summer sandwiches a lift with these fillings 

Fri, 16 May, 2025

Ceramic cup with slight steam
Top 8: Low-caffeine hot drinks that taste good and may have health benefits
We have looked for drinks that taste good and may have health benefits

Fri, 02 May, 2025

Traditional scones with fresh strawberries and jam isolated on white
Conscious of sugar consumption? Try full fruit flavours in the form of jam
Try a teaspoon or two of jam in hot or iced (even fizzy) water when you need a pick–me–up—it's better than consuming the chemicals found in many fizzy drinks

Fri, 18 Apr, 2025

Top 8 hot cross buns to enjoy with a cup of creamy coffee on Easter Sunday
Top 8 hot cross buns to enjoy with a cup of creamy coffee on Easter Sunday
Warm them in the oven or air-fryer at 180C for three minutes

Fri, 04 Apr, 2025

Air Fryer Fish Fingers with Condiments and Lemon Garnished with Fresh Dill
Top 8: The top breaded foods like chicken drumsticks and potato croquettes on shop shelves
"What about the days we want the cooking done for us? With this in mind, we went shopping for crumbed foods that tasted good and didn’t have the worrying additives often found in processed foods."

Fri, 07 Mar, 2025

Stack of chocolate cookies on yellow backgreound
Top 8: Breaktime bliss with these shop-bought biscuits
"It’s hard to beat a good chocolate biscuit to end a meal or as a dunker. Dip into hot tea or coffee for three seconds and lick half the chocolate off before biting into it. A blissful experience."

Fri, 21 Feb, 2025

friday night take away
Top 8: Valentine's Day dinners that won't break the bank
Valentine's Day, Galentine's Day, a Me-vening in. Whatever the reason, let’s see how we can have a night off from cooking without spending a fortune. 

Fri, 07 Feb, 2025

Lonely woman drinking coffee in the morning
Top 8: The best decaf coffees to drink at any time that won't disrupt your sleep
In the hands of good roasters, there is hope

Fri, 24 Jan, 2025

Bottles of multicolored smoothies
Top 8: Energy and taste by the shot with these fruit and veggie drinks
"Added spices such as ginger, turmeric and chilli challenge the taste buds and lift us out of culinary complacency. They also have health properties, such as curcumin in turmeric, which may be anti-inflammatory."

Fri, 10 Jan, 2025

Hands of couple with flutes of champagne and their friends with bengal lights
Top 8: Raise your glass with these shop-bought, non-alcoholic favourites
"We searched high and low shelves for the most interesting alcohol-free drinks to help keep the cheer flowing."

Tue, 24 Dec, 2024

Baked Ossetian pie with beef meat and herbs. Black background. Top view
Top 8: We help you pick your perfect pastry pie
The upper-crust of shop-bought pies

Fri, 01 Nov, 2024

Sliced Irish fruit loaf with sultanas and cherries isolated on white
Top 8: Frightfully good barmbracks for a traditional Irish Halloween
"Barmbrack (bairm breac in Irish) contains dried fruit that adds speckles (breac). There is usually yeast instead of the original fermenting malt (bairm), which lightens the bread enriched with butter or less traditional oils."

Fri, 18 Oct, 2024

Sandwich toast bread for breakfast with cheese
Top 8: The best vegetarian sandwiches on shop shelves
"When I was tasked with finding the top eight vegetarian sandwiches, I reckoned it would be easy to find plenty. Not so."

Wed, 09 Oct, 2024

Chicken wraps
Top 8 wraps for Tex Mex burritos and a relaxed family dinner
This meal is an ideal way to get children to try new foods and to give them some control over their choices

Fri, 20 Sep, 2024

Young woman in a supermarket
Top 8: Power up your diet with protein-rich supermarket foods 
This week’s Top 8 addresses the taste of prepared foods ‘high in protein’

Fri, 06 Sep, 2024

Pork and Beef Tortellini with Butter Sauce
Top 8: Quick and easy vegetarian meals for main courses
We found some exciting dishes that did not require much work at all

Fri, 23 Aug, 2024

Concept healthy organic vegetarian meal,Pouring olive oil in the salad over a spoon.
Top 8 dressings to perk up fish dishes, hot vegetables, and salads
Be a snazzy dresser and underplay it to bring out the best of what lies beneath

Fri, 09 Aug, 2024

Making a Celebratory Toast
Top 8: The best white, still, and sparkling non-alcoholic wines
The best non-alcoholic wine alternatives — ideal for when driving or before working or studying

Fri, 26 Jul, 2024

Vegan food: hummus in a plate with pita bread. Copy space
Top 8: Dunk into the summer with these function-friendly dips
Dip, dip, dip with these shop-bought sauces

Fri, 28 Jun, 2024

Sweet indulgence.
Top 8: These shop-bought vanilla ice-creams are far from plain
We all scream for ice-cream — serve some up with strawberries

Fri, 14 Jun, 2024

Start the day the healthy way
Top 8: The best shop-bought granolas with high protein content for breakfast
Taste-testing eight of the best granola breakfast bowls

Fri, 17 May, 2024

Sliced steak ribeye, grilled with pepper, garlic, salt and thyme served on a wooden cutting Board on a dark stone background. To
Top 8: Steaks are high with these choice supermarket cuts
"Bump up the steak with a hearty, seasonal salad, some delicious new purple-stemmed broccoli quickly fried in non-virgin olive oil (or the fat left in the pan), sesame oil, and pepper."

Fri, 19 Apr, 2024

Berries smoothie on blue table
A perfect blend: Top 8 delicious fruit smoothies to satisfy
Smoothies are a welcome option compared to fizzy drinks

Fri, 05 Apr, 2024

Croissants, coffee and orange juice
Breakfast bakes: Top eight frozen croissants put to the taste test
Easter is coming, and the morning can start with the same French menu and a holiday feel. Having a stash of uncooked croissants in the freezer makes this recreation all the easier, so for our Top 8 today, we set about finding the best that money can buy.

Fri, 22 Mar, 2024

Yellow paper cut to form an Easter egg pattern. overlay paper
Top 8 chocolate eggs for all budgets to impress with this Easter
Price points covered, new eggs discovered

Thu, 07 Mar, 2024

Green Chicken Curry over wooden table.Thai cuisine
Top 8 Thai green pastes to spice up a home-cooked curry
Hot, hot, hot!

Fri, 23 Feb, 2024

cupcake with red hearts on a gray table, Valentine's day, sweet gift
Food of love: Top 8 sweet treats for Valentine's Day
"My roundup of local bakeries and supermarkets revealed mini, medium and large-sized deliciousness, which I would halve or quarter for daintiness."

Fri, 09 Feb, 2024

Woman Putting TV Dinner Into Microwave Oven To Cook
Top 8 comforting microwave meals for days you don't feel like cooking
Meat and veg put to the test

Fri, 26 Jan, 2024

Single Chip
Top 8: The best shop-bought chips to cook in your air fryer or oven
However we cook them, chips are a terrific standby for an easy meal

Fri, 12 Jan, 2024

Hands holding Christmas hot chocolate mug on rustic table
Top 8: Choc's away with the best shop-bought hot chocolate
Our winners today are deliciously chocolatey and have a satisfying richness. Good in banana milkshakes and sprinkled on buttered toast, pancakes, sieved onto cakes – even leftover mince pies.

Fri, 29 Dec, 2023

Tasty butter chicken curry dish from Indian cuisine
Top 8: The best korma curry pastes
“Korma is a style of cooking, not an actual dish,” says Cork-based Arun Kapil, who sources spices for Green Saffron. “Regionality is the biggest factor in terms of authenticity.”

Fri, 15 Dec, 2023

Close-up image mince pies laid out like Christmas tree surrounded by decorations, festive Christmas dessert, cinnamon stick bund
S Top 8: Which Cork baker has the best mince pies this year?
Battle of the bakers

Thu, 30 Nov, 2023

Mac and cheese baked pasta
Top 8: The best shop-bought creamy sauces for all types of pasta
Today’s sauces - we found a good range in supermarkets - can be added to all types of pasta, including layering with lasagne, but creamy sauces cling best to tagliatelle.

Fri, 17 Nov, 2023

Portion of Homemade Italian lasagna. Delicious Lasagne with bolognese meat sauce and basil on white plate. Hot Tasty Lasagna wit
Top 8: Layering it on with the best shop-bought beef lasagne 
We included lasagnas with low scores as they are the best of a poor bunch with the top markers excellent.

Fri, 03 Nov, 2023

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Mick Clifford
Mick Clifford

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