Sourdough bagels, loose-leaf tea and 13 other Southern food products to try this month

Peace & Plenty hot sauce comes from Nashville’s Southernaire Market and gets its name from the Peace & Plenty lodge in Exuma, Bahamas. It’s sweet from tropical mangos and pineapple and gets its fiery kick from habaneros. We’ve been enjoying it stirred into guacamole and hummus and, yes, even in vanilla ice cream.

$10 for a 6.8-ounce bottle. Available at southernairemarket.com.

Credit: Handout

Credit: Handout

Loose-leaf herbal tea

If you like the idea of loose-leaf herbal tea made with tomatoes and cucumbers, Farmers Market tea is another fascinating tea blend from Just Add Honey Tea Co., just off the Atlanta Beltline. Dried apples, rosehips, citrus peels and hibiscus support the flavor of the tomatoes and cucumbers, and the result is fruity and invigorating.

$6.50 per ounce. Available at 684 John Wesley Dobbs Ave., Atlanta, and justaddhoney.net.

Credit: Handout

Credit: Handout

Hatch green chiles

Los Roast is based in Portland, Oregon, but its line of 10 products is all about those famous New Mexico-grown Hatch chiles. Their chopped green chiles are available in mild, medium and hot varieties, packed with lime juice, salt and garlic. Add them to soups, stews, enchiladas or your favorite macaroni and cheese.

$9 for a 16-ounce jar. Available at losroast.com.

Credit: Asher Berke

Credit: Asher Berke

Sourdough bagels

Tangy, chewy sourdough bagels with a shiny, crisp crust are a specialty of Rose Gates, who opened Atlanta-based Hi Honey Bakery last year. If you visit the Hi Honey booth at a farmers market, you can choose from a variety of bagels, as well as pretzels, cookies, turnovers, biscuits and more.

$5 per bagel, $35 for a dozen. Available at Oakhurst and East Atlanta farmers markets or preorder for pickup in East Atlanta or delivery. hihoneybakeryatl.square.site

Credit: Alyson Jones

Credit: Alyson Jones

Lemon pepper seasoning

St. Helena Island, South Carolina, is the home of We Island Gumbo, which makes jars of gumbo that only need a protein to be ready for the dinner table. The company also offers four coastal spice mixes, including lemon pepper — just the thing for fried seafood or wings, or to stir into a vinaigrette or veggie dip.

$8.50 for a 7-ounce bottle. Available at weislandgumbo.com.

Credit: Handout

Credit: Handout

Uncured bacon jam

Fans of bacon, brown sugar and spreads that have a little apple cider vinegar tang need a jar of TBJ Gourmet’s uncured bacon jam in their refrigerator. Spread it on toast, stir it into a bowl of oatmeal, combine it with brie or goat cheese on crackers for a pre-dinner nibble or put it on your burgers. There are five versions available.

$12 for a 9-ounce jar. Available at tbjgourmet.com.

Crab boil potato chips

Carolina Kettle in Raleigh, North Carolina, produces a host of potato chip flavors you won’t find anywhere else. We’ve been enjoying the company’s coastal crab boil chips, which mirror the flavors of a Lowcountry crab boil. Carolina Kettle donates a portion of the proceeds from every purchase to local food banks.

$36 for a case of 20 2-ounce bags. Available at Whole Foods and carolinakettle.com.

Credit: Tim Finch

Credit: Tim Finch

Sweet onion mustard slaw

Tim Finch of Finch Fine Foods in Duluth has dreamed up a condiment that belongs in every refrigerator. It’s a sweet onion mustard slaw that he calls “slawesome.” While it’s made with sweet onions, it definitely is not sweet. The combination of cabbage, onions, mustard and seasonings is made for topping hot dogs, sausages and burgers.

$9.99 for a 16-ounce jar. Available at Patton’s Meat Market, 3931 Peachtree Industrial Blvd., Duluth. pattonsmeatmarket.com

Credit: Faith B. Wannamaker

Credit: Faith B. Wannamaker

Shortbread cookies

In Columbia, South Carolina, two generations of the Black family run Faithful Foods, which makes baking mixes, rice mixes and more. Among the products are 1-inch squares of perfection known as Shortbread Bits. These are deceptively simple cookies made with only three ingredients: flour, butter and sugar. Praline and cheddar bites are available, too.

$6.95 for a 5-ounce pouch. Available at faithfulfoods.com.

Credit: Handout

Credit: Handout

Cheese straws

Dee Dee’s Gourmet in Charlotte, North Carolina, makes old-fashioned cheese straws in three flavors: original, pimento cheese and jalapeño. Donna Norton acquired the recipe 25 years ago and now she and her team use thousands of pounds of butter and aged extra sharp cheddar each year to turn out these crisp, ribbed treats.

$11.93 for an 8.215-ounce package of original cheese straws. Available at ddgourmet.com.

Credit: Handout

Credit: Handout

Barbecue sauce

Gourmet Warehouse on Hilton Head Island produces marinades, spice mixtures and 10 flavors of barbecue sauce. We’re fans of mustard-based barbecue sauces, so Golden Carolina — sweetened with brown sugar and honey — was our pick. We love that they use steak seasoning and red pepper flakes for a little extra kick.

$7.99 for a 16-ounce bottle. Available at Intown Ace Hardware and gourmetwarehouse.net.

Credit: handout

Credit: handout

Lemon basil pasta

Stephanie Fees began Scratch Pasta in Lynchburg, Virginia, after studying pasta making in Italy. She and her team produce semolina pastas, including five flavored versions. Our favorite was the lemon basil gemelli, a pasta so flavorful that it can stand alone. It’s just right for making pasta salad or accompanying seafood.

$7-$8 for a 12-ounce package. Available at Evergreen Butcher & Baker and scratchpastaco.com.

Credit: Handout

Credit: Handout

Buttermilk biscuit mix

The first Biscuit Head restaurant opened in Asheville more than a decade ago. There are four locations now in North and South Carolina. If you can’t get to one to enjoy the biscuit-centered menu, you can make Biscuit Head biscuits at home. All that’s required is a package of mix and some buttermilk.

$8.50 for an 18-ounce standard mix package, $10.50 for an 18-ounce gluten-free mix package. Available at biscuitheads.com.

Credit: Morgan Perkins

Credit: Morgan Perkins

Sweetened granola

Galette is a French-American bakery in the Tudor shops of Avondale Estates. Drop in for pastries — including cruffins, croissants and morning buns — or take home a bag of Galette’s crisp, lightly sweetened granola, made with oats, pecans, pepitas, dried cherries and candied ginger.

$12 for a 12-ounce bag. Available at Galette, 110 N. Avondale Road, Avondale Estates. Information: galetteatl.com

Credit: Morgan Perkins

Credit: Morgan Perkins

Chili sauce

We think the Wu-Tang chili sauce from Sweet Auburn BBQ deserves a spot in your refrigerator. This versatile balance of heat and spice works as a sauce, dip or glaze. We’ve been using it as they do in restaurants — as a finishing sauce for grilled chicken wings and a dipping sauce for wontons and dumplings.

$12 for a 16.4-ounce bottle. Available at Sweet Auburn BBQ locations in Atlanta and McDonough and at sweetauburnbbq.com.

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