Chili garlic crunch, elderberry honey and more Southern-made products to try

From candied citrus peel to lemon pepper sauce and white balsamic vinaigrette, here are 12 products to try this month.

Raspberry jalapeno jam from Raven’s Nest. (Courtesy of Raven’s Nest)

Raspberry jalapeno jam

Acworth-based Raven’s Nest was founded in 1980. Monica Smith has expanded the line of artisan products started by her mom, Raven, offering their signature jams as well as salsas, butters, mulling spices and seasonings. Their bestselling product is raspberry jalapeno jam, a fun twist on traditional pepper jellies that works as a condiment or marinade, or can be mixed with water to make a simple syrup for use in what Smith calls JAMtails like spiked raspberry lemonade.

$11 per 15-ounce jar. Available at Henri’s Bakery and Deli, Southern Nest, Wild Blossoms, Mint Juleps Shop and ravensoriginal.com.

Cherry drinking vinegar from the tickled Pickler. (Courtesy of Chris Wayland)

Cherry drinking vinegar

Nicole and Chris Wayland of the Tickled Pickler in Powder Springs have created a line of fruit- and herb-based vinegars by fermenting and aging their house-made fruit wines over many months. We’ve been enjoying their Cherry Poppin’ Vinegar — a live drinking vinegar made with sweet cherry wine and trickled over dried Rainier cherries during fermentation — in mocktails. Nicole recommends mixing it with sparkling water and honey, and adding fresh cherries. For Valentine’s Day, consider a gift box or basket.

$8 to $15 per bottle of vinegar. $22 for Valentine box, $55 for Valentine gift basket. Available Feb. 7 at Cupid Market in East Atlanta Village, Feb. 14 at Dunwoody Farmers Market and thetickledpickler.com.

Ready-to-use fresh garlic and ginger from Spice World. (Courtesy of Spice World)

Ready-to-use fresh garlic and ginger

Chances are good you have a jar of Spice World’s minced garlic in your refrigerator, ready to spoon into things you’re cooking. Now Spice World is offering fresh diced garlic, perfect for dishes that call for raw garlic, like salsas and salad dressings and on your avocado toast. And the company has just come out with packages of peeled ginger, ready to add to smoothies and chop up for stir-fries. These are both products that make it easy to use fragrant fresh garlic and ginger every day.

$3.99 per 6-ounce bag. Garlic available at Publix and select Target stores. Ginger available at Kroger and select Walmart stores. Information: spiceworldinc.com.

Southern seasoning salt from Southernaire Market and Deli. (Courtesy of Lacey Culton)

Southern seasoning salt

The Southernaire Market and Deli in Nashville, Tennessee, is a neighborhood grocery where you can grab a meal or what you need to make dinner. You can also stock your pantry with their sauces and seasonings. Their Southern salt is seasoned with garlic, parsley and a secret blend of spices. We’re using it to punch up the flavor of almost every protein we’re cooking, sprinkling it on vegetables and keeping a little dish on the table so everyone can season their meal to their liking.

$10 per 7½--ounce bottle. Available at southernairemarket.com.

Hot lemon pepper zest sauce from Bell’s Master Blend. (Courtesy of Bell’s Master Blend)

Hot lemon pepper zest sauce

Atlantans are well-known for their fascination with lemon pepper everything, especially lemon pepper wings. Monique and Kevin Bell of Stockbridge-based Bell’s Master Blend make a whole range of wing sauces, but the one you must have is their hot lemon pepper zest sauce. The complex flavor comes from lemon, black and cayenne pepper, onion and garlic. Yes, you need it for wings, but we loved it on shrimp and even put some in a big pot of creamy tomato soup.

$12.99 per 12-ounce bottle. Available at West Paces Ace Hardware, Intown Ace Hardware, Johns Creek Ace Hardware and bellsmasterblendsauces.com.

Chocolate-covered citrus peels from Chef Brulee Chocolates. (Courtesy of Natalya Shapiro)

Candied citrus peels covered in chocolate

A box of candied citrus peels from Roswell-based Chef Brulee Chocolates is like a little collection of jewels. Each 3-inch ribbon of candied orange or lemon peel is covered in dark chocolate, and the flat sides are decorated with colorful cocoa butter designs. Since 2013, Natalya Shapiro has used her chocolatier certification to create truly remarkable candied citrus peels as well as truffles, barks and caramels.

$18 per 5-ounce box. Available at 1140 Alpharetta St., Roswell and chefbrulee.com.

White balsamic vinaigrette from Gathering Industries. (Courtesy of Gathering Industries)

White balsamic vinaigrette

Atlanta-based Gathering Industries provides second chances for people in a transitionary period with a kitchen training program that employs them to prepare box lunches for events and corporate meetings, and then helps them land a job. A customer favorite is the white balsamic vinaigrette that dresses their entree salads. In addition to the balsamic vinegar, there’s Dijon mustard, agave, olive oil and garlic. The company uses it on their greens, steak and chef salads. We found it makes a great marinade for grilled chicken as well.

$6.95 per 12-ounce bottle. Available at the Buford Highway Farmers Market and gatheringindustries.org/about/our-salad-dressing.

Elderberry-infused honey from Edisto Gold Honey. (Courtesy of Edisto Gold Honey/Adam Parker Design)

Elderberry-infused honey

Edisto Gold Honey sells small batches of raw, unfiltered honey harvested in South Carolina’s Lowcountry. The company offers raw honey, whipped honey, hot honey, honey with honeycomb and four different infused honeys. For February, you will want the honey infused with elderberry powder. Elderberries are a powerful antioxidant, packed with vitamins that may boost your immune system. The resulting honey is a translucent purple with a delightful fruity flavor. Enjoy this honey by the tablespoon straight from the jar or stir a few tablespoons into hot water to make a soothing tea.

$16 per 11-ounce jar. Available at edistogoldhoney.com.

Tuxedo caramel popcorn from Poppington’s Gourmet Popcorn. (Courtesy of Poppington’s)

Tuxedo caramel popcorn

Poppington’s Gourmet Popcorn has been a fixture of downtown Greenville, South Carolina, since 2012. The company offers kettle corn, savory popcorn in flavors like Asian spice and Havarti dill and six flavors of chocolate-drizzled popcorn, including the gluten-free tuxedo caramel flavor we’ve been enjoying. The coating of white chocolate, milk chocolate and caramel is so substantial that it’s like indulging in a decadent, crunchy candy bar. Our taste testers found it hard to stop at just one handful.

$15.99 per 8-ounce canister. Available at poppingtons.com.

Loaded chocolate chip cookie from Absolute Best Cookie Co. (Courtesy of Delronda Grant)

Loaded chocolate chip cookies

Delronda Grant named her bakery the AB! (Absolute Best) Cookie Co., and after sampling her loaded chocolate chip cookies, we have to agree. Grant is from College Park and bakes in downtown Atlanta’s Municipal Market. The loaded chocolate chip cookies are substantial, weighing more than one-quarter pound each, packed with chocolate chips, oatmeal and walnuts. Fresh from the bakery, they’re irresistible. There are more than a dozen cookie flavors, with pound cake and cinnamon rolls available as well.

$20 to $50 for boxes of six to 12 cookies. Available at the Municipal Market and abcookiecompany.com.

Chili garlic crunch from Mar Mar Foods. (Courtesy of Liza Lazaro-Matz)

Chili garlic crunch

Chili crisps are beloved for the crunchy, spicy, savory flavors they bring to all kinds of dishes. Liza Lazaro-Matz founded Richmond, Virginia-based Mar Mar Foods in 2022 to share her recipe reflecting her Filipino roots. It has more crunch than oil and lots of bold garlic flavor, available in original and hot versions. You’ll want it in your ramen, topping the cream cheese on your bagel and melted into butter when you saute chicken and seafood. In fact, when you realize how many ways you can enjoy it, you’ll want to buy Mar Mar chili garlic crunch in the 32-ounce jar.

$12 per 6-ounce jar. $48 per 32-ounce jar. Available at ilovemarmar.com.

Dog treats from Meat Head Charcoal. (Courtesy of Meat Head Charcoal/Happy Everything Co.)

Treats for your canine companion