The supermarket search, scanning shelves in pursuit of the tastiest product for your money can be a challenge. However, one of the most prestigious starred ratings – the Great Taste Awards – helps consumers in their quest. Last week, the 2016 results were announced.

Over 10,000 products were assessed by 500 judges, with 3,539 gaining a coveted titled, 430 of which were Irish. The ultimate rating – three stars – highlights the products that really shine and only 141 out of the 10,000 entered achieved this accolade.

Bringing home the bacon

Among them were the products of Tipperary butcher James Whelan, the only Irish company to receive two three-star awards. Pat Whelan is no stranger to the Great Taste awards, and last year, he took home the top prize of Supreme Champion for his Beef Dripping. This time around, it was his Heritage Cure Rack of Bacon and Heritage Cure Ham which came up trumps.

Commenting on the bacon, the judges said the meat was “sweet and succulent with a gentle smoke” adding: “This is so good, we really did want another slice and then another. Moist, well-balanced on the salt and so deeply satisfying.”

When it came to the ham, they believed it was, “wonderfully inviting, moist, pink slices” with the, “sweetness balancing beautifully with the salt. Great depth of flavour still wandering around the mouth”.

Pat says: “I’m very excited about the three stars. Beef and lamb have been my focus for a long time and this year, I wanted to see if we could apply that bit of magic to our bacon products. So it was a real work in progress, and to see our efforts acknowledged by the judges at the Great Taste awards is a real privilege.”

The most super markets

While the supermarkets took home a multitude of awards for their Irish products, only three – SuperValu, Aldi and Dunnes Stores – received the three stars. SuperValu’s Signature Tastes Hereford Rib Eye Steak is certainly one to look out for the next time you’re shopping. If you’re adding sour cream to dishes, Aldi’s Clonbawn range is a winner, with judges crediting its “beautiful smooth creamy appearance” and “rich depth of flavour”. Dunnes Stores’ Simply Better Irish Handmade All Butter Sticky Toffee Pudding also impressed.

The “free from” product range performed very well with Foods of Athenry – run by a Galway family who converted their farm to a bakery – winning the three-star accolade for their Gourmet sodabread toasts, twice-baked slices of gluten-free traditional buttermilk sodabread with cumin seeds to give it a bit of kick.

Nobo, which specialises in a vegan and dairy-free ice-cream range, also performed brilliantly with their Irish salted caramel, which uses coconut milk and avocados. It might sound unusual but the Great Taste judges’ rating proves it’s really worth trying something new.

Other Irish three-star winners include Durrus Cheese, the Tipperary Kitchen for their Holycross Original Butterscotch Sauce and Crossogue Preserves for their Damson Port Jelly.

Interestingly, as the judges searched for the 2016 stars, waste was kept to a minimum, with unused products being donated to local food banks. The ultimate Great Taste Supreme Champion 2016 will be announced in London on 5 September and we have our fingers crossed for another Irish winner.

Details of this year’s winners can be found on the Great Taste website.

Growing number of households locking in three-year home insurance

Car insurance has been hitting the headlines nearly every week, as quotes continue to rise by up to 35% year on year. As a result, home insurance companies are now seeing an increase in the amount of people taking out long-term policies to lock in rates.

The insurance experts say that, unlike motor insurance, home insurance premiums are at an all-time low, so people are realising the benefits of securing a fixed rate for a longer time period. It was also suggested that locking in rates negates the chance of “review and renew-drift” – where people fail to review their policy at the time of renewal and, as a result, don’t get the best value on the market.

Jonathan Hehir, managing director at www.insuremhouse.ie explains: “Nobody can ever predict with 100% certainty what insurers will do, but an educated guess would be that there is no longer very much room for downward manoeuvre in rates. While we’ve had a couple of ‘good’ winters with no major claims spike, one bad winter could push up the volume of claims to insurers – which could have an adverse effect on premiums. However, there’s no surety that this will or will not happen, so the choice to lock in rates ultimately has to lie with the end user: the consumer.”

Claiming tax back health expenses to help with back-to-school costs

Last week, we reported on the rising costs for parents who are sending children back to school in September. One of the things you can do to help control costs is look at tax you haven’t claimed back.

Taxback.com revealed fewer than one in five people say they claim back medical expenses every year.

Christine Keily, head of direct taxes with Taxback.com, explained: “Most people incur medical expenses throughout the year – particularly parents with young children. Trips to the doctor’s surgery become commonplace for a lot of families over the years and every trip can cost anywhere from €40 to €70.

“So if a couple with three children makes just five trips to their GP in a year, that bill hits approximately €250 – you could get €50 of this back from the Revenue. It makes so much sense to claim.”

Taxback.com’s survey reveals that up to 60% of people have never claimed, with a third saying they would like to do it but don’t for certain reasons – one of which is they find the process too complex and time consuming.

Christine says: “I can understand why people might think this. Anything to do with tax and form filling tends to make people’s eyes glaze over. But in reality this is straightforward.”

Some people cited “losing receipts” as a reason not to claim. However, you can request copies of your receipts from your GP – some practices charge a small fee for this, but it should not be prohibitive, so you’re still going to get back more than you’ve spent.

In addition, most pharmacies will be able to give you a “year-end” receipt, totalling your spending during the year. Some are even promote this as a means of keeping customers.