saver combos

The Kölln Breakfast Combo brings together two German oat classics — one ready-flavoured, one plain — for people whose breakfast is a warm bowl rather than a cold one.

Inside: Kölln Fruit Oat Porridge 375g and Kölln Organic Oatmeal (Bio Haferflocken) 500g.

The fruit porridge is the quick one: hot water or milk, a stir, and breakfast is done. The plain oat flakes are the flexible one — porridge cooked slowly on the hob, overnight oats, muesli, oat flour for baking, or a binder in cutlets and kebabs. Having both means you can have breakfast in two minutes on a weekday and make something slower at the weekend.

Store both sealed in a cool, dry cupboard.

The Complete Breakfast Combo covers both breakfast camps in one order — cold cereal with milk, and a hot bowl of oats — which is usually what a household with different tastes actually needs.

Inside: Kellogg's Cornflakes 500g, Kellogg's Choco Krispies 420g, Kölln Fruit Oat Porridge 375g and Kölln Organic Oatmeal 500g.

Cornflakes and Choco Krispies handle the quick cold bowl, plain and chocolate. The fruit porridge is the two-minute hot option, and the plain oat flakes carry the slower weekend version, overnight oats, muesli and baking.

Four packs is roughly a month of breakfasts for a small household. Reseal the inner bags after each use and keep everything in a cool, dry cupboard.

The Kellogg's Breakfast Combo pairs the two cereals that cover most breakfast tables — one plain, one chocolate — so there is a choice in the cupboard on a school morning.

Inside: Kellogg's Cornflakes 500g and Kellogg's Choco Krispies 420g.

Cornflakes are the neutral base that takes whatever you add — cold milk, hot milk, banana, honey, or a spoon of sugar — and they are also what goes into cornflake chivda and a crisp coating for cutlets. Choco Krispies are the puffed rice version coated in cocoa, crisp in cold milk and the reliable answer when a child will not eat plain cereal.

Reseal the inner bags after each use and store in a cool, dry cupboard so both stay crisp.

A combo of the two rices most South Asian households keep side by side, in the 5kg sizes that last: Annam Ponni Boiled Rice 5kg and Dildaar Extra Long Basmati 5kg.

They are not substitutes for each other. Ponni boiled rice is the parboiled South Indian everyday rice — short, firm grains that stay separate and hold up to sambar, rasam, curd rice and a full meals plate. Extra long basmati is the aromatic, slender-grained rice that elongates as it cooks, for biryani, pulao, ghee rice and anything served with a rich North Indian gravy.

Rinse both until the water runs clear. Basmati benefits from a 20–30 minute soak before cooking; ponni does not need one but takes more water and a little longer. Store both in airtight containers in a cool, dry place.

The Super Grains 2 Pack is two packs of two grains that cook in minutes and go with almost anything — useful when rice and roti are not what you feel like.

Inside: 1 × Couscous 500g and 1 × Davert Colorful Quinoa 200g.

Couscous needs no cooking at all — boiling water or stock poured over, covered for five minutes, then forked through. It is the base for a North African salad with lemon and herbs, and it takes a curry or a stew as readily as rice does. The colourful quinoa is a blend of white, red and black grains that keeps a firmer bite, good hot as a side and better cold in a salad with vegetables and a sharp dressing.

Store both sealed in a cool, dry cupboard.

The Monthly Italian Meal Kit is a month's worth of Italian dinners in a single order — sixteen packs covering seven pasta shapes and nine sauces and pestos, so the combination is different every time.

The pasta: Barilla Capellini No.1, Girandole No.34, Maccheroni No.44, Mini Penne Rigate No.66, Fusilli No.98 and Rigatoni, all 500g, plus Delverde Gnocchi and Delverde Tricolore 500g.

The sauces: Barilla Pomodoro 400g, Pizza Sauce 400g and Basilico 200g, with Pesto Genovese 190g, Pesto Basilico e Limone 190g, Pesto Basilico Peperoni 195g, Vegan Basilico Pesto 195g and Pesto Rosso 200g.

Thin capellini suits the light lemon pesto; ridged penne, fusilli and rigatoni hold the tomato sauces; the pizza sauce doubles as a base for homemade pizza and bruschetta. Keep a ladle of pasta water back each time to bring sauce and pasta together.

The Pasta Lover's Dream Box is ten packs — five pasta shapes and five sauces — assembled so that every shape has something it pairs well with.

The pasta: Barilla Capellini No.1 500g, Barilla Girandole No.34 500g, Barilla Rigatoni 500g, Delverde Gnocchi 500g and Delverde Tricolore 500g.

The sauces: Barilla Bolognese Sauce 400g, Pesto Genovese 190g, Pesto Basilico e Limone 190g, Pesto Basilico Peperoni 195g and Pesto Rosso 200g.

The pairings do themselves: bolognese with the wide ridged rigatoni that holds a meat sauce; Genovese or the lemon pesto with fine capellini; the spiral girandole and the tricolore with pesto rosso, where the twists trap it. Gnocchi wants the least — a pesto and a little of its own cooking water is enough.

Store the packs sealed in a cool, dry cupboard; refrigerate the jars once opened.

The Thai Variety Noodles 8 Pack is eight single-serve instant noodles across three Thai brands and six flavours — a week of quick lunches without eating the same thing twice.

Inside: MAMA Instant Noodles Green Curry 55g, MAMA Instant Noodles Hot & Spicy 90g, MAMA Instant Noodles Chicken 90g, Thai Chef Instant Noodle Dish Curry Chicken 64g, Thai Chef Instant Noodles Hot & Spicy 60.9g, Yum Yum Instant Noodles Chicken 60g, Yum Yum Instant Noodles Curry 60g and Yum Yum Instant Noodles Vegetable 60g.

MAMA is the sharper, more assertive of the three; Yum Yum is milder and the easiest place to start; Thai Chef sits between them. All are ready in a few minutes with boiling water, and all improve considerably with an egg cracked in, some spring onion, or a handful of vegetables.

Breakfast Spread Essentials covers the toast table in one order — one sweet, one nutty, one chocolate — so there is something for everyone at the table.

Inside: Nutella 450g, Creamy Peanut Butter 350g and Langnese Sommerblüte Goldklar honey 125g.

Between them they handle toast, rolls, pancakes, waffles and porridge, and they go well beyond breakfast: peanut butter into satay sauce and cookies, honey into tea, marinades and salad dressings, Nutella into crepes and a filling for stuffed parathas.

Keep the Nutella and honey at room temperature rather than in the fridge — both go hard and unspreadable when cold. Honey crystallising in the jar is normal; standing it in warm water clears it.

Monthly Sauce Essentials stocks the fridge door in one order — six bottles covering ketchup, chilli, garlic and cooking sauce, so nothing runs out mid-month.

Inside: Heinz Tomato Ketchup 220ml, Heinz Hot Chili Sauce 220ml, Knorr Knoblauch (garlic) Sauce 250ml, Encona Sweet Thai Chili Sauce 142ml, Royal Thai Sriracha Chili Sauce 430ml and Maggi Rich Tomato Sauce 500g.

Between them they cover most of what a sauce is asked to do: ketchup and garlic sauce for chips, burgers and döner; sriracha and hot chilli for noodles, eggs and anything that needs sharpening; sweet chilli as a dip for spring rolls and fried chicken; and the Maggi tomato sauce as a cooking base for pasta, pizza and Indo-Chinese dishes. Refrigerate the bottles after opening.

The Asian Stir Fry Pack brings together three different Asian noodles in one order, so a stir-fry night does not depend on which single pack happens to be in the cupboard.

Inside: Diamond Glasnudeln (long glass noodles), Ayuko Udon Noodles 300g and Miyako Ramen Noodles 200g. Glass noodles are the thin, translucent ones that turn slippery and soak up sauce — good for a Thai salad or a stir-fry. Udon are thick, soft and chewy, at home in a broth or fried with a dark sauce. Ramen noodles are springy and thin, built for soup.

Three shapes, three different dishes. Each noodle cooks differently — follow the times on the individual packs, and rinse glass noodles in cold water after soaking so they do not clump.

The Asian Stir Fry Sauce Pack is the three-bottle foundation of Chinese home cooking, bought together rather than one at a time.

Inside: Lee Kum Kee Light Soy Sauce 150ml, Lee Kum Kee Dark Soy Sauce 150ml and Lee Kum Kee Oyster Sauce 255g. They are not interchangeable, which is the point of having all three — light soy is the salty, thinner one used for seasoning; dark soy is thicker and less salty, used for colour and depth in braises and fried rice; oyster sauce is the sweet-savoury thickener that gives a stir-fry its gloss.

With these three, plus garlic, ginger and spring onion, most Chinese stir-fries, noodle dishes and braises are within reach. Refrigerate the bottles after opening.

The Perfect Thai Combo is the short list a Thai curry actually needs — three curry pastes and the coconut milk to cook them in.

Inside: Cock Brand Red Curry Paste 400g, Green Curry Paste 400g and Yellow Curry Paste 400g, with Aroy-D Coconut Milk 150ml.

Each paste makes a different curry: red is the all-rounder, built on dried red chillies, and the one for beef, duck and roasted vegetables; green is the hottest, made with fresh green chilli and basil, classically with chicken or fish balls; yellow is the mildest, turmeric-led and closest to an Indian curry, good with potato and chicken.

The method is the same for all three: fry a spoon of paste in the thick cream from the top of the coconut milk until it splits and smells, then add the rest of the milk, the protein and the vegetables. Refrigerate the pastes after opening.

The Bhujia Combo 10 Pack is a bulk order of the two bhujias most Indian households never want to run out of — ten 200g bags in all.

Inside: 5 × Haldiram Aloo Bhujia 200g and 5 × Haldiram's Bhujia Plain 200g.

Aloo Bhujia is the softer, milder one, made with potato worked into the gram flour; plain Bhujia is finer, crisper and sharper on the spice. Both are the standard companion to chai, and both do more than snacking — scattered over poha, upma and dahi chaat, folded into bhel, or used as the crunch on top of a sandwich or a bowl of curd rice.

Ten bags is a stocking-up quantity for a family or a shared house. Keep them sealed in a cool, dry cupboard and clip each bag shut once opened.