The biggest dilemma I face when buying a foodie friend a gift is: do I buy something for them to cook with, or something for them to eat?
If I’m adding a piece to my friend’s kitchen, then I try to pick a tool that she probably wouldn’t buy for herself – something both useful and a bit ambitious. Two tools that any foodie could use to take their cooking to the next level are a mandolineand an immersion blender.
A mandoline slices and juliennes for the perfect potato chips or celery root salads. I have a plastic one, which works nicely, but a more expensive stainless steel mandoline would be more durable. An immersion blender is indispensable for making soups and sauces, I have found. I got one last year as a Christmas present, and I honestly don’t know how I cooked before it came along. They are very easy to use, and much quicker and smaller than a food processor or blender. Another idea great gift idea is a set of cloth napkins or linen towels. You can never have too many of these, so it doesn’t matter if they already have some in their pantry. Etsy is a great resource for these.
When giving edible items to your favorite foodies, the key is quality, not quantity. That’s what distinguishes a foodie from a fattie. Being a foodie often coincides with conscious consumerism – supporting farmers, your community, and the environment. In short, it means caring about your food and where it comes from. Local small businesses have to guarantee their products’ quality because each order is a referendum on their shop, and each customer is a neighbor.
Giving edible items from local, small-batch businesses is better than ordering from mass distributors like Harry and David or Dean and Deluca, who don’t make the product themselves, and whose business doesn’t live and die with each order. Search your neighborhood and farmers market for the best treats from your neck of the woods. Here are some of my favorites:
Stumptown Coffee: Holler Mountain blend for those who love a dark roast, and El Salvador Kilimanjaro for a lighter, fruitier brew
Boccalone: fresh and cured pork - try the Salami Sampler
SerendipiTea: their coconut Burrough’s Brew is great for dessert
Rick’s Picks: pickled vegetables – their Smokra is addictive
You could also give your own food as gift. Your friends may be too full from holiday parties to eat your goodies right away, and, let’s be honest: everyone is pretty sick of cookies by the day after Christmas. So, I recommend something relatively non-perishable and relatively healthy, like homemade jam or pickles or spiced pecans. Package it in an attractive, reusable container like a mason jar with a ribbon around the lid.
An easy gift that is both unique and semi-homemade: a glühwein set. Give an inexpensive bottle of red wine, such as a fruity syrah, a bottle of brandy or Grand Marnier, and some mulling spices. They can add sugar and lemon or orange to taste. If you like, include a recipe in the card.
Finally, for the aspiring foodie, gifts that deliver food and education: pay for a membership to her local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) or give a gift certificate to a cooking class. Hipcooks has outposts in several U.S. cities, and they have a wide variety of fun, budget-friendly classes.
Happy Fooding!
Image via OhLittleRabit's Etsy