Buying gifts is fun. However, it can also be frustrating when you find yourself unable to pick out a good gift for someone in your shopping list. If you’re struggling to come up with thoughtful, meaningful gifts they’re likely to appreciate, it’s never a bad idea to switch gears and gift them some snacking items instead.
Food is something most people can appreciate, regardless of whether you’re shopping for husbands, wives, coworkers, teen boys, teen girls, or whoever else. No matter the individual you’re buying a gift for, chances are, there’s a food gift out there that’s going to put a smile on their face during the holidays. It’s best, of course, if you’re familiar with the tastes and flavors that they like, since you can simply shop for food gifts that play specifically into those preferences. However, there’s also a certain charm to gifting more unusual fare. Many people can appreciate the adventure of discovering new treats, after all, especially when they come in the form of gifts from family and friends.
Food gifts don’t automatically mean ready-to-eat stuff. Sure, there are plenty of options out there designed for instant snacking. However, gifts like a niche condiment for avid home cooks or a exotic premium coffee for caffeine aficionados will definitely work well, too.
These are the best food gifts to bring more delectable flavors to the holidays.
Le Tourangelle Infused Trio of Oils
For the passionate home cook in your shopping list, this trio of gourmet artisanal oils should open new avenues for their cooking adventures, allowing them to explore new ideas and even bring a fresh twist to well-honed recipes. The set consists of an 8.5-oz bottles each of basil oil, garlic oil, and herbs de Provence oil. No, they didn’t actually make oil from those ingredients. Instead, it uses sunflower seed oil as base, which is then infused with flavors from each of the other ingredients to give every bottle a unique taste. It can be used the same way you use a nice bottle of olive oil, incorporating it in salad dressings, marinades, pasta sauces, and more.
Runamok Sparkle Syrup
Some people like their pancakes with extra aplomb. Those people will probably appreciate receiving this unique maple syrup as a food gift. What makes it unique? Well, the darn thing comes with edible pearlescent mica sprinkles, which is, basically, food glitter, allowing you to cover your pancakes in maple syrup with sparkling bits in it. Does it taste better than other maple syrup? Not really. We do like how it’s not overpowering, though, as we imagined a sparkling maple syrup to taste a lot heavier (it’s lighter and more refined). The glitter does tend to settle at the bottom, though, so you’ll want to give this is a good shake each time before using.
Fly by Jing Variety Pack
A food gift fit for the spice lover in your list, this three-piece set gets your recipient a small jar each of Sichuan Chili Crisp, Zhong Sauce, and Chengdu Crunch. The Sichuan sauce brings savory heat aplenty, while the Zhong sauce delivers a sweet and tangy taste with slight heat. The Chengdu Crunch, on the other hand, adds crispy, crunchy flakes to the proceedings for those who enjoy their chili sauce with some extra textures. Do note, these chili sauces aren’t for heat freaks – they bring decent heat, but it’s the flavors that really make them standout.
Brightland Pizza Oil
For the pizza faithful, this food gift offers a way to dress their slices with extra flavor. it uses extra virgin olive oil as base, which is then infused with cayenne pepper extract, oregano oil, jalapeno pepper extract, basil oil, garlic oil, rosemary oil, and green bell pepper extract. The result is oil that has a rich herbal flavor with just a hint of spice, making for a fresh way to enjoy your pizza, whether you bought it off the corner shop or made it in the backyard pizza oven.
Burlap & Barrel 6-Pack Spice Gift Set
Another food gift for the home cook, this set bundles together six high-quality spices from all over the world that you won’t typically find at the local grocery store shelf. They have a variety of gift sets, by the way, so you can opt for this one or explore their other offerings. This set, in particular, includes sun-dried tomato powder from the Aegean Region of Turkey, royal cinnamon from the Quang Nam Mountains of Vietnam, black Urfa chili from Turkey, ground black lime from Guatemala, smoked pimenton paprika from Spain, and wild mountain cumin from Afghanistan. Definitely a wonderful gift for cooks who like to experiment with new tastes and flavors.
Compartes Assorted Chocolate Gift Box
This assorted box of chocolates from Compartes brings multiple treats in a variety of shapes and flavors, making for a fun food gift your recipient can share with others in their household. It’s not pure chocolate, either, as the pieces come with slices of nuts, fruits, marshmallows, toffee, and all sorts of other treats. Not only do they taste amazing, they look very festive, too, making them perfect treats to enjoy during the holiday season. It comes in a beautiful holiday gift box, too.
Levain Signature Cookie Assortment 12-Pack
Yes, you can probably get cookies from the local bakery for giving as food gifts. They probably won’t taste like these ones, though, which are absolutely thick and unapologetically decadent. This dozen-strong set comes with three cookies each of chocolate chip walnut, dark chocolate chip, dark chocolate peanut butter chip, and oatmeal raisin. You can eat them out of the box, too, but we’d recommend popping them in the oven a short bit to warm them up for an even more satisfying time.
Mansoura Baklava Gift Platter
To the unfamiliar, baklava is a traditional pastry popular in the Middle East, Greece, and Turkey. And you can find them in many bakeries specializing in those places’ recipes. Mansoura makes some of the best you’re going to taste, which makes this hand-packed platter an excellent food gift for anyone looking to munch on some delicious pastries. It comes with three types of baklavas (pistachio, walnut, and almond), as well as two types of maamoul and one konafa. According to the outfit, the outfit is designed to serve 10 people, making this a great holiday treat to share with family and guests.
Harry & David Ultimate Meat & Cheese Gift Box
Meat and cheese in one gift box just may be the greatest food gift known to man. At least, it is in our book. Chances are, it’s also going to be the kind of gift that will make every man (and some women) in your shopping list swoon. What does it include? There’s two 5-oz hickory-smoked summer sausages, two 5-oz Thuringer sausages, and one 6-oz dry salami to satisfy your meat cravings, as well as one 8-oz blocks each of Garlic Jack cheese, Colby Jack cheese, Pepper Jack cheese, and Sicilian Jack cheese. They also threw in bags of three-seed crackers, olive oil and sea salt water crackers, sharp cheddar cheese crackers, and sesame sticks, along with a jar of pepper and onion relish and bottle of honey dill mustard. This is the “ultimate” box, by the way, so it’s the biggest one they got, but you can opt for smaller sets if you want to gift something less costly.
Olympia Provisions Euro Charcuterie Box
This food gift doesn’t come with a board, but it does have everything you need to set up a proper charcuterie feast. Made by Oregon-based Olympia Provisions, the set includes one each of loukanika, chorizo rioja, nola, and saucisson sec sausages, as well as a small tub of pork and hazelnut pâté, one wheel of Devil’s Gulch cheese, a jar of pickled beets, a jar of high desert honey, a small jar of mustard, a bag of sea salt crackers a bag of salted almonds, and a package of Castelvetrano olives. It looks and feels fancy, with a real old world feel, which makes sense since the outfit claims they make the cured meats and pates using traditional methods.
