The holidays are the perfect time to splurge a bit on gifts for the the cook or baker in your life. These pantry items make high quality, special gifts that will be appreciated and loved by even the novice home cook. Our Gourmet Gift Guide for Foodies is here to spark your imagination and creativity when choosing the perfect gift. Also check out our Stocking Stuffer Gift Guide with over a dozen great ideas and our Amazing Gifts for Cooks with gifts that will last for generations as family heirlooms! Some of the links below are for affiliate sites, and as an Amazon Associate I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no cost to you.
Salt is a kitchen staple and there are so many types with different purposes that it could be an entire blog post. (Good idea for a future post!) But for now, here are few that will be appreciated: Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. It’s great for recipes calling for Kosher salt as it’s made of larger, irregular sized crystals. It’s not a salty as table salt, so if you ever have to substitute table salt for Kosher salt, use half the amount. I often use Kosher salt in my recipes and spice mixtures. Maldon Sea Salt Flakes are the finishing salt of your dreams! It has a perfect crunch to cookies, dinner rolls, chocolate desserts, and more. It is hand harvested in the United Kingdom and it’s Kosher. Beautiful gift! And there’s Le Guerandais French Gray Sea Salt which is an everyday sea salt perfect for cooking, baking, and table use. It is imported from France and comes a little bit damp, so don’t be surprised.
Speaking of spices, Gourmet Spice Blends provide a nice variety of pre-made seasonings and you can choose the ones you think they will love the most and be sure to tell them why they were chosen in a nice handwritten note.
Gourmet Cocoa Powder can make quite a difference if a recipe, but it’s a splurge for everyday use. Use it to make cookies, cakes, brownies, hot cocoa, fudge sauce, chocolate lava cakes or in any recipe that calls for cocoa powder. My favorites are Ghirardelli, Guittard, Droste, and Valrhona.
Speaking of chocolate, having a variety of Gourmet Chocolate Bars for baking is a fantastic gift. It can be used in any recipe calling for chocolate that gets melted or shaved. I love the same brands as cocoa powder above and would also add Lindt to the list.
Vanilla Extract is one of my favorite ingredients ever! I love the good stuff or homemade that has steeped for ages. You can’t go wrong with ANY flavor of Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract. I also love Penzey’s Mexican Vanilla for its depth of flavor. Penzey’s is on sale for 20% off through tonight at least, so jump on this one! It’s a great gift!
Gourmet Pastas are great in a gift basket. Morelli of Italy makes lovely dried pastas that are a little bit harder to find. I love the organic variety pack. Pair it with a jar of Gourmet Pasta Sauce in a lovely gift basket.
Olive Oils make great gifts, too, and these Olivelle Oils from Robust Gourmet Kitchen Store are my absolute favorites. The variety of flavors is astounding, but the Garlic & Herb Infused Olive Oil is my favorite.
Also at Robust Gourmet Kitchen Store you will find Olivelle Balsamic Vinegars. If you have never tried them, you will not believe how incredible they taste. In fact, order one for yourself, too! Try the Pineapple Habanero White Barrel-Aged Balsamic and the Jalapeno Lime White barrel-Aged Balsamic for a taste experience like no other!
A variety of Gourmet Olives will boost anyone’s charcuterie board. They’re visually beautiful, aromatic, briny, and great as snacks or in dips.
And finally, Parmigiano Reggiano is the iconic Italian cheese loved for it’s versatile, salty, cheesy taste and crumbly texture. Beloved in Italian cooking where even the rinds are used to flavor stocks and soups. You can’t go wrong giving this thoughtful, gourmet classic. Let us know what you give your foodie friends and family. We’d love to hear in the comments below! Happy Holiday from Laura’s Corner Kitchen!
