Some Unexpected Gifts for Foodies That Go Beyond Fancy Olive Oil

Some Unexpected Gifts for Foodies That Go Beyond Fancy Olive Oil

From tart lemon preserves that go with everything to swoon-worthy artisanal cheese, there's something here for every food lover.

This year, give the gift of flavor. From spice sampler sets to artisanal vinegars and more, meal prep just got a whole lot more fun for the foodie in your life.

Big Spoon’s nut butters are a big hit over at Food52—their director of content suggests starting with the sampler set.

Big Spoon Roasters Handcrafted Mini Nut Butter Sampler, Set of 4
You butter believe it. Our love for these nut butters could fill a book—but in a nutshell? They’re handmade to order in North Carolina, so they come fresher than fresh. Then there’s the ingredients, straight from producers who live and breathe top-notch quality and sustainability.

For mouth-watering snacks you won’t find stateside.

Bokksu Classic Gift Box - 3 Month
Gift a delicious & authentic experience from Japan. Bokksu delivers to your door the experience of tasting authentic Japanese snacks, candies, and teas sourced directly from centuries-old family makers.

Make their freezer this premium ice cream chain’s next pop-up.

Salt & Straw Pints Club Gift - 3 Months
Get or give five-packs to be delivered for a period of 3, 6 or 12 months. You can choose from three flavor pack options. Monthly Flavors: Our rotating menu. Best Sellers: Our classic flavors. Keep it a Surprise: A delightful mix. Pre-paid subscriptions ship monthly until the term ends.

With Milk Bar’s sampler pack, everyone gets a little something, which is the problem.

Milk Bar The Sampler
Have a little bit of everything! This sampler pack of classic Milk Bar treats gives you a taste of the greats, from a 3-pack each of our dreamy rainbow-vanilla B'Day Cake Truffles and Chocolate B'Day Cake Truffles and one of each cookie to a single slice of ooey-gooey Milk Bar Pie—all packaged in a...

Did someone say "char-cute-rie?"

Brightland The Mini Essentials
The Mini Essentials have a bright new look for the holidays. Send some sunshine to everyone on your list with our gift-ready set—no wrapping required. Includes Brightland's bestsellers in petite, easy-to-share sizes: AWAKE, ALIVE, RAPTURE, and PARASOL.

If you can’t send them to Sicily, send them the next best thing.

Bona Furtuna The Corleone Gift Set
A savory sampling of Bona Furtuna's finest Sicilian products. This artisan Italian gift set includes Heritage Blend Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Original Marinara Pasta Sauce, Sicilian Sea Salt and Organic Herb Blend, Sicilian Sea Salt with Basil, and Mamma Rose's Herb Blend. 

An eclectic cake kit from one of the coolest bakers on Instagram.

The Caker Lemon Strawberry Poppy Seed Cake Kit
"This kit makes a light, moist and not-too-sweet cake. I love the gentle crunch of the poppy seeds and how the flavors of the lemon and strawberries work together to taste like summer (although this cake can be made all year round if you use frozen strawberries, which work just as well as fresh).

Southeast Asian food that’s almost as easy as striking a match.

Omsom Southeast Asian Sampler
Get the full Southeast Asian line—6 starters in one (match)box, ready to fire up. Fire up Vietnamese Lemongrass BBQ, Thai Larb, + Filipino Sisig in under 30 minutes! Contains 6 starters total. Each starter serves 2-3, so say hello to 16+ damn delicious meals!  

Straight from the can or poured over ice, it's the perfectly convenient (and rather adorable) cocktail. 

Tip Top's Proper Party Variety Pack
The ultimate 18-pack collection of three of each of Tip Top’s classic canned cocktails.

Overwhelmed by craft whiskey? Samplers offer the chance to explore without having to keep an eternally half-finished bottle around.

Taconic Whiskey Sampler 375ml
Taconic Distillery, established in 2013, is a purveyor of fine craft spirits located in the Hudson Valley of New York.

The best part of a meal is often—no, is always—the sauce.

Haven's Kitchen Cook Happy Pack
We understand it's tricky to choose, that's why we made it easy for you.  With the Haven's Kitchen Cook Happy Pack you'll receive the following: 2 Herby Chimichurri, 1 Gingery Miso Sauce, 1 Golden Turmeric Tahini, 1 Red Pepper Romesco, 1 Tangy BBQ Sauce, 1 Coconut Cashew, 1 Edamame Green...

GORP is what your parents ate. Upgrade your trail mix with these adaptogenic blends.

Toodaloo Trail Mix Variety Bundle
Try our most popular flavors of adaptogenic trail mix: Slow Your Roll (Maple), Turning Heads (chocolate cluster), Smoke Show (BBQ) and Hot To Trot (spicy citrus)! The wholesome and groovy ingredients found in Toodaloo Trail Mix provides you with a complete holistic meal, snack, or topping to help...

Ambrosial wheels and wedges fermented in the pastoral Hudson:  as good as cheese (and a few other goods) gets.

Chaseholm Farm Dairy & Creamery
Chaseholm Farm is in its third generation. Rory and Sarah are siblings who have specialized in complementary aspects of the family business. Rory runs the creamery, and Sarah manages the dairy herd.

Vinegar is getting its moment in the spotlight, and with flavors like these, we’ll gladly step in and sing Acid League’s praises.

Acid League Garden Heat Living Vinegar
An entirely new take on vinegar. Carrot, celery, and jalapeño juices bring deep, earthy flavors, and fresh, green notes at once. It’s not quite hot sauce, but it definitely has spice—and a ton more flavor.

All the kitchen's seasoning staples jarred in onewith a little kick for good measure.

Hot Crispy Oil - Original
A unique recipe of blended extra virgin olive oil, fresh fried garlic, shallots, and chili peppers makes for the perfect combination of heat and flavor.  Hand-crafted in small batch style in the state of New York, this one-of-a-kind product makes a great addition to any fully equipped...

Go beyond the chili crisp with an entire box of spicy from Fly by Jing.

Fly By Jing Tis the Season(ing) Box
Everything you need to fire up Sichuan flavors at home. Give the gift of seasoning and may you never have another flavorless holiday meal. Bundled up in limited-edition holiday packaging (save your gift wrap!) and includes a guide to Sichuan flavors, and exclusive recipes to spark your palate.

Spice is nice, and so is this endlessly customizable spice pack.

Diaspora Co. Build Your Own Masala Dabba
All masala dabba purchases grant you free access to Club Masala - a very hands on, spice forward, highly inclusive quarterly zoom cooking club with Sana and Asha that will teach you how to cook intuitively with spices, and maximize your masala dabba! Comes with 7 spice spoons.  

Tinned fish you can feel good about eatingor even just leaving in the pantry.

Tinned Seafood Sampler Box
This seafood gift box brings Patagonia Provisions' tins of small fish and shellfish together in one delectable, nutritious, responsibly sourced bonanza. Their partners harvest mussels, mackerel and anchovies from the cold, clear waters of northern Spain while protecting the coastal ecosystem.

It’s soup season, baby! Stock their shelves with hearty options from this Black-owned business before temperatures drop.

Egunsi Foods Introductory Bundle - 4 Pack
A great introductory bundle to our assortment of delicious vegan soups, a great meal for the week, just takes few minutes to warm up and ready to eat! Our soups are versatile, can be consumed as is or use as a simmering sauce/recipe starter to create quick meals, be it West African inspired or...

Don’t watch those perfect waffles wither under low-grade sap. Defend the fluff with something pure.

Tree Juice Pure Maple Syrup
Tree Juice Maple Syrup is made in the Catskills Mountains in New York, the Fairbairn family have owned and operated this 100+ acre farm since the 1930s. Around 7,000 maple trees on the farm are tapped each year.

Delightfully tart and perfect in pastas, salad dressings, or dolloped straight onto a plate.

Tart Vinegar Lemon Preserve
Salty and tarty. Add a spoon to pancake batter, salad dressings, warm water, greek yogurt, salsa verde, meatballs, the list is limitless. Just don’t rub it in your eyes.

Looks good on your countertop. Tastes good when you’re dipping bread into it.

Pineapple Collaborative The Olive Oil
Our one true olive. Crafted in collaboration with Kathryn Tomajan using a blend of organic Koroneiki and Picual olives grown by the Ricchiuti family at ENZO Olive Oil Company and Rio Bravo Farm. 

Move over, French’s: There’s a new sheriff in town.

Wilder Condiments Small Batch Mustard Trio
The golden touch. Right here: the sunniest condiments we’ve ever met. Inspired by beach cookouts and big communal tables, this mustard’s made to pal around with all the usual suspects (burgers, pretzels, charcuterie) and your other dishes too (deviled eggs, grilled cheese, roasted veg, you name it).

This award-winning Baltimore-based company has plenty of creative gins, whiskeys, and amaros on deck, but also allows you to gift a tour and blend-your-own whiskey experience to an obsessive who has tasted it all.

Looking for something else? Check out the rest of our holiday gift guides here.

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