Gifts for Artisanal Types

By Food & Wine
Updated May 04, 2017
Photo © Villa de Patos
From bespoke tea blends to perfect holiday gift sets, these fantastic food gifts showcase artisanal craftsmanship.
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Handmade Napkins

Credit: Shapes & Colors Textiles

Printed with eco-friendly ink, these cotton-hemp napkins get softer with each wash. Buy: $34 for 4; shapes-colors.com. - Maren Ellingboe

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DIY Spoons

Credit: Seth and Kendra Smoot

"The Artful Wooden Spoon offer step-by-step tutorials from one of my favorite woodworkers, the meticulous Joshua Vogel." Buy: $17; amazon.com - Suzie Myers

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Jerky Kit

Credit: Fleisher's

"The butchers at Fleisher's offer terrific classes in their New York shops. Now I can teach myself at home with this kit from their in-house jerky master." Buy: $30; fleishers.com -Tina Ujlaki

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Whiskey Caramel

Credit: Alma Chocolate

This luscious, silky sauce gets its boozy kick from unaged whiskey by Oregon's House Spirits Distillery. It's fabulous on ice cream or chocolate cake. Buy: $11 for 10 oz.; almachocolate.com.

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Cider Syrup

Credit: Nicole Blum

A little of this sweet-tart syrup on vanilla ice cream evokes apple pie à la mode. Buy: $23 for 12.7 oz.; carrsciderhouse.com

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Artisanal Iced Tea

Credit: Alvaro Montagna

"Tracy Stern Tea & Co. specializes in blends for iced tea. The oolong lychee is so complex and delicious that I'll brew it even on a cold, wet day in March." Buy: $20 for 3 oz.; amazon.com - Kate Heddings

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Toast Topper

Credit: Photo © Chen Design

San Francisco bakery Craftsman and Wolves' lush passion fruit–olive oil curd transforms morning toast. Buy: $12 for 7.5 oz.; craftsman-wolves.com.

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Finishing Oil

Credit: Photo © Chateau d'Estoublon

Château d'Estoublon Flacon Spray olive oil comes in a beautiful glass bottle. Spritz the slightly grassy oil on fish and vegetables right off the grill. Buy: $37 for 3.4 oz.; pastacheese.com.

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Complex Cider Vinegar

Credit: Photo © David Gare / Pomdial Inc.

Gingras uses 17 kinds of apples for this complex, barrel-aged vinegar. Buy: $37.85 for 200 ML; amazon.com

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Global Olive Oils

Credit: Photo courtesy of the Ingredient Finder

Eliunt's olive oils—sold in black-glass bottles that block sunlight—range from fruity Lebanese to nutty Portuguese. Buy: $130 for ten 2 oz bottles; facebook.com/eliuntselection

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Spain by Mail

Credit: Photo courtesy of Spanish Suitcase

Suitcase-shaped packages of imported jamón, chocolate and more. Buy: From $65; shop.spanishsuitcase.com

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Cheese Curds

Credit: Photo © Christine Blackburne

Caputo Brothers curds help make chef-quality mozzarella at home. Buy: $26 for 1 lb; saxelbycheese.com

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Cult Pork

The famous jamón ibérico from Cinco Jotas now comes in a handy pre-sliced pack. Buy: $40 for 3 oz; tienda.com

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Artisan Oil

Credit: Photo courtesy of Seka Hills

A buttery small-batch California olive oil that's remarkably affordable. Buy: $18 for 500 ml; sekahills.com

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Classic Sweets

Credit: Photo © Ryan Liebe

This bar has just the right mix of salty caramel and buttery brown sugar. Buy: $18 for 6; mahzedahrbakery.com

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Mini Cookies

Credit: Photo © Ben Alsop

Dipped in white chocolate and made with coarse muscovado sugar, these cookies are buttery and crunchy. Buy: $13.90 for 3 oz.; fruute.com.

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Artisanal Marshmallows

Credit: Photo © Ben Alsop

Wondermade’s handcrafted marshmallows come in whimsical flavors like lemonade and Champagne (flecked with 24-karat gold). Buy: $8 for 16; wondermade.com.

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Lobster Roll Kit

Credit: Photo © Christian Thomas

Cousins Maine Lobster, a great Los Angeles food truck, sells this kit with a pound of rich lobster meat—and no messy shells. Buy: $95; cousinsmainelobster.com.

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Black Licorice

Credit: Photo © Formaggio Kitchen

Lakritsfabriken’s licorice from Sweden is a deeply satisfying version of the sweet-salty Scandi classic. Buy: $15 for 5 oz.; formaggiokitchen.com.

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DIY Drinks

Credit: Photo courtesy of Marx Foods

Shrubs—a.k.a. sipping vinegars—are super-refreshing in summer drinks. Mix Sage & Sea Farms’ mint shrub into sparkling water or a mojito. Buy: $17 for 25 oz.; marxfoods.com.

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Quick Crudités

Credit: Photo © Ben Alsop

Fresh Origins’ mini vegetables don’t require any peeling or slicing, just sea salt and butter for dipping. Buy: $14 for 50; gourmetsweetbotanicals.com.

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Almond Butter

Credit: Photo © Ben Alsop

My favorite new morning snack: slices of Honey Crisp apple dipped in Big Spoon Roasters’ almond butter studded with candied ginger. Buy: $16.75 for 10 oz.; mouth.com.

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S'Mores Kit

Credit: Photo © Hot Cakes

The chocolate in this set is smoke-infused for an instant campfire effect. Buy: $30 for 6 servings; getyourhotcakes.com.

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Snacks Gift Set

Credit: Photo © John Von Pamer

Bklyn Larder’s Snacks for 2 selection assumes those two people are ravenous. It has housemade crostini and cookies, plus picks like Utah’s Creminelli salumi. Buy: $129; bklynlarder.com.

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Mouth Gift Sets

Credit: Photo courtesy of Mouth.com

Mouth tracks down the best foods from the best artisans. Look for gift sets like 12 Days of Christmas (pictured) and the new Food & Wine Selects, with picks from F&W’s ultra-choosy editors. Buy: From $45; mouth.com.

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Healthy Grains Gift Box

Credit: Photo courtesy of Many Kitchens

Great Grains from Many Kitchens brings together quinoa, amaranth and more from Napa Valley’s esteemed Rancho Gordo. Buy: $41; manykitchens.com.

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Pressed Fruit

Credit: Photo © Ben Alsop

I like to slice these blocks of dried fruit and nuts thinly and eat them with Manchego. —Tina Ujlaki
Buy: $18 for 10.5 oz.; graceandi.com.

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Alt Sweetener

Credit: Photo © Villa de Patos

Sweet sap sounds cloying, but the kind Villa de Patos extracts from the maguey plant is well balanced. I drizzle it on yogurt. Buy: $19 for 23.7 oz. at amazon.com —Kate Heddings

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