Stocking Stuffers
Small gifts that don't skimp on quality and thoughtfulness.
Rancho Gordo Beans
A bean is a bean is a bean. Or is it? Once you go down the rabbit hole of eating quality dried beans, you'll fall in love with their variety of flavors, textures, and colors. Some are starchy, some are nutty, some are earthy, and some are slightly sweet. Rancho Gordo is one company that sells some really cool ones to try.
Mini Rubber Spatulas
These dainty little guys will be your new best friends. They are perfect for reaching into the tight nooks of spice grinders or deep into blenders, and ideal for scraping the last bit out of a jar. They're also heat-resistant and great for stirring small pots of sauce or caramel.
Glass Tumblers
Ariel's dad lives in Florida and never drinks enough water. These little tumblers are the perfect compromise for getting him to drink just enough to not get totally dehydrated every day. And if he refuses to fill them with water, at least he can use them for alcoholic beverages. The final plus: They stack, so they won't take up too much space in his cabinets.
Chef's Knife for Younger Kids
This knife is a good choice for kids who are transitioning into using grown-up blades. It has a plastic loop to keep the index finger safely away from the edge, and a guard for the other hand, allowing the child to practice the claw with less risk if they make a mistake.
World's Fair Barbecue Rub
Ariel discovered this spice mix 11 years ago, and it's still one of her favorite things to give as a gift. It's a perfect blend of everyday ingredients (shallots, garlic, paprika, and sea salt), but with unusual flavor notes from grains of paradise. She buys it by the pound to dump on meat, seafood, and even eggs, but you can start by picking it up a reasonably sized jar or bag.
Blade Protectors
At a certain point, you need to give up on proper knife storage and just think safety: How can I toss this knife into a drawer and not cut myself on it later when fishing around for matches? The answer is blade guards. It's smart to put them on knives in a knife bag, but they're also essential if you're keeping any knives in a place where they're free to bang around—they'll protect the blade edges and you.
Korean Fermenter Crock
These fermentation crocks come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but they all have the same smart design: An inner lid can be pressed down against the surface of the brine, ensuring the vegetables remain submerged (and thus don't rot), while the lids lock into place to keep bugs out.
Sant’Eustachio Whole Coffee Beans
Sant’Eustachio is a coffee-bar institution in the center of Rome, and it's where Sasha's life as a coffee drinker began when he was a kid. The baristi at Sant’Eustachio perform coffee alchemy at espresso machines outfitted with custom-made metal partitions that keep their methods secret from curious onlooking customers. He always tries to bring back a bag of Sant’Eustachio coffee for his family every time he visits the Eternal City, but now he can just order some online. How convenient!
Diaspora Co. Turmeric
This turmeric is as bright as a bar of gold, with a lovely, sleek label to match. Apart from the high-quality turmeric and nice packaging, the spice comes with a feel-good story: Diaspora Co. is run by queer women of color, and each jar purchased puts a much-higher-than-average amount of money back into the turmeric farmer’s hands.
Otherland Candle
This hand-poured soy-wax candle will look beautiful on your kitchen table—and the scent of Champagne, saffron, and leather is just fragrant enough to offset any accidentally burnt foods that no one needs to know about. Plus, the packaging, which comes with a customizable matchbox, makes the candle an impressive gift that's also affordable.
Kuhn Rikon Vegetable Peelers
While the usefulness of a vegetable peeler should be obvious to anyone who's ever cooked, the necessity of a Y-peeler may not be quite as clear. But trust us: They are categorically better than those swivel peelers a lot of people use. And they're cheap!
Golden Syrup
Used in many baking recipes, but difficult to find in the US, a bottle of Lyle's Golden Syrup makes a great small gift for an avid baker. Cases in point: Stella's Homemade Oreos and DIY Cookie Butter, both of which call for the subtle caramel notes golden syrup provides.
Dinosaur Kids Apron
For the little paleontologists out there (who also love to cook), here are few adorable dinosaur aprons because dinosaur aprons are adorable.
Ceramic Grater
Grating ginger is a minor pain in the ass—rub it on a Microplane and the grater's holes quickly become clogged with the ginger's long, tough fibers, making the tool less effective and difficult to clean. A porcelain or ceramic grater, like this one from Kyocera, has tiny little pointy teeth that do a miraculous job of rapidly reducing the ginger to a purée, while separating out those annoying fibers. When you're all done, it's a lot easier to clean, too.
Anson Mills Grits
We know: It might sound nuts to mail-order cornmeal and grits, given that they're found on any supermarket shelf. But we'd argue that you haven't experienced the best cornbread, grits, or other classic Southern dishes until you've had them made with the kind of high-quality stuff Anson Mills is selling. It'll change how you understand those foods and what they can be.
Tsukemono Round Pickle Press
The quick pickles common in Japanese cuisine that go by the name asazuke, or "morning pickles," are typically made in a contraption similar to this one. The screwable tamper is spring-loaded, which exerts consistent pressure on sliced, salted vegetables, which presses out excess water and creates a highly seasoned brine, which then flavors the vegetables. The small size is perfect for anyone who wants to experiment with the technique.
Recchiuti's Chocolate Mendiants
These thin chocolate disks have a creamy, melt-in-your-mouth texture and a complex, pleasantly fruity bitterness. But it's the scattered cacao nibs on top that take them from memorable to exceptional. The crunchy bits of bean are toasty and flavorful in their own right, but Recchiuti goes the extra mile, tossing them in caramel and fleur de sel for a brightly salty-sweet finish that electrifies each bite.
Culinary Coloring Book
Jessie Kanelos Weiner's vivid and imaginative watercolors have enhanced several of our stories. Her book Edible Paradise: An Adult Coloring Book of Seasonal Fruits and Vegetables, is a great therapeutic outlet. For those who enjoy it, coloring can leave you with a profound sense of zen-like relaxation and accomplishment. Weiner's fanciful landscapes are organized by season; they're a riot of vegetation, edible plant life, and tantalizing market scenes. They'll encourage you to paint (or pencil) the town red—in any colors you like.
Misono Travel Knife
After experiencing one too many Airbnb kitchens with terrible knives, Daniel invested in a travel knife: a small, sharp blade to take with him so that cooking can be a pleasure even when he's not at home. The wooden sheath makes it safe to keep in a bag, but remember not to fly with it in a carry-on.
Magnetic Knife Rack
Magnetic knife strips are not only space-saving but they also look pretty badass hanging on your wall. They'll keep your knives from rubbing up against other utensils, which can make them dull (and can be dangerous, too).
The Adventurous Eaters Club
Quite a few of us have a celebrity crush on Misha Collins, and that was before we knew he cooked. This cookbook that he made with his wife is full of kid-friendly recipes that are fun, delicious, and easy to make.
Pistachio Spread
Since first getting his hands on a jar of this pistachio spread, Sasha hasn't shut up about it. Made from Sicilian pistachios, olive oil, sugar, and sea salt, it's sweet, slightly salty, incredibly creamy, and just flat-out delicious. While it's not cheap, this is one of those specialty products that are actually worth the price tag, and it makes a great gift. Spread it on bread, drizzle it over ice cream, or just eat it by the spoonful straight from the jar.
Glass Pickle Weights
Whether quick-pickled or lacto-fermented, homemade pickles are an easy and colorful way to dress up any dish. These pickle weights are ideal for keeping vegetables submerged in a wide-mouthed Mason jar. Because they're made of glass, there's no need to worry about chemicals leaching in an acidic environment. Use them for sliced veggies, like radishes and onions, or whole ones that tend to float, such as green beans and okra. These weights are also heavy enough for a small batch of tsukemono (Japanese-style pressed pickles).
Serious Eater: A Food Lover's Perilous Quest for Pizza and Redemption
In his book, Serious Eater, Ed Levine shares the untold tale of what it took to grow Serious Eats from a personal blog into an award-winning food website. We should warn you: It'll make you extremely hungry!
Blank Slate Kitchen Sichuan Chili Oil
Serious Eats' love of chili crisp is well documented. In theory, we all periodically invest the time required to make a homemade batch to keep the refrigerator stocked. In reality, life gets in the way, and that project gets bumped to the bottom of our to-do lists. Recently we've been keeping this store-bought version on hand, and its rich layers of flavor don't disappoint, no matter what we drizzle it over. It's pricier than other options, but it lasts a long time, which we think makes it more than a worthwhile investment (and a great gift idea besides).
Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread
Marco Colzani is a great Italian bean-to-bar chocolate maker, with a number of excellent products under his brand, Amaro. But it's his spreads that have Ed addicted, particularly the Cacao Nocciole, or hazelnut-and-chocolate variety. Imagine a Nutella-like substance, but made with the freshest roasted hazelnuts and extra-chocolaty high-quality cocoa powder. It's a lot to pay for a small jar, but my guess is that your mom is worth it, and more.
Wusthof Pro Paring Knife, 3-1/2-Inch
Paring knives don't need to cost a lot to do their job—questions of balance and build quality matter less in a knife that fits almost entirely in the palm of your hand. Of all the ones we tested, this inexpensive blade from Wüsthof came out on top, with a razor-sharp edge and comfortable grip. This is our new go-to paring knife, and we already have several of them at work and home.
OXO Handheld Mandoline
A great mandoline will rapidly make photo-worthy cuts of your favorite vegetables, whether thin slices of radishes for a salad or potatoes for a gratin. The OXO slicer has four thickness settings and a fold-down stand allows this slicer to either be set on a cutting board (with the legs down) or perched over a bowl (with the legs up).
Matching Bear Aprons for Parents and Kids
Want to match your kids in the kitchen? Go for this apron set, which comes with sweet chef's hats and other fun cooking accessories.
Pianogrillo Tomato Concentrate
This tomato “extract” is concentrated tomato dialed up to 11, a cheat code to better pasta sauces, soups, stews, braises, and more. Think of it like tomato miso. It puts those”double-concentrated” tomato pastes to shame. Do yourself a favor—get one jar of this umami bomb for yourself, and one as a gift for a special someone.
Lever Corkscrew
The OXO worked on every bottle and cork we tested it with. The two-step motion—push down, then pull up—yanks the cork out in about two seconds. Repeat the process, and the cork drops free of the opener. The capable foil cutter clips into the body of the tool.
Life of the Party Puzzle
Puzzles are back, baby. This holiday season, give the gift of hours of screen-free relaxation with this sturdy 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle from Piecework. This one features a fistful of cake, but there's a broad selection to choose from.
Jono Pandolfi Condiment Bowls
For a delicate little stocking stuffer, pick up a few of these lovely handmade condiment bowls from Jono Pandolfi. Put them on your holiday table to hold flaked sea salt and other seasonings, then use them again and again for smaller mise en place items, toothpicks, matches, and more.
Cutie Pie Onesie
A cute, punny onesie for the baby and future food lover in your life.
Anchovy Colatura
If you want to give the gift of umami, you owe it to your intended recipient to check out this aged Italian fish sauce. Hailing from the town of Cetara on the Amalfi Coast, colatura is made by aging anchovies and sea salt in chestnut barrels for roughly three years, producing a rich, deeply savory fish sauce that can be used as a flavor enhancer for meats, fish, or vegetables. Or, try it as the star of the show in spaghetti con la colatura.
Sorghum Syrup
Sorghum syrup is made from the pressed juice of sorghum grass, which grows prominently throughout the American South. This amber-colored syrup has a unique, nutty flavor that's both sweet and savory. And since the 1960s, the Guenther family of Muddy Pond, Tennessee, has been making some of the best.
Sauce Spoon
Basic stainless steel kitchen spoons are useful to have, but sometimes their long handles get in the way more than they help. That's where professional sauce spoons come into play. This one has a nice large bowl that can scoop up generous dollops of yogurt, a heap of cooked grain, or a serving of sauce, and a short enough handle to make wielding those ingredients easy instead of clumsy.
The Best Anchovies in Olive Oil
For our anchovy taste test, Ortiz was certainly the most gourmet brand we tried. Every other sample cost us less than $2.00 per ounce. What sets it apart? Tasters applauded its "smooth texture," describing it as "tender and meaty." A number noted its relatively mild, clean flavor, a certain "pleasant sweetness" and "cheesy Parmesan flavor."
Rose and Orange Flower Water
Forget flowers—they'll be dead by the end of the week. These flower waters, on the other hand, will last (most of) a lifetime. Both rose and orange flower water will stay good just about forever on the shelf, and a drop or two is all that's needed to give any recipe an aromatic boost. Try a splash of rose water with a strawberry or rhubarb dessert, or orange flower water in a classic New York cheesecake, where its gentle perfume can work wonders.
Insulated Beverage Bottle
The Hydro Flask is designed to keep water cold for hours on end, but its vacuum-insulated walls don't discriminate between beverages: The 32-ounce flask can also accommodate a full bottle of wine or a big batch of margaritas. It's ideal for picnics and trips to the beach, no matter what you're drinking.
Effie's Oatcakes
They may not come in the most festive or glamorous packaging, but you can't go wrong with Effie's Oatcakes. Buttery, crumbly, nutty, and salty-sweet, they're insanely addictive.
Kid's Make-a-Cake Mixer Set
Vicky's four-year-old niece is obsessed with Stella. This wooden stand mixer set is a perfect gift for the young baker. It has eggs that you can actually crack!
Mercer Culinary Chef's Knife for Older Kids
More and more children are interested in cooking, and that means they'll eventually need to learn to wield a real, grown-up-style knife. The decision on when to put a safety-feature-free blade in their hand is best left to the parents, but when that day does come, this short chef's knife is a good size for young hands.
Collapsible Freezer Lunch Bags
These PackIt cooler bags come in a variety of sizes and styles, and all of them can be collapsed and chilled in the freezer overnight to provide refrigerator-level temperatures for a 12-hour period. Not a lunch bag person? No problem—it's still handy toting beers to the park or beach, or transporting raw meat to barbecues and campsites.
Recipe Journal
Trying to get your mom to finally write down all those family recipes? This sleek Moleskine journal will get her organized and become a precious family heirloom in the process.
Colorful Tea Towels
Heavy-duty kitchen towels have a tendency to accrue big, ugly stains. That's why it's nice to keep a separate set of more attractive towels for gentle drying, transporting too-hot-to-handle serving dishes, and lining bread baskets. These colorful, summery tea towels instantly brighten any kitchen or tabletop, while still doing a stand-up job at the tasks they were made for.
12-Inch Stainless-Steel Locking Tongs
The steep, 13-degree angle on their stainless steel scalloped ends enables the OXO Good Grips Tongs to securely grasp a large range of food shapes and sizes, from a whole chicken to thin spaghetti to tail-on shrimp. The build features a responsive and durable spring, large rubber grips, and pinch-free, stay-cool handles.
Shaquanda Will Feed You Hot Sauce
Shaquanda's Hot Pepper Sauce really is packed with chili heat, but it's not so spicy that you won't taste all of the other ingredients that go into making each batch. The sauce is inspired by the pepper sauces of Barbados and strongly influenced by New York food culture—think fiery Scotch bonnet peppers and sharp vinegar, complemented by the gentler heat of grated horseradish. Put this sauce on eggs, mix it into marinades, and make sure to always have another bottle on hand.
Brooklyn Biltong Dried Beef
Biltong is a dried meat, similar to jerky, that hails from South Africa. As we understand it, the process is distinct from making jerky in that the meat is given a vinegar bath before drying, which gives the final product a slight tang. We got samples of Brooklyn Biltong's stuff a while back, and while we can't actually recommend the "Original" flavor, which is a little bland, the "Jo'burg Steakhouse" variety is addictive. The "Zulu Peri Peri" flavor ain't bad, either.
Sagaform Gold Loop Candle Holder
Adding candlelight to your table makes dinner feel just a little fancier and more special. We love the physics-defying appearance of these candleholders, which fit two pillar candles apiece.
Small Mortar and Pestle
Whether or not you follow him on Instagram, you can probably imagine that Kenji is the king of getting his daughter, Alicia, in the kitchen. She even has her own mini mortar and pestle to use when Kenji’s using his!
Fluted Cookie Cutters Set
These fluted cookie cutters add flair to any basic cookie.
Ice Cream Scoop
A good ice cream scoop is worth keeping in your kitchen utensil drawer. This one works for both right and left hands, and features a specially designed handle that transfers heat into the scoop, helping it slide into more solid ice cream without too much trouble.
Extra-Long Tweezers
Long tweezers have the strength of tongs coupled with the same precision and tight grip of a tool you might find in an ER. They allow you to turn over a thick ribeye with ease and even garnish it with some fragile herbs immediately after, if you're in the mood. If you don't mind getting a little close to the heat, long tweezers are the perfect utensil for carefully flipping vegetables or hot dogs on a grill without letting any slip through the grate. Their simple design means that there aren't any grooves or pockets for food and gunk to get trapped, so cleanup is a cinch.
R. Murphy Duxbury Oyster Knife
We've used many oyster knives as Serious Eats staffers and the R. Murphy Duxbury knife is our hands-down favorite. It has a fat, grippy handle that's easy to wield, and a short blade that tapers to a point and always manages to find the sweet spot on an oyster's hinge. The slightly sharpened blade edges make slicing through the muscle and removing the top shell as smooth as butter.
Reusable Silicone Food Bags
If you or your loved one is trying to cut down on single-use plastic, these reusable zip-top bags are an excellent option (and they make great stocking stuffers). The thick silicone pouches are dishwasher- and microwave-safe, and have flat bottoms that allow them to be stood upright for filling. Pack them with homemade tomato sauce, use them to transport your leftovers, or try them the next time you’re sous-vide-ing salmon or chicken.
The Original Bear Paws Shredder Claws
In addition to making you look like Wolverine, shredder claws make quick work of pork butts (hello, pulled pork!), smoked chicken, smoked chuck roasts, and other meats, allowing you to tear the meat into shreds in no time. Sure, you could try doing it with forks, but you'd better have a lot of time on your hands.
Chef's Press
If you love beautifully seared steaks, golden-brown grilled cheese sandwiches, and crispy-skinned fish and poultry, this is a great thing to have in your kitchen. Chef's presses help you get even contact between ingredients and your skillet. They're vented, so you won't accidentally steam your food, and they're stackable, so you can get a couple for weighing down heftier items.
Microplane Grater/Zester
Microplanes do fine grating work way better than those tiny, raspy holes on a box grater. Whether you're quickly grating fresh nutmeg or cinnamon, taking the zest off a lemon, or turning a clove of garlic into a fine purée, the Microplane is the tool to reach for.
Citrus Press
If you've ever thought that citrus presses are overhyped, absurdly specific, rarely useful, space-consuming, money-wasting gadgets, you're not alone. But it takes only one use to see just how wrong you are—not only does a citrus press guarantee that you'll get way more juice out of every lemon and lime you squeeze, but you can say good-bye to stinging papercuts and all those infuriating attempts at pinching slippery stray seeds from your salad dressings and cocktails.
Buttery Popcorn Seasoning
Ariel's dad has long been a movie-theater-popcorn fanatic—he's been known to go into the theater just to get popcorn, then leave. This popcorn seasoning will cut out the middleman, allowing her dad to make his very own cinema-worthy popcorn right at home.
ThermoWorks ThermoPop
In the inexpensive-thermometer department, the ThermoPop comes in an impressive package. An easy-to-read display rotates at the touch of a button, so you don't have to twist your head to read it. It takes a few seconds longer to read temperatures than its big brother, the Thermapen, but it's every bit as accurate.
Garlic Press
When we're cooking with garlic, we're pulling out the press nine times out of 10, because, even with the slightly fussy cleaning, it's still faster and easier than chopping fresh garlic on a board.
Fish Scaler
A hefty weight and a narrow head design make this an extremely efficient fish scaler. We've used it on smallish porgies, bigger black sea bass and fluke, and just about everything in between. It's a significant improvement over the clamshell we used to use, and something about its design reduces the spray of scales.
Pizza Wheel
When it comes to portioning pizza, a knife simply won't cut it. At least, not if you don't want to drag cheese and toppings all over the place. For our money, nothing beats a traditional pizza wheel.
Pralus Pyramid of Dark Chocolates
I don't mind baking with supermarket chocolate bars, but for snacking, I'd rather spring for the good stuff. If you're a "bite of dark chocolate after dinner" kinda person (which means every bite needs to count), that's where this stack of single-origin chocolates comes in. It's a fun way to explore the world of chocolate, and learn how different beans and countries of origin can impact its taste.
Wildfish Cannery Smoked Salmon
On a recent press trip to Alaska, I was introduced to this fancy canned salmon. The king and white king versions blew my mind—hands down the best canned smoked salmon I've ever had. It's pricey, making it more of a special-occasion indulgence than a daily canned-fish option, but one taste will prove its worth.
Teddy Bear Aprons
Why would you spend all this time getting your kid into the kitchen if you can't photograph them in an absolutely adorable apron? Okay, fine, an apron is functional, too, keeping them clean and making them feel like real professionals. There are countless aprons across the internet, but we're partial to these teddy bear–themed ones.
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