My default mode for holiday gifting (or “any time of the year” gifting) is to give edible things, whether it be a fancy jar of pickles or a set of esoteric vinegars or oils with some special provenance. I live in perpetual fear of giving and receiving useless things that are going to take up space, but jars of honey, boxes of heritage grains, and pretty bottles of chai can be easily tailored to the recipient and make the most considerate host gifts (if they get consumed, they’ll never clutter up anyone’s life).
As a longtime chef who has delved into the world of retail-sauce entrepreneurship, I am constantly adding to my collection of condiments and put equal care and consideration into how I stock the rest of my pantry and fridge. This guide includes many of my favorite lesser-known jarred and boxed ingredients, condiments, preserves, and preparations that I’ve given and received, as well as those of other chefs and other pantry nerds I talked to. Most of my picks come in such beautiful packaging that no wrapping is necessary. If you’re shopping for someone you know who loves spices or cheese, or follows a vegan diet, I have guides for those, too. And you can find more gift ideas, whether edible or nonedible, at the Strategist gift guide hub.
In this article
Spices and chili crisps
The base of this is ghee, and I love it on things that could use touches of both butteriness and spice, like chicken or rice. You can also get it as a gift bundle.
This is one of my favorite iterations of chili crisp, with crunchy fried garlic, onion, and Sichuan pepper simmered in canola oil and balanced with black vinegar and rice vinegar. “It is such a delight to add to everything on my plate,” says cookbook author Jeffrey Yoskowitz. “There’s a lightness to it that makes it different from other chili crisps.”
Duck fat makes everything better. I thought I loved chili crisp with its crunchy alliums suspended in oil, but that was before I discovered they’re even more delicious with a duck-fat base, accompanied by umami-rich ingredients like kombu powder and mushroom extract.
Perfect for those starting out cooking Indian food at home, this set of 14 masalas provides an entry point for discovering a kaleidoscope of flavors.
Tinned Fish
A couple years ago, a friend brought several tins of Icelandic cod liver back to me from a trip to Iceland, and my life and pantry were forever changed. My favorite breakfast consists of toasted buttered bread and a smear of the creamy cod liver — I think of it as the foie gras of the sea — sprinkled with a bit of seaweed powder. I was thrilled to find the same brand of cod liver on Amazon. I like to bring a tin to people’s houses when they have me for dinner, along with a bottle of wine.
I love the design of these boxes, as well as the cutout letters spelling out “Jose” and letting each tin peek through. I have also ordered this as a gift for myself.
These Cantabrian anchovy filets come in a gold tin that reminds me of a giant caviar tin but with a fitted plastic lid in case you can’t consume over a pound of anchovies in one sitting. Take off the lid, and it’s a spectacular addition to a holiday feast.
La Narval is one of my favorite brands of tinned fish, hailing from Galicia, Spain, and its packaging is impeccable, as are the contents of the tins. This set includes seven varieties of La Narval’s seafood, and my favorites include its cockles in brine and ventresca tuna in olive oil.
I’ve ordered a box like this one as a gift for myself. This set also contains seven tins, but from brands as diverse as the wonderful Nordic Fangst, stalwart Portuguese Nuri, and Spanish Samare.
Salts
I received this as a gift, and I’ve been using it as a finishing salt for the last few months. The salt is harvested from the Sea of Cortez, and then it’s sun-dried. It’s super mineral-y, and the little jar is adorable.
This set includes the company’s signature crunchy sea-salt crystals, Salt & Peppery, and Sea Salt Smoked Flakes. My husband, Ari Miller, who is the executive chef of Wolfgang Puck’s CUT in Washington, D.C., loves the signature salt in particular. “It’s nice and salty up front, and it has many different textures in one product,” he says. “I’d use it both to season while cooking and as a finishing salt, especially on fresh fish.”
I’ve been enamored with hoja santa ever since I first tasted the leaves embedded in tortillas at Pujol in Mexico City. Now I can replicate that flavor at home with this seasoning salt.
Siesta Co. makes my favorite tinned mussels of all time, and I will never shut up about how much I love them (and everything else it makes, including this botijo). Its new salt set makes a spectacular gift, with unique flavors like Smoked Ginger, Black (with activated charcoal), Natural, and Citrus. The flakes are enormous and light, and finishing dishes with them makes me feel like I’m dipping into a snow globe. This is definitely one of those gift sets that are so well designed that you can skip the wrapping paper.
I tend to knock over salt cellars and scatter salt everywhere, but this one, designed by Icelandic design team Hugdetta and made by artisans in Sierra Leone, has very curved edges, almost like an open jar with a wide base that prevents spillage and sits firmly on your counter. “I like how compact it is, and I love the shake spout paired with the space to pinch,” says Miller. “I’d buy it together with the Saltverk salt for someone as a gift.”
Sweet things
I love receiving honey and syrup as gifts, and I really like the depth and earthiness of this piloncillo. It’s caramelly without being thick and sticky like caramel. Every morning, I put a little squirt in my coffee and think about the person who gave it to me.
Replace the speculoos in cookie butter with Chinese almond cookies, and you get this. The company makes Chinese American inflected butters like Pineapple Cake Cashew Butter and a Crunchy Black Sesame Butter (which tastes like end–of–dim sum desserts) that instantly transport me to my own Chinese childhood. I’ve spent years toting suitcases stuffed with jars of Trader Joe’s cookie butter back to relatives in Hawaii every Christmas (there’s no Trader Joe’s in Hawaii, and cookie butter is a hot commodity), but this year, they’ll be getting Rooted Fare’s cookie butter. Tell your recipient to spread it on ice cream, stir into hot coffee, whip it into milkshakes, or eat it the way I do — licked off a spoon.
This tastes like pistachio ice cream in a bottle and would be perfect for anyone who thinks that their coffee is a reflection of their personality. It makes as elegant a gift as a bottle of wine.
These rich, decadent brownies make amazing stocking stuffers (and suitcase stuffers — I keep one in my carry-on at all times for emergencies). They’re wrapped individually and they’re so fudgy and indulgent.
When Burlap and Barrel sources single-origin, minimally processed sugars, it’s not just sourcing them from a single country (other specialty sugars often have much murkier provenance) but from single mills, cooperatives, or farms. These three sugars are vastly different in taste and texture. The Jaggery smells like green sugarcane, the Golden Crystal is crunchy, and the Panela tastes like toffee.
“Bury me in Caramunchies” is what I told the friend who sent this box of snacks to me last Christmas. These are addictive clusters of cornflakes and caramel, infused with various flavors. London Fog, which has Earl Grey tea in the mixture, is my favorite. The company includes a balloon and card with its gift boxes, and they’ll even handwrite a message for you.
Gelée went and gave Jell-O a fancy makeover. As simple to make as the classic gelatin dessert, Gelée’s flavors include passionfruit, guava, and pineapple (also available individually) suspended in a beef gelatin base and sweetened with stevia. They are really good and not nearly as cloying as the Jell-O you grew up with. Since jiggling jelly and Jell-O cakes are all the rage on my TikTok “For You” page, I am compelled to give this set to everyone in my life who has forwarded me those soothing jelly videos.
Giada De Laurentiis’s line of panettone is gorgeously packaged. Once they’ve devoured the eggy chocolate bread, they can use the box to store a fancy hat.
Oils
I’ve been using Primis olive oils as my go-to olive oil for the last few months because I love their peppery finish. The adorable dancing olives on this bottle mean you can tie a ribbon on its neck and voilà, perfect host gift.
“Delight someone special with this gorgeous bottle of fresh, extra virgin fresh cold-pressed olive oil from Tuscany,” says Jen Honovic Herczeg, the owner of Salt & Vinegar. “Crafted with Frantoio, Leccino, and Moraiolo olives, this oil is intensely fruity, a bit peppery, and with notes of almond and artichoke, it adds an extra punch to any dish.”
I keep Heraclea’s infused oils on my kitchen counter, and I love the rosemary one in particular. They’re so pretty that you can also skip the gift wrap on this set.
I look forward to every release of Corto’s oil, which presses olives together with a rotating roster of seasonal ingredients, the most recent one being Calabrian chiles. It’s an altogether different style than Heraclea’s infused oil and makes for a deeply flavorful, robust oil.
I love both of 50Hertz’s styles of Sichuan pepper oil in this set: the zesty brightness of its green-pepper blended oil and the warmth of its red-pepper oil. I use them on salads, fish, tofu, and even in cocktails to add some tingly heat.
I first learned about this brand from chef Reem Assil, who loves its snack bowls for za’atar and olive oil. You could pair one of the olive oils on this list with this handmade bottle, which is thrown with a large cupped neck to prevent drips.
Sauces and vinegars
This condiment consists of mustard whipped with whole milk, eggs, sugar, and butter for a creamy, balanced dip. It comes in a distinctive jar with a cute design. Perfect for the sandwich lover in your life, it renders an ordinary turkey sandwich unbeatable. I can’t eat pretzels without it.
Tangerine juice and habanero peppers are blended in this delightfully sweet and spicy hot sauce. It also has a fun, wacky label.
“Nam Prik Pao is a must-have condiment that deserves a permanent spot in every kitchen, right alongside staples like barbecue sauce, mayo, soy sauce, and sriracha,” says chef Joe Fontelera of Boonie’s Chicago. “This one stands out — whether you use a little or a lot, its rich, complex flavors improve any dish. It adds a spicy, bold, delightful depth to absolutely anything and everything.”
Chili Peppah Water is an essential condiment in Hawaii, and it’s as ubiquitous on tables as soy sauce. I couldn’t find it on the mainland, so I made my own. This one is only mildly spicy, ginger and rice-vinegar-forward, and it’s excellent on fresh fish poke, in margaritas, on any rice dish, and everything in between.
“These high-quality vinegars crafted in small batches are perfect for the chef and home cook alike. I love the Pantry Vinegar Gift Box, which includes four vinegars essential for every well-stocked pantry: York Imperial Apple, Meritage, Chardonnay, and Irish Stout Malt,” says Honovic Herczeg.
“This soy sauce is a special gift for those who enjoy Asian cooking,” says Soon Tani Beccaria Mochizuki, a food-product photographer. “It’s made from a 300-year-old brewery in Gobo. The brewery, Horikawaya Nomura, still uses wood fires to make their soy sauce, which lends to its sweet and savory flavors a hint of smokiness.”
Preserves and ferments
Shared Cultures’ misos were recommended by several experts I spoke to, but this one is my personal favorite. Made from roasted sunchokes, Rancho Gordo chickpeas, and heirloom rice from Koda Farms, it’s nutty and buttery and so delicious stirred into a cup of hot water.
This funky gochujang is made with fermented soybean powder, red pepper, glutinous rice, and strawberries, and it’s unlike any other gochujang I’ve ever tasted. It’s sweet without being cloying, jammy, and rich. It’s so versatile I eat it with cheese like a spicy jam, and my husband swirls it into ice cream.
“What I love about these garums is their ability to pack an umami punch, transforming broths, marinades, and even vegetables into something unforgettable,” says chef Imrun Texeira of Wanderlust Dining. “The beauty of gifting these flavor bombs is that it unlocks the art of fermentation for home cooks and food enthusiasts alike. With just a spoonful, you can elevate the simplest of dishes, taking it from good to gourmet.”
This is my favorite pickle brand, and I’ve been a huge fan of its collaborations over the years, which introduce pickle lovers to all kinds of interesting seasonings. This kit includes everything you need to make a crunchy fried pickle, including its Philly Dilly pickles, tempura base, panko crumbs, and the spices to whip up a pepper aioli.
Coffee and tea
I’ve been using these jerkies as stocking stuffers for well over a decade, and one of my favorites is the cowboy flavor. If they like coffee and jerky, get them coffee-flavored beef jerky.
This set of coffee concentrates makes a stunning gift that keeps on giving. Well after I finished the coffee in the pretty frosted glass bottles, I kept using the jigger it came with for my cocktails — it has the perfect little handle for my thumb and forefinger to pinch comfortably.
Chai concentrate makes a wonderful gift because it’s so versatile. Yes, you can turn it into a literal cup of chai, but I bake with it, stir it into dulce de leche, and like to put a splash of it into my morning coffee. This set comes with a sweetened and an unsweetened bottle, to give your recipient options.
This stunning gift box showcases Vietnamese single-serving lattes in flavors like Vanilla, Churro, and Salted Caramel. The beans are sustainably sourced from small farmers in Vietnam, so you can feel good about supporting them, too.
Pasta and grains
This kit contains salt, yeast, and wheat flour milled in the Sonoran desert and comes from Barrio Bread, a project spearheaded by Don Guerra, a James Beard Award–winning baker who operates his bakery like a CSA. I brought the kit and a suitcase of bread home from Tucson the last time I was there, and it makes a wonderfully fragrant crust.
Colorado-based Dry Storage is on a mission to preserve and propagate heritage grains grown regeneratively. Great for someone who’s into bread baking, this flour also makes uniquely savory chocolate chip cookies.
“I’ve used a lot of flours over the years, but Sunrise Flour Mill’s bread flour is something special,” says Bryan Ford, baker and author of Pan y Dulce: The Latin American Baking Book. “It’s got that perfect texture and flavor that makes your dough come alive, and you can really taste the difference when it comes to those heritage grains.”
I’ve been fangirling over Pasta Lab for years, and most Saturdays you’ll find me waiting in line for its fresh pasta at Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Farmers’ Market. This box includes their Radiatori and Campanelli made with red spring wheat and Gemelli and Vesuvio pastas made with spelt.
Hampers and other gift sets
This set includes a beautifully designed pasta sampler tin, vodka sauce, marinara sauce, and olive oil, particularly well suited for a former New Yorker looking to stock their kitchen with Mulberry Street memories.
If they can’t make it to Japan, bring Japan to them every month with a Sakuraco subscription. Each box includes a pamphlet detailing the provenance of each snack, what artisan produced it, and its historical significance — telling a story of special, seasonal ingredients.
I live in the same neighborhood in Philadelphia as this demo kitchen turned wine-and-pantry shop, and it takes an enormous amount of self-control to not swoop in every day and pick up a box of treats. They put together the most thoughtful and frequently color-matching gift sets of fancy pantry items that I’ve ever seen.
No holiday gift guide would be complete without a caviar set. Give the gift of ultimate luxury, along with the tools to serve it (like a little pearly spoon and caviar tin keys), encased in luxe velvet bags. The set can be tailored for your budget, with options ranging from 30g to 100g tins.
This is the best hamper I’ve ever received. There’s such a huge range of products, and opening the gift box felt like going on a little tropical holiday. I’ve been working my way through Hawaiian jellies, chocolate, butters, and macadamia nut products for months, and feel a sense of discovery every time I dip into it.
Nobody does gift baskets like Zingerman’s. Its spiced pecans, brownies, and potato chips are unmatched and are extra giftable because of the illustrated guides that describe every product in the basket and are worthy of framing.
The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
