20 foodie gifts for folks who consider cooking a hobby, not a chore – Motherly

Coffee itself is nice, but if you really want to give them an unexpected treat, the pure vanilla paste from Heilala is the key ingredient in the most amazing vanilla latte ever. Just add a tiny bit along with milk, mix with a frother and they might even delete the Starbuck’s app before they finish. (Oh, of course it’s also incredible for baking!)

What’s sweeter than the gift of maple syrup? How about sparkly maple syrup? Turn any breakfast into a David Bowie approved spread or elevate their cocktail game. Mixed with pearlescent food-grade mica, the all-natural Vermont maple syrup from Runamok Maple is a treat that is sure to delight the entire crew.

As a Vermonter, I might be biased in saying this is the best cheese powder on the planet–but the declaration stands. It’s perfect for popcorn, to zhuzh up homemade (or boxed) macaroni and cheese, or even making their own crackers (if they’re totally extra).

Bokksu offers curated boxes of high-quality authentic Japanese snacks that are the perfect intersection of curiosity and deliciousness. Each of the products is made by local snack and tea makers across Japan, including some 200-year old family businesses, and comes with an educational Culture Guide with details on the makers, prefectures of origin and more. How fun is that?

If you’ve got a salad packer on your list, this is the lunch container they never knew they needed. Designed with an integrated dressing capsule and a front hatch that turns the mason jar into a convenient bowl, it keeps all the ingredients in their fresh little layers. Just shake, mix and enjoy when lunch time rolls around!

Beloved by professional chefs and home cooks alike, the pro-grade canvas aprons from Hedley & Bennett are a stylish addition to their kitchen uniform. The popular smock style is lightweight with two generous pockets and a utility loop for dish towels or tools they need close at hand. Along with its lifetime guarantee, it’s the only apron they’ll ever need. Want to make it even more special? Opt for personalized text or a monogram!

Blow their hot sauce loving mind with this trio from Fly By Jing. Inspired by the flavors of Jing founder’s favorite Chengdu restaurants, these spicy-but-addicting Sichuan sauces are made to electrify your tastebuds. Drizzle the Sichuan Chili Crisp over everything from chicken wings to pumpkin soup. Punch up stir frys with the sweet and tangy Sichuan Chili Sauce and add and instant oh-la-la to practically anything with the Xtra Crunchy Sichuan Chili Crisp. Clear permanent space on the pantry shelves because this trio is about to become a staple.

Cooks always love to have a secret ingredient, don’t they? Luckily the aromatic and just-spicy-enough Algae Cooking Club Gochugaru Chili Oil can work that kind of magic. The complex and addicting aromatic oil (which happens to be the brainchild of Chef Daniel Humm of NYC’s Eleven Madison Park) features a range of spices that perfectly complement everything from scrambled eggs to homemade pizza.

Home chef foodies will adore this sleek gadget that grinds spices on demand. Just fill the reusable FinaMill pods with your spice of choice, pop onto the battery-operated grinder and have fresh ground spices in an instant! We can already see them pretending they’re waiting tables at the Olive Garden as they offer fresh cracked pepper on your pasta. 🙄 (There’s also a rechargeable style!)

As sourdough aficionados will tell you, there’s a delicate alchemy to the process. Sourhouse seeks to make that accessible to anyone with their brilliant Doughbed–a three-part gadget that combines a warming mat, glass bowl and cork lid–which proofs the perfect loaf every time. (Not to mention it also looks quite pretty!)

In our house, 95% of blender usage is for a single serving smoothie or shake which makes your standard design a real PITA. That’s where the clever Ninja BlendBoss shines. Designed not only to blend one-and-done drinks, but to take it with you right off the base, it’s the ideal set up for on-the-go smoothie lovers. It’s also easy to clean and just as powerful as its older, more cumbersome siblings. (BTW, it also makes a fine margarita slushie…)

There’s no reason to ration the good stuff when you’ve got a literal bucketful of it. The foodie-beloved Maldon sea salt is perfect for the at-home chef who wants to make every meal extra special.

Listen, if there’s anything better than opening your door to find a gorgeous spread of cheese, meats and other nibbles of deliciousness, I can’t think of it. Truly, when I first laid eyes on this baby, it felt like winning the lottery. (Granted it arrived to save me from 90% of my party food planning, but still.) Anyway, Boarderie’s super fresh, highly curated charcuterie boards are guaranteed to impress even the most unimpressible in-laws and what’s more important than that? Absolutely everything included is top-notch, from the tangy merlot pecorino to the highly addictive tangerine and chili marinated olives, it’s like a chef raided a gourmet grocery store for you. Even better? The package comes on an acacia wood serving board with bamboo cutlery so they can be guest-ready in an instant. (Boards are available in a range of sizes and in our experience, the portions are super generous and can feed more than they estimate.)

From their grandma’s tomato sauce to the sheet pan chicken dish they found online and artfully reimagined, this beautiful spiral bound recipe journal from Papier is the perfect place to store them all. It’s divided into breakfast, lunch, and dinner with plenty of room for notes, ratings and dietary info for each. And while it’s what they put inside that will make it a treasure, the personalized photo cover ensures they’ll treasures it from the start.

Honey and cinnamon? A match made in heaven. Drizzle’s Cinnamon Spiced Raw Honey turns a plain piece of toast into a dreamy treat, yogurt or oatmeal into a breakfast you can’t wait to wake up for, and even takes a wheel of baked brie to the next level. And since it’s raw honey, you get all the power-packed enzymes, vitamins and minerals to boot!

There’s cheese and then there’s Jasper Hill Farms Cheese. (There’s a reason it’s predominately featured in the Hampton’s cheese ATM that Ina recently brought to our attention.) Sure, as a Vermonter I might be biased, but I’m also a cheese addict with opinions. Their Vermonter gift box features four of their best sellers (two soft and two hard, including my personal fave the Harbison) as well as crunchy, caramelized roasted pecans and crisp spent-grain crackers. Trust me, any cheese aficionados on your list will be absolutely wowed.

If a cracker and a cookie had a baby, you’d end up with these delightful treats. Effie’s Homemade biscuits are made in small batches and come in a range of varieties from savory to sweet which are delicious on their own–but knock it out of the park in charcuterie boards. (Every party I’ve ever brought them to has gotten me major brownie points.)

Slow fermented using an 1800s process, American Vinegar Works hand-bottled vinegars are part food, part art form. But most importantly? They’re delicious. Like as in “what kind of swill have I been accepting prior?” delicious. I’m talking apple cider vinegar you’ll want to take shots of. Red wine vinegar that turns a plain salad into a Michelin Star first course. Chardonnay wine vinegar that turns mignonette into an oyster accompaniment that outshines the main event. The fact it’s made in New England is just the icing on the cake for me.

Fancy cocktails—hold the alcohol! For folks who love the taste of bitey drinks like negronis and manhattans but would rather not deal with the hangover, Ghia delivers a delicious alternative. The art-deco-esque packaging and incredible recipe guidance makes it a gorgeous gift that deserves a spot on every bar cart. (And if you peel off the label, it makes a gorgeous bedside water carafe–there’s a hidden eye in the glass too!)

An heirloom in the making, Field Company’s cast iron skillets are designed to be the only pan they’ll need to cook everything from eggs to cinnamon rolls. The smooth cast iron is naturally non-stick and unlike Teflon, won’t flake or scratch. (It’s also a fair bit lighter than your typical cast iron pans.) While they come in several sizes, we’d opt for the No. 8 in this case since it’s large enough to cook for multiple people but still small enough to cook for one. Throw in the natural fiber brush, chain mail scrubber, and cast iron seasoning oil to give it the proper love and they’ve got a pan for life!