Tag: beer house

Each year our staff and contributors round up best gift ideas for cooks, eaters, and the kitchen-curious. Read on for our ultimate gift guide for all the food people on your list.

It’s the season for togetherness, charity, goodwill towards mankind! Also presents. Mostly presents. While there are people on your list who require but a token, a trinket, a just-a-little-something (check out our list of gift ideas under $50 for those folks), there are others who require something…more. For your loving hubs, your friend who’s had a rough year, or your favorite child (you know which one), these are the big ticket holiday gifts that will bring a little extra sparkle to the season.

Photo by Emma Fishman

Gift your aunt with the dusty fake orchids in a dried arrangement in one of these sculptural vases made from recycled paper. It will last just as long as faux flowers but is a serious home decor upgrade.

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Making rice just got cuter. This ceramic Japanese rice cooker (from Hario, which makes some of our favorite coffee gear) whistles like a tea kettle when it’s time to take it off the flame. Measuring is a snap as well—add enough rice to reach the first line on the interior of the pot, then water up to the second line and you’re good to go.

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These hefty marble vessels are handcrafted north of Bangkok from local marble in sumptuous shades of pink, yellow and brown. Use the shallow stand as a catch-all tray and keep your A-List fruit on display in the pedestaled bowl.

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Artist Janie Korn crafts candles that look like pimento-stuffed olives, shrimp cocktail, and the face of Tavi Gevinson, but I’m partial to this likeness of an Italian rainbow cookie.

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We’ve never met a panettone we didn’t like, but Olivieri 1882’s are in a class of their own. Even your bro whose whole personality is that he studied in Florence will be impressed. Go with the classic or wild out with triple chocolate or salted apricot caramel. On the off chance that you have any left over, get ready for the best French toast of your life.

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For your dad who is still buying pre-ground coffee, this incredibly handsome countertop grinder from Fellow, which has recently been upgraded with even better burrs, will take his Aeropress, pour-over, or French press to the next level. If Pops is an espresso drinker, though, this gadget isn’t for him; get the Mazzer Mini.

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These opulent goblets ooze holiday cheer. They’re a holiday season extravagance—the geometric crystal stems are hand cut, and the etching on the side of the glasses is incredibly delicate—so this is not the best gift for your clumsy friend.

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The gift that is for your clumsy friend? Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken or chipped pottery using gold lacquer, and this kit contains everything she’ll need to mend that cracked teacup.

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If you’re traveling for the holidays, gift your host a generously sized mug from Mudwitch and then steal it for yourself every morning. San Francisco ceramist Viviana Matsuda’s wares sell out quickly, so keep an eye on their Instagram for info about drops and restocks.

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Photo by Emma Fishman

No shade to those heritage French brands, but these sleek enameled cast-iron Dutch ovens designed by chef Sergio Herman for Serax have us feeling weak at the knees. These are heirloom pieces that will have your future grandkids remarking on your exquisite taste.

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If you’ve ever thought, “This bowl is great, but I wish it had three anatomically accurate legs and came with faux leather slides in their own tiny shoebox,” boy, are you in luck.

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This brass dabba from Diaspora Co. is a thoughtful gift for the organization enthusiast. It’ll keep their most-used spices neat and within reach instead of perilously stacked on a shelf next to the stove. Each piece is hand-spun by a single craftsman in Bangalore who has been honing his trade for over 25 years, and it comes with your choice of seven jars of high-quality, ethically-sourced spices (including Diaspora’s best-selling turmeric).

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This 53″-long runner, made from reclaimed denim linen, is a rare gift that’s appropriate for both your Deadhead uncle and your Gen Z cousin.

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Kyiv-based Gunia Project launched their Freedom collection of ceramics and accessories in response to the Russian invasion. This hand-painted, gilt-edged platter features St. George—aka St. Yuri, an important figure in Ukrainian culture—but instead of the traditional dragon, he is vanquishing a Russian warship.

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Let your cottagecore nibling live out their pastoral fantasies with this extremely charming picnic basket from Kazi Goods, handwoven in Ghana.

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This trio of liqueurs hails from Haiti, and the labels are reason enough

From frozen sandwiches that don’t need to be nuked to pies and waffles that go from the freezer to plate, food manufacturers are racing to introduce products in the nascent “thaw and eat” category.

Why it matters: Americans have gotten used to eating more meals at home during the pandemic. Now that schools and offices are backing people up, they’re seeking easier-than-ever options.

Details: Frozen “thaw and eat” or “thaw and serve” products can be ready to eat in two hours or less — no microwave required.

• The latest offerings are aimed at adults who grew up with Uncrustables, Eggo, and other one-handed cultural touchstones.
• Nestlé is trying to propagate the term “smeals” to refer to small meals (or sizable snacks) catering to modern consumption habits.

Driving the news: JM Smucker Co. just introduced a new line of Uncrustables frozen sandwiches filled with meat and cheese instead of PB&J — on the heels of Nestlé rolling out Deliwich, a line of soft-crust Hot Pockets that don’t require heating.

• The two familiar brands are going head-to-head, both touting the grabbable, convenient, no-mess aspect of their lunchbox-friendly sandwiches.
• Uncrustables Meat and Cheese Bites come in ham & cheddar and turkey & Colby … and so do Deliwiches.
• Smuckers is doubling down on Uncrustables, building a $1.1 billion manufacturing plant in Alabama to crank them out.
• Nestlé says Deliwiches — which some are calling “cold pockets” — are “somewhat unexpectedly” proving more popular with adults than kids.

Of note: Kraft Heinz debuted its take on this product — Launch Box sandwiches — in 2019.

• Eggo unveiled its entry — Eggo Grab & Go Liege-Style Waffles, billed as “the first-ever Eggo waffle that doesn’t require a toaster” — in April.
• “Mornings are tough for families,” Eggo’s marketing director Joe Beauprez said in a press release. “We heard from parents that they often sacrifice their own needs, like skipping breakfast, in order to make sure their kids get a great start to the day.”

Thaw-and-serve frozen pies (from Marie Callender’s and Edwards and others) are also available.

• Europastry makes thaw-and-serve sourdough bread and donuts.
• And the Willamette Valley Pie Company just introduced a line of almond butter with fruit sandwiches called Berryfield’s.

What they’re saying: Thaw-and-eat is “a territory that, while it’s existed, it may not have had as many offerings that were targeted towards the consumer,” Nestlé USA Chief Strategy Officer Melissa Cash tells Axios.

• Cash refers to the “handheld space” and “smeals” as “an opportunity to meet the consumer where they’re at in terms of behavior.”

• With Deliwich (and its competitors), “you pop up and you grab something” — then you can get right back to work.

The big picture: Frozen foods underwent a renaissance during the pandemic as consumers hunkered down — and the sales bump seems to be continuing.

• “The rediscovery of the frozen foods aisle has resulted in increased innovation across the industry,” reports Winsight Grocery Business, a trade publication.
• Eating more meals at home is a “sticky behavior” that’s outlasting the heights of the pandemic — but these days people need more speed and convenience, per David Portalatin, food industry advisor at the NPD Group.
• “For some occasions, this means a trip to a quick service restaurant, but for others, we want to retain our new at-home capacity, just with some shortcuts or time-saving techniques,” Portalatin writes.

Fun fact: Smucker’s produces nearly 4 million Uncrustables per day, and says the demand for the tasty rounds, which debuted in 2000, is “unprecedented.”

The bottom line: While Uncrustables specifically recommends against putting its sandwiches in the microwave (or toaster or air fryer), some thaw-and-eat products could probably benefit from a dose of heat.

• We’re looking at you, Deliwich Pepperoni & Mozzarella Frozen Sandwiches.