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Serious Treats: 38 Food Items That’d Make Truly Wonderful Gifts

Including orange olive oil, the best-ever anchovies, and a jam Advent calendar.

By
Riddley Gemperlein-Schirm
Riddley Gemperlein-Schirm Serious Eats
Riddley Gemperlein-Schirm
Associate Editorial Director
Riddley Gemperlein-Schirm is the Associate Editorial Director for Serious Eats. She joined the team in 2021.
Learn about Serious Eats' Editorial Process
Updated December 05, 2024
Gift Guide for a Pricey Pantry

Serious Eats / Kevin Liang

That adage about the way to someone’s heart being through food feels…conditional. What kind of food? Was it cooked well? Did they follow a recipe from a reputable website (like, ahem, Serious Eats) or go rogue, adding ingredients willy-nilly? 

See, conditional! But what is certain is that everyone appreciates excellent food—and pricey pantry ingredients are a surefire great gift. I’ll warn you, though, that the list below is very much a “buy one for you, one for me” sort of deal. As in: These vetted ingredients are all so highly awesome that you’ll want them, too.

When we tested olive oil, we found many excellent options. These include the duo from Brightland (one peppery and the other fruity), the truly spicy Calabrian chili option from Frankies 457, and delightfully fragrant orange olive oil. The latter is wonderful drizzled onto a fancy fruit salad or vanilla ice cream. The Champagne vinegar from Brightland makes a great gift too: I used it to dress some greens recently and my mom thought it was so delicious, she ordered a bottle immediately.

Two bottles of Brightland olive oil on a kitchen countertop.

Serious Eats / Eric Brockob

Subscribing to Trade was one of the best things I did for myself this year. I’ve enjoyed all of the beans I’ve tried and have gifted the coffee subscription to rave reviews. For those not into coffee (gasp, I say!), matcha makes a great present. This matcha from Rishi is especially good in lattes. The oh-so-festive Advent calendar from Tea Forte is fun, too: The tea is high-quality with adorable, tiny leaves attached to each tea bag. 

While neither tea nor coffee, I have to mention this Sonoma Syrup Co. vanilla syrup. It’s delicious in a latte or London Fog. If you’re feeling generous, gift it with one of our favorite milk frothers.

A cup of tea beside the Tea Forte advent calendar.

Serious Eats / Riddley Gemperlein-Schirm

Heilala vanilla is complex and nuanced, and Serious Eats has long recommended it. This set comes with a bottle of extract and a jar of vanilla paste. In the realm of chocolate, many bakers would appreciate pricey cocoa powder and callets from Callebaut. These chocolate bits are complex, easy to temper, and nutty. Splurging on nice sprinkles for them will provide decorating enjoyment for many bakes to come! 

If I was to gift (or be gifted) flours, I’d go for a bundle of Masienda’s fantastic, deeply flavorful masa harina and pair it with a tortilla press if my recipient didn’t have one. Alternatively, a gift card to King Arthur Baking would allow them to choose and stock up on their favorites.

A measuring cup with chocolate chips in it.

Serious Eats / Dera Burreson

The beauty of this pasta sampler from the famed New York City Italian restaurant Rubirosa is that it comes in a nice tin for gifting. It includes casarecce, lumache, and trottole—all of which I’ve tried and loved. If you have a bigger budget (and are shopping for a pasta fiend), the Sfoglini pasta club will deliver six boxes of pasta quarterly for a year. For a pasta-related stocking stuffer, get ‘em real-deal San Marzano tomatoes and discs of salt for perfectly salting pasta water.

Fresh pasta sits on a cutting board next to some dried spaghetti

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

A section just for tinned fish? You betcha. For the conservas connoisseur, there’s this aptly named gift box with the likes of octopus, tuna, and trout. You could also go with this box from Patagonia Provisions with their social media-famous mussels, delicious white anchovies, various flavors of mackerel, and a tinned fish cookbook. These Fishwife anchovies are the best I’ve ever tried (annoying because they’re pricey!) and editorial director Daniel Gritzer is a fan of this luxe Tonnino tuna in olive oil. When we tested a whole bunch of tinned fish, we loved the stuff from Siesta Co. It’s like bringing “a piece of Spanish food culture to your home,” as we said in our review. Finally, these fish tongs honestly make fishing out (heh) fillets, bivalves, and bits and bobs enjoyable.

fishwife tinned fish open can of smoked salmon with lemon wedge and bread

Serious Eats / Grace Kelly

As someone who drinks sparsely, I’d love to be gifted some fancy, somewhat pricey non-alcoholic beverages. Ghia is a giant in this space, and I like the slightly bitter original aperitif and the sweeter Berry one equally. The company’s new Le Fizz is quickly becoming a household staple, with the perfect amount of carbonation and citrus flavor. For non-alcoholic wine, Non makes the best I’ve tried (especially the raspberry and chamomile). 

Recently, we reviewed a ton of non-alcoholic beers, which is how I became acquainted with Proof No More—a site dedicated to non-alcoholic beverages. I’ll definitely be giving this NA IPA collection to my sister’s fiance, who only drinks IPAs.

a variety of non alcoholic beers on a table with napkins and cards

Serious Eats / Dera Burreson

A few Serious Eats editors (including myself) are fans of Van Van. The Vietnamese spices are meant to be used in place of fresh herbs and the lemongrass, purple shallot, and Northern Mountain garlic are not to be missed. Burlap and Barrel is probably the spice company of Serious Eats staffers and no amount of praise would be enough to describe its fresh, innovative seasonings. This past summer, I also couldn’t get enough of The Spice House’s blends for grilling. Gift this spice collection to any barbecue enthusiast. I also think any cook would appreciate a tin of saffron—undoubtedly pricey and wonderful. 

Now that we’ve covered spices, let’s chat about spicy things! This trio of Pura Macha salsas from Masienda has varying heat levels, and each is delicious spooned onto roasted meats, fried eggs, tacos, and pizza. As far as chili crisp goes, a set of Fly by Jing will be used up quickly! It’s umami-rich, with plenty of Sichuan peppercorns. 

Fly By Jing Sichuan Chili Crisp being scooped

Serious Eats / Eric Brockob

“Trust me when I tell you this is leaps and bounds better than any ice cream you could pick up at your local supermarket,” says editor Rochelle Bilow. “Heritage Kulfi's ice creams highlight South Asian flavors, like rosewater, saffron, and—the best!—malai sweet cream. I've kept my freezer stocked with it, and have received more than one hint from guests that it'd make a great gift.” Hard to beat that high praise!

I also think most everyone would appreciate these boxed chocolates from Andres, a Swiss chocolatier. The confections include marzipan, nougat, and cocktail truffles. I’ve enjoyed this Bonne Maman jam Advent calendar for many years and think it’d make a great gift. Lastly, a festive panettone (like this Nutella one) is the kind of holiday treat that’ll stick in their mind year-round. 

The Bonne Maman advent calendar.

Serious Eats / Riddley Gemperlein-Schirm

Why We’re the Experts

  • Riddley Gemperlein-Schirm is the associate editorial director at Serious Eats. 
  • She’s been with the site since 2021 and has been reviewing kitchen equipment for more than six years. She previously worked for America’s Test Kitchen and Food52.

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