Welcome to the fourth episode of the Not From Concentrate podcast! With every episode, the podcast team and I will be sending out a companion newsletter with special content, recipes from our guests, and other goodies.
You can find us on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Holiday season is here, and this is the year we are going to avoid shopping overwhelm! This week’s episode is all about helping you find the perfect gift for food lovers in your life: Think thoughtful, useful, delight-inducing, and within your budget.
We’ve brought in writer, trained cook, and food lover Ariel Kanter, author of Rel's Recs, who wrote two of our favorite gift guides this season: “124 food gifts for food people,” and “31 ideas to reduce plastic, single-use items, and food waste in your kitchen.”
So if you’re still on the hunt for gifts — or you haven’t even started — here are some of Ariel’s tips and tricks for gift giving, especially for the food lovers in your life:
Begin with a brainstorm about who the person is that you’re buying for before delving deep into a gift guide. Ask yourself: What do they need? What’s going on in their lives? Exercise your empathy. (12:18)
Think: Homemade gifts, but in the form of food: biscotti, caramels, or chocolate are all winners. “ While obviously I want people to shop my gift guide and love it, I also really believe in homemade gifts,” Ariel said. “I think homemade food gifts are also like the most thoughtful, most wonderful thing. There is nothing that would make my brother-in-law happier than homemade biscotti.” (15:09)
A gift that’s half food, half object is a great idea. For example, sea salt and a salt dish. “Depending on what the person’s passion is, you can find salt dishes that are sort of themed. I found one that had like a little sardine sticking out of it. And, once you start getting a little nerdy about it, you can find things that are a little more customized to a person’s interests.” (20:14)
Some food lovers might want to wear their food (OK, maybe not literally). A few of Ariel’s faves: a pearl necklace in the form of chicken feet, a cheese slogan sweatshirt, and sporting twirled pasta embroidery. (21:25)
If you’re buying an affordable gift, make sure that it has a real function. Don’t waste your money on something that you know will never be used or consumed. For a White Elephant gift, consider a jar of fancy spices. (23:53)
Always include a card. A thoughtful message can mean as much as the gift. (24:32)
For the food lovers who are trying to become more sustainable in the kitchen, consider a set of silicone lids for bowls and storage containers or a set of glass containers that can replace plastic ones. (36:52)
Tune in to the full episode on Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube and check out links to Ariel’s guides below.
Not From Concentrate team:
Catherine Smart, Host/Executive Producer
Kevin O’Connell, Audio and Video Production
Allie Miller, Associate Producer
In case you missed the recipe that went out last week…
Broccoli Pancetta Pasta with Shallots, Lemon, and Parm
It’s been minute since I’ve had a new Smart Cooks recipe for my wonderful paid subscribers, but I think you’ll find this one worth the wait. It’s in heavy rotation at our house! I also wanted to you remind you that one of the benefits of being a paid subscriber is you always have access to my full recipe archive
Such a great episode! I love the idea of gifting a f*ck ton of large flake salt to a food loving cook in our lives.
Ariel truly does have the best recs