Holiday Gifts for the Cook or Baker (Or For Your Own Kitchen)

Persian Saffron from Golden Saffron (Screencap via Golden Saffron)

What should you buy for cooks and bakers this holiday? Here are 15 kitchen gifts that will have them making you piles of latkes and gingerbread in thanks.

Don’t know what to get your cook and baker friends for Christmas or Hanukkah? You’re in the right place, because I have some great ideas for kitchen gifts.

Unless you live with your giftees or have access to their wishlists, stay away from small gadgets, kitchen appliances, and pots and pans. Cooks and bakers have strong opinions about these things! If you do want to buy these items, check the prices and buy a gift certificate instead. Then your friends won’t have to go through the trouble of returning that need-to-have item that they already have.

I think the best kinds of kitchen gifts are the kinds of things that cooks and bakers are always using up and replacing, like expensive or hard-to-find ingredients. Serving and storage are also good options–I never have enough of either and there are all kinds available, from rustic to dignified, from artistic to utilitarian. There are also things that you can never have to many or much of, like cookie cutters.

This piece lists many fair trade and hand-made products. You can always go to Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, or your local grocery store to get similar items. But holiday gifts are special. You want your recipient to treasure your gift, and know that you put thought and time into it. Because that’s what love is, and that’s what the holidays are really all about.

Read on for 15 different kinds of kitchen gifts that will make any culinary maven dance around the dining room.