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

Food52’s Handpicked Greek Herb Gift Set From Daphnis and Chloe (Screencap via Food52)

Herbs and Spices

Spices and herbs are excellent gifts for cooks and bakers. We use a lot of these precious ingredients, so we are always buying more. Not to knock the spices you can buy at the local grocery store, but the spices you can order online tend to be fresher, so they’re more pungent and flavorful.

Gift Boxes make your choices easy, and they come in pretty packages.
Food52 sells Greek herb gift sets than include either Greek oregano, thyme, sage, and bay leaves; or peppermint, Pennyroyal mint, sage, and fennel seeds in an attractive set of silver canisters.

Williams-Sonoma offers an adorably rustic ceramic crock of Herbs de Provence, a traditional French blend containing thyme, basil, savory, fennel and lavender.

Penzy’s Bakers’ Assortment 9 Jar Gift Pack includes sweet china cassia cinnamon, natural high fat cocoa, double strength Madagascar pure vanilla extract, Ceylon true cinnamon, Dutch blue poppy seeds, China ginger powder, minced lemon peel, powdered cloves and ground cardamom. This is also an excellent package for people who love to cook Indian dishes.

You should check out all of Penzy’s great gift sets that any cook or baker would love to have. And while you’re there, get some epazote and Mexican oregano. These two herbs are ridiculously hard to find in stores, and they add savory, authentic flavor to Latin American recipes. Penzy’s sells them individually and as part of the Taste of Mexico 8 Jar Gift Pack.