2020 Holiday Gift Guide: The Edible Edition

2020 Holiday Gift Guide: The Edible Edition
The All-American Collection from Murray's Cheese. Courtesy of Murray’s Cheese
Crystal Shi
Updated:
Food is always a welcome gift, but perhaps especially so this year, as we’re cooking, baking, and seeking out little comforts and joys more than ever before. 
As you’re shopping for gifts this season, consider giving small American businesses your support. From California olive oil to Vermont cheddar, here are some of our best edible and drinkable ideas. 

The Gift of Chocolate

Fruition Chocolate handcrafts award-winning bean-to-bar chocolate in New York’s Catskill Mountains. A gift box best showcases their mastery of the craft, from standout single-origin bars to chocolate-covered brown butter bourbon caramels. $74.95 for a medium gift box, $149.95 for large at FruitionChocolateWorks.com
(Nicole Mayone/Courtesy of Fruition Chocolate)
Nicole Mayone/Courtesy of Fruition Chocolate

California Olive Oil to Brighten the Pantry

Brightland’s extra virgin olive oils are beautifully fragrant, alive with bright, grassy flavor. Born from disillusionment with subpar supermarket offerings—often rancid or adulterated—the California company makes its direct-to-consumer olive oils from early-harvest, organic heirloom olives from a family farm, and packages them in sleek glass bottles coated with a UV-protectant coating and labeled with the harvest year (currently November 2019). $37 for a 12.7-ounce bottle at Brightland.co
(Courtesy of Brightland)
Courtesy of Brightland

All-American Cheese

A two-year aged Vermont cheddar, a classic California blue, and Tuscan-style, New York-made finocchiona are among the current offerings in the All-American Collection from Murray’s Cheese—a snackable celebration of the country’s homegrown artisanal cheese and charcuterie makers. $85 at MurraysCheese.com
(Courtesy of Murray’s Cheese)
Courtesy of Murray’s Cheese

From a Master Marmalade Maker

Blake Hill Preserves in Windsor, Vermont, makes award-winning jams—sweet, savory, and spicy. Perhaps due to their English heritage, the marmalades are a clear stand-out—most notably the Meyer Lemon With Cardamom ($7.99 for a 10-ounce jar). So are the Botanical Jams, inspired by local wild edible flowers, such as the Wild Rose-Infused Strawberry ($8.99). BlakeHillPreserves.com
(Courtesy of Blake Hill Preserves)
Courtesy of Blake Hill Preserves

A Baker’s Bouquet

For the enthusiastic baker in your life, how about a bouquet of fresh flours? Maine Grains in Skowhegan, Maine, produces freshly stone-milled flours and rolled oats from locally grown, organic and heritage grains, packed with nutrients and flavor you won’t find in any supermarket bag. From $5.95 for a 2.4-pound bag at MaineGrains.com
(Courtesy of Maine Grains)
Courtesy of Maine Grains

Makings of a Perfect Breakfast

In New York’s Hudson Valley, family-owned Finding Home Farms makes richly sweet, 100 percent pure and organic maple syrup, a dream over buttermilk pancakes. Conveniently, they offer a highly giftable boxed set of maple syrup and pancake mix ($30). Their award-winning Rye Barrel-Aged Maple Syrup, a collaboration with nearby Orange County Distillery, is another great option ($20 for an 8-ounce bottle). FindingHomeFarms.com
(Courtesy of Finding Home Farms)
Courtesy of Finding Home Farms

A Different Kind of Tea

Camellia sinensis, who? Meet yaupon, North America’s only native caffeinated plant, consumed by indigenous people for millennia before two sisters in Cat Spring, Texas, began wild-harvesting its leaves to make uniquely local teas. CatSpring Yaupon offers a grassy, clean-tasting green yaupon, an earthier medium roast, and a black tea-esque dark roast. They’re all naturally sweet and refreshing, rich in antioxidants, and never bitter: yaupon is tannin-free, so it’s difficult to over-steep. From $7.95 for 16-count box at CatSpringTea.com
(Courtesy of CatSpring Yaupon)
Courtesy of CatSpring Yaupon

Hometown Comfort, Delivered

From a lobster roll kit from McLoons Lobster Shack in Maine to a seven-layer caramel cake from South Carolina bakery Caroline’s Cakes, online marketplace Goldbelly makes it easy to send iconic local eats from across the country to your gift recipient’s doorstep. Perfect for “will travel for food” types missing the road, or perhaps a faraway loved one craving a taste of home. Goldbelly.com
Crystal Shi
Crystal Shi
Food Editor
Crystal Shi is the food editor for The Epoch Times. She is a journalist based in New York City.
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