Affordable stocking stuffers and unique presents for foodies of all varieties

Alright y’all. It’s holiday season. Which coincidentally is also the season where we procrastinate our gifting until the last second. For all the foodies in your life, we have carefully curated the best presents from local makers, chefs, and creatives to ensure a happy (and well-fed) holiday season. Also just to clarify, this is not a sponsored post. My bank account and credit card statements can prove it. Check out the full list of our holiday favorites below:

Food Objects

Duck Prosciutto from D’Artagnan Foods, $25

Charcuterie Plates: The best way to prepare yourself a fancy meal without needing any actual cooking skill. I want to clarify, this is not a slight to the homemade charcuterie dinner. In fact, I love breaking out my own cheese board and treating myself to a meat and dairy feast. For those who aren’t hip, charcuterie is super popular amongst us adult-ing millennials. I mean it’s easy, delicious, and bougie. It’s also going to be a recurring theme in our gift recommendations, (it makes a great gift, FYI) so get used to it.

Are you interested in taking your charcuterie game (and gift giving game for that matter) to the next level? If so, the answer is duck prosciutto.

White Rose Miso Paste from Toli Moli, $15

In case you don’t have the time (or the refrigerator space) to ferment your own miso for all of 2019, the next best thing is to buy really, really good miso.

By the way, it takes about a year to make miso. Better start praying that you do not have a power outage during that time. All that hard work just for BGE to fuck up your miso. Not worth it man.

Besides, even the most overly-ambitious homecook would be hard-pressed to produce a better mixture than White Rose. Trust us on this one. Stop by Toli Moli and pick up some White Rose Miso paste.

Your best friends will thank you for this later after they have the privilege of cooking with this miso paste. If you’re lucky, you might even be invited to taste the final product. Think of a gift of White Rose Miso as a way of helping you help your friend help you self. Got it? Good.

Burmese Tea Salad Dressing from Toli Moli, $10

Do know what’s a lot more cost effective and convenient than booking a flight to Myanmar and bringing back local ingredients? Stopping by your friendly Burmese bodega and picking up fermented tea leaves. As one of the few cuisines that utilizes whole tea leaves in their dishes, it is a gift that brings back a piece of another country.

Yuzu Juice from Toli Moli, $35

Alright, in full disclosure, we are huge fans of Toli Moli. But it’s no secret they are very good at what they do, and their bodega selection is on point. While there are a number of food products we could recommend, we’re going to limit ourselves here with their imported yuzu juice.

For those who are not familiar with yuzu, it’s versatile, delicious,and you’ve definitely seen it on a cocktail menu and thought, “huh, what is that!”

By the way, I’m fully aware that I write for like 4 people at a time. Just roll with it. No one wants to read boring explanations of things you can google anyway.

So that being said, Yuzu is a Japanese citrus that can be used in everything from cocktails to grilling marinades. Get it, and then let your friends figure out how to use it.

Apricot-Comacha Jam from Chile Comapeño, $9

If the comapeno chile is Mexico’s best kept secret, then the Chile Comapeño company’s apricot-comacha jam will quickly become your friend’s worst kept secret as they’ll soon be tell everyone they know how awesome it is.

Named after a chile native to the Veracruz region of Mexico, the Sparks outfitter has brought a little Latin flair to Baltimore County. The jam is sweet, savory, and has the right amount of heat. It’s the perfect accompaniment for any charcuterie plate (I told ya, it always comes back to charcuterie).

Cheese from DiPasquales, Varies

So speaking of those charcuterie plates, they are nothing without good cheeses, and Baltimore’s home for Old World Italian tradition has you covered with a wide variety of fresh cheese. Although not a gift-able item, treat yourself to their meatball sub while you’re there.

Bacon Jam from The Bacon Jams, $15

If you don’t know about bacon jam, then let’s clarify two things:

It is exactly what it sounds like It is as delicious as it sounds

It’s a fun and flavorful take on a savory jam, and no one in the area does it better than The Bacon Jams. If you’re already feeling guilty about the nutritional contents of bacon jam, don’t worry, it can be transformed into an awesome salad dressing.

Stocking Stuffers

Snacklins from Nearest Healthy Grocery Store, $3

Think of Snacklins as the gift that keeps giving. It is a healthy snack that legitimately tastes better than your favorite junk food.

You can eat the whole bag, and won’t hate yourself afterwards. Just throw it into a stocking or add it to a gift basket.

I guarantee it will quickly becomes the recipient’s new favorite snack, but don’t expect them to share any with you.

Michele’s Granola from Baltimore Farmers Market, $7

If granola is a regular part of your diet and you are not eating Michele’s Granola, then you are eating the wrong granola. It’s never too late to correct bad habits, and nothing says, “I care about you and your happiness” more than a bag of Michele’s Granola.

Truffle Salt from Bazaar Spices, $10

This might be a bit presumptuous, but this gift is only for those who actually use salt to season their food…

Once that has been established, there’s nothing stopping you from elevating even the most basic of dishes with a sprinkle of truffle salt.

Just be careful if you step into their storefront, it might be difficult to only leave with the truffle salt.

Pins from Kimchi Juice, $3

You know what’s kinda funny? When brainstorming this list, Kimchi Juice was the second person to come to mind. As a long-time fan of hers (I accidentally stumbled upon her first art show at Maketto in 2016. Been a fan ever since), she would obviously be included on the final list. I even based the entire stocking stuffer section around the her inclusion of products.

So about that…

I almost forgot to include her entirely on the list. Luckily I remembered just before publishing, but man, that would have been sad if I didn’t.

Cookbooks and Book Books

“The Vietnamese Cookbook” by Simply Banh Mi, $30

If you have not been to Simply Banh Mi in Georgetown, fix that immediately.

While you are atoning for your sins, pick up their mom’s self-published cookbook. It offers a great insight into the Vietnamese kitchen, and it is an even better way to support one of DC’s best local businesses. If you want to take the gift to the next level, pick up the signed version.

This is not a joke, it’s a real thing – Their mom will sign copies of the book. It’s great.

We Fed an Island by Jose Andres, $19

It feels like so much has happened in 2018 that it is hard to remember the effects of Hurricane Maria. Please don’t.

Buy the book. Do do not forget about the devastation, the lack of government support, and Jose Andres’ otherworldly effort to support those in need.

He’s a national treasure (shoutout Nicholas Cage), and this book tells his story of challenging our government structures through cooking and compassion.

Rasika Cookbook, $22

On a lighter (and spicier) note, ever wanted to learn how to cook real Indian food?

Rasika published their first cookbook in 2017 featuring over 120 of their restaurant and family recipes. If it’s not in your collection yet, now is the perfect time to add some local flair to your bookshelf.

Others

Burmese bag from Toli Moli, $20

Remember when I promised that I would stop including things you can get at Toli Moli? I lied. They’re great and have great taste.

Even better, their knit side bags are the perfect accessory to any outfit (both functional and fashionable). Even better, they are unisex.

Yes that’s right ladies! It’s time to get your boyfriend out of this Supreme fanny pack and into a Burmese messenger bag.

By the way, that trend of wearing fanny packs over the shoulder needs to stop. Get over yourself and wear a real side bag like an adult. It looks dumb.

Anything from Kuzeh pottery, Varies

Have we mentioned that we like Kuzeh pottery? Because we really like Kuzeh pottery.

I dare you to visit, and not buy something. It’s literally impossible. I’ve tried on multiple occasions.

With a wide variety of color pallets and styles of ceramics, there really is something for everyone. In case you do decide to accept that challenge, bring a box to carry your spoils and perhaps increasing your credit card limit just in case.

Cutting board from Eastern Market, $50

Alright, time for a quick geography lesson. Can anyone identify Suriname on a map? No? Okay I can’t either. I never know which of those three countries it is.

Now if you are aware that Suriname is a country in South America, than that previous sentence is extremely relatable (One is Guyana. And the other might as well be Narnia.)

At this point I know what you’re thinking, “What does this have to do with Eastern Market? I didn’t click on your gift guide to read about obscure countries.”

So let’s get back to what’s important.

Suriname is a country located on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is the smallest nation in South America and has a total population of roughly 550,000. Arguably, their greatest export is this woodworker who has a booth at Eastern Market.

I wish I had a better description than that, but I can’t find anything online for him. All I can tell you is that he’s at Eastern Market every weekend, and his work is incredible. I realize this is the epitome of “If you know, you know.” But just trust me on this one. He’s the truth, and his workshop is in Charm City!

Soy Candles from 228 Grant Street Candles, $30

If I lost you in the previous passage, welcome back! Hopefully you learned something. But now, let’s go back to our regularly scheduled programming.

For the longest time, I wanted to like soy candles. Cool smells, local producers, environmentally friendly. I was in. However, I never made it on the bandwagon.

I found that the smell of soy candles did not do a good job proliferating in an open space.

As much as I wanted to like them, I could not keep buying candles that failed to do their most basic task: Mask the existing odors in my apartment.

After stumbling upon Grand Street Candles at Charm City Craft Mafia’s Holiday Heap in 2017, it was a transformative experience for my opinion on soy candles.

Not hyperbole: These are easily the best soy candles in the world. For all others who have been turned off by ineffective soy candles, there’s still room on the bandwagon by the way.

Mugs from Ann Margaret Ceramics, $26

I consider myself a bit of a ceramic connoisseur. Plates, mugs, dishes, cups, or planters. Doesn’t matter. If it’s ceramic, hand-crafted, and cute, then I need it in my life.

Of all of the local makers in Baltimore, Ann Margaret is one of the best. If you’ve seen her at a craft show, you might recognize her as that booth that always sells out of its stuff. It’s that poppin. You know the saying: get fresh or get left.

Be like the other cool kids and buy more ceramics.