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Tips for Homemade Food Gifts




Source of Recipe


The Global Gourmet


List of Ingredients




Timing: Check the recipe to see how long a food will last and whether it needs refrigeration. Some foods, like cookies, fudge and crackers, will last several days but only if stored air-tight in a metal tin or plastic container.


Labels: Tie a gift tag or stick a label on the outside indicating how long the gift will keep or how it should be stored, such as "Put me in the fridge, but eat me up before Dec. 25."


Cushioning: Get creative with actual food items as cushioning material. For instance, try peanuts (real ones, not styrofoam) in the shell. I have a huge bay laurel bush in my yard and toss in bay leaf branches with natural straw as part of the cushion; the bay leaves smell great and can be cooked with as well (do the same with rosemary).


Ethnic Wrappers: Foreign newspapers make great wrappings. Package a box of Chinese fortune or almond cookies in a Chinese newspaper, or tie up Japanese sushi supplies in a Japanese silk scarf, with a set of chopsticks in the knot.


FoodSavers and Zipper Bags: Invest in a FoodSaver machine to seal foods air-tight and make them last longer. Or, use a zipper bag and squeeze out as much air as possible.


Gadgets: Tie a kitchen gadget on the package as part of the bow, such as a cookie cutter, garlic press, measuring spoons or fancy serving spoon.


Dried Pastas: Make flavored pastas and dry them. You can combine several colors and flavors in one package, or group them separately. Bundle them up with a jar of gourmet sauce.


Gold and Silver Decorations: Add sparkle to baked goods and chocolates with edible gold or silver leaf, sold in thin sheets in Indian and pastry supply stores. Small, round silver candies, known as dragées, work well, too.


Grinders: Fresh ground everything always tastes better. Package some nifty pepper grinders like the William Bounds Peppermills with jars of mixed peppercorns; you can buy premixed peppercorns or create your own custom blend using black, white and red varieties. Follow the same idea with sea salt grinders, nutmeg grinders and chocolate shavers.


Cookbooks Plus: Package a cookbook with an item made from one of its recipes. For instance, buy the book Cookies Unlimited, make a batch of Easy Coconut Drops from it, and give them both as one gift. Or, for an ethnic cookbook such as Raji Cuisine, package it with an assortment of Indian condiments and spices.




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