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Home > FOOD + DRINK > Gift Guide

40 Things to Eat, Drink, and Give This Holiday Season

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  • by Nicholas DeRenzo
  • December 1, 2018

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JANELLE JONES, PROP STYLING BY OLGA GRIGORENKO

A coast-to-coast guide to the delicious regional American foods and drinks that should be on every holiday wishlist

THE MIDWEST

Smoking Goose Barley Swine Salame

Indianapolis, Indiana

This pork salame is infused with Central State Brewing’s “biggest, gnarliest, thickest beer” (Bashi Barleywine) and fruity urfa biber pepper from Turkey. $14,   smokinggoose.com 

Zingerman’s Rugelach

Ann Arbor, Michigan

The ultimate Hanukkah gift? These flaky Jewish pastries—which come in 16-piece boxes of either chocolate and raspberry or apricot and walnut-currant—from the famed college town deli. $30,   zingermans.com

Made Fare Co. Granola Crackle

St. Louis, Missouri

This grown-up crackle is made with only heirloom grains (amaranth, millet, oats, and quinoa), pure maple syrup, extra virgin olive oil, and flavorings like dried figs and cacao nibs. $8, madefare.com

Maytag Dairy Farms Blue Cheese

Newton, Iowa

Made on the Maytag family farm since 1941, the quintessential American blue has a pungent aroma and lemony tang and works beautifully crumbled on burgers. $37 for a 2 lb. wheel,   maytagdairyfarms.com 

Potter’s Crackers Wisconsin Rye

Madison, Wisconsin

Of course Cheeseheads make exceptional crackers; this caraway seed–studded Wisconsin rye pairs superbly with sharp cheddar. $7,   potterscrackers.com 

Northern Waters Smokehaus Lake Superior Smoked Whitefish

Duluth, Minnesota

These hot-smoked fish make a great spread or chowder, but it’s hard to resist simply flaking off hunks and eating them with your fingers. $26,   northernwaters smokehaus.com

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams Extra-Bitter Hot Fudge Sauce

Columbus, Ohio

Flavors rotate seasonally at this growing ice cream parlor chain, but one of the year-round constants is this thick, bittersweet sundae topping. $13, jenis.com

Co-Op Sauce Liquid Pickle

Chicago, Illinois

This community-minded company is known for its roster of hot sauces, but dill-ophiles will flip for its briny probiotic elixir, which adds a tangy zip to Bloody Marys. $6,   coopsauce.com

THE WEST

Rancho Gordo Beans

Napa, California

These heirloom beans come in varieties so chic—black-and-white vaqueros, mottled Christmas limas—they could be strung like beads and worn as jewelry. $6,   ranchogordo.com

Townshend’s Bluebird Alpine Liqueur

Portland, Oregon

Made by distilling tea, this liqueur brings warming spices (ginger, fennel, angelica root) to hot toddies and spiked ciders. $32,   townshends distillery.com

Big Island Coffee Roasters Puna Kazumura

Mountain View, Hawaii

The highly aromatic beans grown in the volcanic soil of the emerging Puna region could give Kona a run for its money. $27,   bigislandcoffee roasters.com

Cowgirl Creamery Mt Tam

Point Reyes Station, California

If you like brie, you’ll love this triple-cream cow’s-milk cheese with a buttery interior and a bloomy rind that tastes faintly of mushrooms. $15,   cowgirlcreamery.com

Girl Meets Dirt Heritage Preserves

Eastsound, Washington

Audra Lawlor left Wall Street for an Orcas Island “farmette,” where she transforms the bounty of the San Juan archipelago’s orchards—Italian plums, Gravenstein apples—into luscious jams. $10–$14,   girlmeetsdirt.com

Olympia Provisions Saucisson aux Noisettes

Portland, Oregon

The Beaver State grows 99 percent of America’s hazelnuts, which come whole and roasted inside this French-style salami. $11, olympia provisions.com

Compartés Vegan Kale Dark Chocolate Bar

Los Angeles, California

Is there anything more SoCal than vegan chocolate topped with homemade kale crisps, pepitas, and sesame seeds? Luckily, it tastes as good as it looks. $10,   compartes.com

Barnacle Foods Kelp Pickles

Juneau, Alaska

Pacific bull kelp is transformed into simple, snappy, saline pickles. We can’t think of a better topping for the 49th state’s ubiquitous reindeer hot dogs. $8,   barnaclefoods.com

THE SOUTHWEST + ROCKIES

Gruet Winery Sauvage Rosé

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Founded by a French Champagne-making clan, Gruet produces startlingly sophisticated bubbly, such as this bright rosé made with pinot noir grapes. $20,   gruetwinery.com

Sphinx Date Co. Stuffed Medjool Dates

Scottsdale, Arizona

Make a date with a tin of Arizona-grown Medjools stuffed with pecan, walnut, coconut, and candied lemon and orange peel. $40,   sphinxdateco.com

Hayden Flour Mills White Sonora Wheat

Queen Creek, Arizona

North America’s oldest variety of white wheat, introduced by European missionaries in the 1700s, makes for excellent cakes and pizza dough. $9,   haydenflourmills.com

Elle’s Belles Starry Triple Berry Mini Pies

Bozeman, Montana

Elle Fine packs blue-, black-, and raspberries into her pies, which come topped with a constellation of sugary stars. $49 for two mini pies,   ellesbelles.com

Heart of the Desert Pistachios

Alamogordo, New Mexico

“Red or green?” is New Mexico’s official state question. Really! In the spirit of the official answer (“Christmas”), buy one sack of each of these chile-flavored nuts. $7,   heartofthedesert.com

Dram Apothecary Wild Mountain Sage Bitters

Salida, Colorado

Shae Whitney infuses her bitters with wild sage, which adds an earthy, herbaceous taste of the Rockies to cocktails. $18,   dramapothecary.com

Queen Farina Creamed Honey

Cache Valley, Utah

Utah’s state insect, the honeybee, is responsible for this raw wildflower honey, which is rendered spreadable through a process of controlled crystallization. $19,   queenfarina.com

Jackson Hole Pop I’m Your Huckleberry! Popcorn

Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Ghirardelli white chocolate–frosted, huckleberry-flavored, candy-coated popcorn is a perfect crunchy après-ski snack. $10,   jhpopcorn.com

THE SOUTH

Edwards Virginia Smokehouse Petite Cooked Boneless Country Ham

Surry, Virginia

This Southern holiday mainstay is back churning out hickory-smoked hams after a 2016 fire burned down the original smokehouse. $64,   edwardsvaham.com

Desert Door Texas Sotol

Driftwood, Texas

Adventurous tequila fans should try this vegetal, super-drinkable spirit, which a trio of military veterans distill from the desert spoon plant. $55,   desertdoor.com

Banner Butter

Atlanta, Georgia

These cultured butters, which come in flavors like sorghum and roasted garlic, will ruin the store-bought kind for you forever. Six for $42, bannerbutter.com

Pappy & Co. Barrel-Aged Pepper Sauce

Louisville, Kentucky

Ultra-rare Pappy Van Winkle is America’s hottest bourbon, but this ghost pepper sauce, aged in Pappy barrels—which lend an oaky smokiness—is even hotter. $12,   pappyco.com

Peninsula Grill Ultimate Coconut Cake

Charleston, South Carolina

Bobby Flay called this elegant 12-layer cake, covered in drifts of cream cheese frosting and toasted coconut, his all-time favorite dessert. $130,   peninsulagrill.com

Olive & Sinclair Duck Fat Caramels

Nashville, Tennessee

These why-didn’t-we-think-of-that duck fat caramels are seasoned with thyme, chilies, and black pepper. When you run out, try O&S’s sea salt and vinegar variety. $20,   oliveandsinclair.com

Congaree and Penn Jupiter Rice Grits

Jacksonville, Florida

This Northern Florida farm is revitalizing the Old South tradition of rice-based grits, which are even more delicious with a drizzle of the farm’s pecan finishing oil. $9, congaree   andpenn.com

Watanut Georgia Pecan Shortbread

Augusta, Georgia

Packed with Georgia pecans, these buttery shortbread cookies taste like something your grandmother would make—if she had French pastry school training. $10,   watanut.com

THE NORTHEAST

Gilda’s Biscotti Dad’s Midnight Stash

Salem, New Jersey

This medley includes all seven varieties produced by this small-batch bakery, such as lemon fig and chocolate hazelnut. $10,   gildasbiscotti.com

Sfoglini Pasta Shop Pasta

West Coxsackie, New York

Stuck in a spaghetti rut? Sfoglini makes inventive use of unexpected grains (spelt, hemp), flavors (chestnut, cocoa), and shapes (radiators, trumpets). $8,   sfoglini.com

Side Project Pho Jerky

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philly boasts the East Coast’s largest Vietnamese population, and their iconic soup gets the snackable treatment in this jerky, flavored with star anise, clove, Thai basil, and more. $8,   sideprojectjerky.com

Runamok Maple Syrup

Fairfax, Vermont

It’s hard to improve upon organic syrup hand-tapped from 81,000 northern Vermont maples, but Runamok’s ginger-root infusion does the trick. $17,   runamokmaple.com

Snake Oil Hot Sauce

Baltimore, Maryland

Chef Spike Gjerde uses heirloom fish peppers for this “prescription-strength” hot sauce—the perfect punch of heat for Chesapeake oysters. $7,   snakeoilhotsauce.com

Taza Chocolate Mexicano Discs

Somerville, Massachusetts

Ground on a granite millstone, these rustic discs (in flavors like guajillo and cinnamon) make killer hot chocolate. $21,   tazachocolate.com

Seed + Mill Halva

New York, New York

This Chelsea Market shop transforms tahini into sweet, nutty halva, with toppings like rose and pistachio. $30/lb.,   seedandmill.com

Maine Sea Salt Co. Dulse Seaweed and Salt

Marshfield, Maine

Steve and Sharon Cook use greenhouses to evaporate seawater from Buck’s Harbor, adding a mineral note with iodine-rich dulse seaweed. $13,   maineseasalt.com

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