The Guardian has put together a very good list of gifts for foodies which you can read about here. Things which have now crept into my wish list include Heston Blumenthal’s new book Historic Heston (Amazon.co.uk link); the Divertimenti Truffle Slicer and Marble Pastry Board (links are to Divertimenti’s own website).
I was given some truffles by a French friend a few weeks ago (who finds them around his house – lucky him!), and had the most amazing scrambled eggs of my life, followed the next day by the best bread and butter of my life. I used a coarse grater with one of those attachments for not grating your own nails/fingers off, and found it rather good for slicing it rather finely, but found that the pieces were perhaps a little small to really get the visual impact of finely sliced truffles. Presentation has never been top of my list of priorities, but I’m beginning to gain an appreciation of why it is worth the hassle.
I’ve also got a pressure cooker on my wish list at the moment after a colleague at work told me all about how she uses hers to make gorgeous “fast” slow cooked food. I haven’t picked one out yet as I’m still doing my research, and am going to be waiting for the late December/early January sales to see what’s what.
Buying presents for the foodie in your life can be a bit hit or miss as gadgets may be duplicates (if they’re like me and buy every gadget for the kitchen they ever hear about), or not to their taste. One such example is Civet Coffee (also known as Kopi Luwak) – I was given some last year and found it bitter/sour tasting. While those of you who like bitter/sour tasting coffee may enjoy it, I far prefer a rich and warm style of coffee (Columbian beans, Italian Roast – that sort of thing) so this was a massive fail. In fact, going back round to The Guardian’s website again, they have a great opinion piece on it which I highly recommend reading if you are interested. However, I have crossed Civet Coffee off my food bucket list so that’s at least one positive out of it!
If you’re a foodie yourself, and have a large list of people to give presents to, you may be looking for new recipes to try out – I’ve found a good list here from the BBC Good Food Website which will hopefully give you some inspiration.
Image from the BBC Good Food Website
The Educated Foodie 