Good Food
Foodie Holiday Gifts, Coffee, Salt and Kitchen Gadgets
Holiday gift ideas for cooks and eaters -- artisanal salts, heirloom beans, direct trade coffee and kitchen gadgets. Plus, preserving the season for delicious DIY gifts.
By Evan Kleiman • • 57m ListenHoliday gifts don't necessarily require a trip to the mall: Delilah Snell takes a trip to the farmers market where she collects fruits and vegetables to make jams and jellies that she gives as holiday gifts. Mark Bitterman sells salt, bitters and chocolates in his store, The Meadow, and Steve Sando sells heirloom beans, corn and herbs and spices in his online marketplace, Rancho Gordo -- both make great stocking stuffers. Coffee makes another great gift, and Kevin Sinott explains why direct trade is the best gift of all. If you prefer a non-edible present, Christopher Kimball of Cook's Illustrated discusses his favorite kitchen gadgets, and Georg Riedel explains why the shape of a wine glass is important. Plus, Jonathan Gold
visits Obika Mozzarella Bar in Century City.
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In this episode
8 storiesMarket Report
David Karp is a pomologist with UC Riverside and a freelance writer for the Los Angeles Times food section, where he writes the Market Watch column. This week he talks to Laura Avery about the Warren Pear.
Read the story7 minSaving the Season
Delilah Snell owns The Road Less Traveled , an eco-store in Santa Ana. She is a Master Preserver, which she earned through the UC Cooperative Extension . She recommends using trusted recipes and techniques from the National Center for Home Food Preservation and Ball .
Read the story7 minSalt: The Essential Ingredient
Mark Bitterman and his wife own The Meadow in Portland and New York City, where they sell hundreds of varieties of salts. His book is Salted : A Manifesto on the World's Most Essential Mineral, with Recipes. Recipe ideas for the Himalayan salt blocks are here .
Read the story9 minHeirloom Beans and Huitlacoche
Steve Sando owns Rancho Gordo , a food company specializing in ingredients native to the Americas. He loves huitlacoche or corn smut, a fungus that grows on corn. Sando also sells heirloom beans, corn and spices on his online marketplace, Rancho Gordo. His beans make a wonderful stocking stuffer.
Read the story7 minDirect Trade vs. Fair Trade Coffee
Kevin Sinnott is the author of CoffeeCompanion.com and The Art and Craft of Coffee : An Enthusiast's Guide to Selecting, Roasting, and Brewing Exquisite Coffee. Today, he defines fair trade, direct trade, shade grown and organic coffees. He says that, in terms of the farmer, direct trade is the best option.
Read the story7 minMozzarella Bar Via Roma
Jonathan Gold reviews Obika , a mozzarella bar in the Westfield Century City Shopping Center. The original Obika is in Rome, This California outpost flies in their cheese three times a week from Italy. Gold likes the sausage n'duja and the mozzarella in carroza.
Read the story7 minThe Well Stocked Kitchen
Christopher Kimball is founder, editor and publisher of Cook's Illustrated magazine. He also hosts the syndicated PBS cooking show, America's Test Kitchen , which just launched its eleventh season. He's also our kitchen gadget expert, and reveals some of his favorite products. The winners?
Read the story5 minPairing Wine with a Wine Glass
Georg Riedel, who creates glassware that enhances the experience of drinking wine and other fine spirits, stresses the importance of glass shape and decanters. He is a tenth generation producer of the Riedel glass dynasty, which originated in Austria.
Read the story8 min
