10 Holiday Gift Picks From a Food World Legend
Legendary food writer Mimi Sheraton, whose German Cookbook was first published in 1965 and has never since then been out of print, will publish a new book in January 2015. Called 1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die (Workman), it will catalog the best ingredients, dishes, and restaurants everyone should experience. Everything from Le Périgord black truffles to frozen Milky Ways make an appearance, each item hand- (tongue?) picked and then described in luscious detail by the tireless former restaurant critic of The New York Times herself.
Below, Sheraton shares 10 items from the book that would make any food-obsessed friend of yours very happy this holiday season. “These are, in a way, a compliment to the recipient,” she says. “It shows you think he or she could really appreciate that kind of thing.” Here are Sheraton’s decadent gift picks.
1. Ethiopian coffee, which is “complex, rich, and less mellow” than most coffees consumers are used to, says Sheraton. “Ethiopia is where coffee began and there are three major types: Sidamo, Harrar, Yirgacheffe. Each one has a slightly different character; Sidamo is the easiest to like, Harrar has slightly brassy edge, and Yirgacheffe is the most complex and heady.” Sheraton suggests drinking Ethiopian coffee after dinner without cream or sugar. “Sugar if you have to, but not cream. That would spoil the nature of it.” mcnultys.com
2. Georgian black tea. “This is known as the coffee drinker’s tea,” says Sheraton. “It’s bracing and has more body than most other teas. It’s not too far in flavor and color from Darjeeling.” mcnultys.com
3. Mostarda di Cremona, a fruit relish from Cremona, Italy, which Sheraton says is a wonderful condiment for osso buco or ham or roast duck—“anything that’s rich and fatty,” she says. “I love the sweet and the bitter flavors of the fruit and mustard seeds together, the bite it has—the texture is very much al dente—and the colors, which make it look like stained glass.” formaggiokitchen.com
4. Vacherin Mont d’Or, a Swiss ripening cheese at its best in mid-winter. “It’s the most lascivious, luscious holiday dessert cheese that you can imagine,” says Sheraton. “When it melts, it look like molten ivory, and you scoop it out.” She recommends this as a host gift; it might not be the best item to put through the USPS! murrays.com
5. Israeli date honey. “It’s a very historic honey mentioned in the Old Testament,” says Sheraton. “It’s not made from bees, but from extracting the syrupy component of dates.” The flavor is “candy sweet” and is “marvelous in tea and on yogurt.” Sheraton also recommends Tasmanian leatherwood honey from Australia, which is “almost smoky, with lots of sweet and warm and bitter undertones.” israeliproducts.com
6. A gift certificate dinner for two at Alinea restaurant in Chicago. “Of the so-called molecular restaurants in the U.S., that is the biggest, best, handsomest, most innovative, and the food is totally delicious,” says the highly opinionated Sheraton. “I went very skeptically, because that sort of thing doesn’t appeal to me, but it was exceptional.” alinearestaurant.com
7. Spanish saffron. “Any experimental and ambitious cook would value having authentic saffron threads,” says Sheraton. “Where it grows in Spain gives it the most complex flavor that holds up to any cooking technique.” And saffron isn’t relegated solely to Spanish cooking; it’s used in Indian and Scandinavian cuisine as well as some baking, says Sheraton. tienda.com
8. A copy of The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover. “It’s a wonderfully weird film with Helen Mirren by Peter Greenaway about over-the-top eating and murder,” says Sheraton. “They finally end up killing [one of the main characters], eating him, and bringing him out like a suckling pig with an apple in his mouth.” The grandiose food scenes make it a classic. amazon.com
9. Real Italian balsamico vinegar. This isn’t the stuff you get in the supermarket; it’s thick and syrupy and “very much a condiment,” says Sheraton. “In Italy, I’ve been at restaurants where you might have a pre-dessert chunk of Parmesan cheese and a server comes around with an eye dropper or medicine dropper of balsamic and puts a drop on the cheese.” This also isn’t like the stuff you get in the supermarket, price-wise: “It’s about $125 for a couple of drams!” zingermans.com
10. More friendly to the budget is Jules Destrooper Ginger Thins, which can be found at most grocery stores. “They come in a beautiful box with lovely old-looking graphics, and they’re great with ice cream and fruit desserts,” says Sheraton. They’re so affordable that you may as well buy two packages, “in case you devour one in your role as guest.” amazon.com
"They should also throw in a copy of 1000 Foods To Eat Before You Die,” says Sheraton. “Can’t go wrong with that.” Based on everything above, we believe her.
More gift ideas for the holidays:
A stylish event planner’s favorites
What can you give a paleo person?
What do you think is a good holiday food gift?
