Gift Guide: Unique Gifts for Foodies

These spicy pickled kelp slices are on my wish list! If you can't have spicy foods, they also make regular dill kelp pickles or a bread and butter style.

We love flavored sea salts, particularly smoked salts and truffle salt (my husband likes the truffle salt more than I do). You might have seen some of our recipes that call for smoked salt and I can tell you, smoked salt adds a wonderful dimension of flavor to just about any dish, even brownies or chocolates!

Lapsang souchong (Zhengshan xiaozhong) is a delicious and strong black tea made by smoking black tea leaves over a pine wood fire. The result is a bold and smoky black tea that I absolutely love. It tastes great made hot with a splash of oat milk.

Black garlic is garlic that has been aged until it turns black. Black garlic originated in Korea originally as a health food, but it has a sweet, mild, umami flavor profile that pairs well with many foods.

My family has fallen in love with the Mandalorian series, and my daughter loves all things “baby yoda” (the Child).

I’m not a big fan of TV series in general (some of them drag on way too long and get weird…), but I’ve really enjoyed the Mandalorian series. I saw The Child Green Tea from Republic of Tea and thought I had to include it in this gift guide.

If you live in a smaller landlocked town (like me), you don't always get to try some of these rare treats. You can order some great rare and tropical fruits from Miami Fruit, like sprouted coconuts (we've had these and love them!), pink pineapples, black sapote, sugar apples, and more.

These are all dependent on growing season, so some items may be available only during certain seasons. The prices are high, but they often have discounts and free shipping offers.

Melissa's also has tropical and unique fruits that you can order online as well for a slightly better price point than Miami Fruit (though I'm not sure how the shipping compares either since Miami Fruit shipping is high too).

Alcohol free spirits and drinks are gaining in popularity as more people choose a sober lifestyle for various reasons (or simply choose to reduce their alcohol consumption). We've tried all of the Ritual Zero Proof alcohol alternatives and love them! The gin alternative and the rum alternative are my favorites.

These are created to be completely alcohol free, so they are not just alcohol removed, but have been crafted without fermenting or distilling from the beginning. Which is great for people like me who might have histamine intolerance!

If your loved ones love cooking healthy foods like kale or fresh herbs, a kale and herb stripping tool is a great idea for stockings! This makes quick work of stripping leafy greens from their stems.

If you're not sure what to get your friends or family who have food allergies, check out the Siete hot sauce variety pack. These are all Whole30 approved, so they don't have added sugars or preservatives.

Apparently avocado leaves are great for tea! The ancient Mayans and Aztecs have made tea from avocado leaves for centuries. Avocado leaf tea is herbal and caffeine free, and it has a smooth, earthy, and delicate taste.

If you happen to live in a city where the Gastro Obscura vending machine pops up you can stop in to grab some unusual items to gift to friends and family. Their website and social channels usually post where they will have pop-up locations for their vending machine, but you can find things in the machine like black garlic, umeboshi, pu-erh tea, and more.

Spruce tip jelly is an Alaskan tradition and made with the new growth of spruce tips harvested in the spring. Spruce tips are packed with vitamin C and have a citrusy taste.

These cute sprout bookmarks are perfect for marking your place in a cookbook (or a regular book). These make great stocking stuffers or gift basket fillers.

Butterfly pea flower powder is the powdered blue flowers if the butterfly pea flower. It's natural blue color is a great natural blue food coloring for foods, but it's really cool feature is that it changes color with depending on the pH. Adding an acid (like lemon juice) can turn the blue color to purple! This makes fun (and natural) great color-changing drinks.

Bad Pickle Tees have some fun and clever foodie shirts, and this one is a favorite of mine. If your friends love dim sum and puns, this is a must-buy gift!

Grown in West Africa and related to cardamom, Grains of Paradise can be ground in a pepper mill and used to add unique flavor to recipes. The flavor is often described as spicy, peppery, citrusy, woody, and floral.

Why pack your lunch in a boring paper bag when you can use fake take out bags with hilarious fake restaurant names? This is guaranteed to bring a smile while you enjoy your paper bag lunch.

The Smoketop is a fun way to add some smokiness to your favorite drinks. We have purchased one of these but haven't used it yet. We'll update once we have used ours!

The LARQ UV light bottle is self cleaning and looks really nice (we shared this in our wellness gift guide as well and wanted to share it here since it's so cool!). You can use it to help sanitize water as well!

For friends and family who love to cook with fresh herbs, these 5-blade herb scissors are a great stocking stuffer!

This stackable set of 2 chip makers will let you make chips and crisps out of potatoes or other fruits and veggies in your microwave without oil or deep frying.