Lynne's Gift Picks for 2005
December 13, 2005 (updated June 16, 2007)

1. For the "Let them eat toast" crowd, The Jam Genius—June Taylor Jams (and conserves and marmalades) $10 - $12 a jar, plus shipping and handling. www.junetaylorjams.com, 510-548-2236.

June Taylor has become the proverbial living legend of the jam world. She does small batches with carefully selected fruits using a minimum of sugar. These jams have incredibly bright flavors, and many are made with heirloom and forgotten fruits, such as Elephant Heart plums. My goal this year is to get my hands on her white nectarine and her strawberry conserves.

2. For the sweet-loving retro types, Big Tips Candy Collection: 15 Classic Chocolate Bars $24.95, plus shipping and handling. www.bigtipscandy.com.

A tasting with Steve Almond, author of Candy Freak: A Journey Through the Chocolate Underbelly of America opened my eyes to how many great American candy bars are on the endangered species list. Hence, this idea of gifting candy lovers with the true Americana of 15 hard-to-find classic chocolate bars. Candy historians Beth Kimmerle and Will Noonan have assembled the bars. This is the gift for the lovers of mid-century memorabilia, and for those who bemoan the loss of their beloved childhood bars.

3. A new take for coffee lovers, Terrior Coffee Company $10.95 - $14.95, plus shipping and handling. www.terroircoffee.com, 866-444-5282.

Coffee today is more and more about specifics and philosophy. That is individual beans from specific growers. George Howell's Terroir Coffee Company offers single-bean coffees selected for their character and quality. They come from small farms, from maverick growers who raise coffee for quality rather than quantity. In today's coffee market this is definitely moving against the current. Howell goes one step further. Each bean is roasted differently to bring out its individuality. You will be happily surprised at what a light roast does to a coffee bean. This is what to give to the pickiest of coffee mavens.

4. For the gardeners, seed savers membership ($35 for the Seed Savers Exchange Membership, $10 for the Flower and Herb Exchange Membership. www.seedsavers.com, 563-382-5990.

The best read in a seed catalog. This is the old-time gardener's exchange. Instead of swapping your favorite tomato seeds over the back fence, you do it through this non-profit organization. Seed Savers' goal is maintaining biodiversity. The lagniappe for gardeners is that Seed Savers has become a clearinghouse for home gardeners to share their proud possessions. More than 12,000 rare varieties of heirloom vegetables and fruits, or flowers and herbs, are available exclusively to Seed Savers Exchange members. Members receive three publications a year, detailing the available offerings. An invaluable resource for those interested in preserving our gardening heritage. For me the seed catalog reads like a storybook, for instance, check out Hannah's Good for Nothing Apple.

5. For wine rookies and connoisseurs Give a Nose (the Know). www.makescentsofwine.com. A game and an education. The wine enthusiast who has everything will not have this—training kits that put the nose in the know. Since scent shapes what we taste, wine professionals train their noses. Now we can too. The "Le Nez du Vin" (the nose of wine) is a collection of scent kits from "Make Scents of Wine." Each is a collection of small bottles of essences. The starter kit of 6 Aromas is $40. Red and White kits each offer 12 key scents at $109 each. The Master Kit, for $399, pulls together 54 fragrances. My favorites are the Faults Kit for $109 (now you can pinpoint exactly what makes that wine not right), and the Barrels Kit at $129 which gives the prime aromas found in wine barrels which shape what is in the glass. Esoteric? Yes. Fascinating? Absolutely!

Back to Sources