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10 best stocking fillers for foodies
From boozy milk to wasabi, give the food-lover in your life some extra-special, unusual treats to wake up to on Christmas morning
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Your support makes all the difference.Christmas stockings are all about last year’s blockbusters and novelty pencil sharpeners, right? Not this year they ain’t. We’ve searched high and low to find the tastiest treats around to suit guzzling gourmets and discerning drinkers alike (just don’t skimp on the chocolate coins).
1. Painterly Spice Jar: £4, anthropologie.eu
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Anthropologie’s ceramic pots, hand-painted with dots or dashes, will spice up any larder whilst keeping their contents fresh and dry.
2. Vintage Organic Cheddar Heart: £4.99, waitrose.com
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Sharp, piquant and amazingly creamy, Godminster’s vintage cheddar is some of the best around. Shaped like a heart, this one is that little bit sweeter.
3. Fresh Wasabi Rhizome Gift Pack: £28.50, thewasabicompany.co.uk
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With a fresh wasabi root, recipes, a grater and a cleaning brush, this kit has everything to clear out groggy heads after all that Christmas excess.
4. Sohocello: £27, harveynichols.com
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Soho’s Pizza Pilgrims have teamed up with Hereford distillery Chase to create Sohocello, a zingy digestivo made from Chase’s trademark potato-based spirit infused with Amalfi lemons. Alla salute.
5. Marmalade: A Bittersweet Cookbook by Sarah Randell: £16.59, amazon.co.uk
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Sarah Randell’s collection of recipes is an ode to a stalwart of the British breakfast table. But this cookbook proves that marmalade isn’t just morning fare, featuring bittersweet ideas for everything from meat to baking.
6. 100 Penguin Cookbook Covers in One Box: £10.49, whsmith.co.uk
Penguin has curated a collection of their hundred best cookbook covers from the past 60 years (including The Book of the Onion and The Reluctant Cook). Perfect for sending, framing or just using as recipe cards.
7. Six Flowerpot Muffin Cases: £6.99, lakeland.com
Inventive bakers will love these cute silicone flowerpot-shaped muffin cases, ideal for whipping up some blooming beautiful treats.
8. Daylesford Organic Yuletide Coffee: £5.99, daylesford.com
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Spiced up with notes pipe tobacco and cinnamon, Daylesford’s peppy Yuletide coffee is a fragrant festive treat; just the thing for Christmas morning (and the weeks after too). 100% organic and fairtrade Arabica grounds.
9. Black Cow Pure Milk Vodka 700ml: £37.99, selfridges.com
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From their dairy farm in West Dorset, Black Cow has worked out how to make the world’s first vodka from fermented milk whey. It may sound weird, but this ever-so-slightly creamy vodka is udderly delicious.
10. Sourdough and Sea Salt Chocolate: £5.80, pumpstreetbakery.co.uk
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Pump Street Bakery’s sourdough and sea salt chocolate is a mighty fine update on a classic combo. The salty, sourdough crumbs are like Rice Krispies for grown-ups, lending a tangy je ne sais quoi to the sweetness of the chocolate.
Verdict: If booze is your thing, inject a bit of Sicilian sunshine into winter’s gloom with Chase & Pizza Pilgrim’s Sohocello; just don’t blame us when Granny starts dancing after lunch. For more sensitive palettes, Pump Street Bakery's surprising sourdough bar is the golden ticket, while budding bakers (and little fingers) will love Lakeland’s flowerpot muffin cases.