HRN Holiday Picks: Discover the Stories Behind Delightful Gifts

By: Anne Sherrick

Are you looking for unique and thoughtful gifts for your foodie friends and family? Let our Gift Guide Playlist spark inspiration for the perfect present as you listen to the stories behind our picks. Whether it’s Claire Saffit’s bestselling cookbook, a virtual baking class or gift basket from Zingerman’s Bakehouse, or delicious artisan-made cheese, these gifts are guaranteed to win you brownie points this holiday season.

HRN Pick: Keepwell Vinegar

The Farm Report Episode 431: From Harvest to Vinegar: Humans have used fermentation to preserve crops and add flavor and health benefits to their diets for thousands of years. Since 2015, Sarah Conezio and Isaiah Billington have been putting their own stamp on that age-old tradition with Keepwell Vinegar. Together, they partner directly with small, organic farms to turn apples, ginger, and persimmons into specialty vinegars, farro into miso, and soybeans into soy sauce, bottling the Mid-Atlantic’s seasonal bounty. Home cooks and the best chefs in Baltimore, Washington DC, and Philadelphia—and increasingly far beyond—now use their products. In this episode, host Lisa Held talks to the Keepwell founders about making vinegar, working with farmers, and why they do what they do.

HRN Pick: Food Gift Love by Maggie Battista

The Food Seen Episode 254: Food Gift Love with Maggie Battista: Maggie Battista of Eat Boutique shares more than 100 recipes to make, wrap, and share in her book, Food Gift Love. Launched as a blog in 2007, Eat Boutique has curated edible gift boxes comprised of small-batch artisan goods from her home base of New England and beyond, like Lark Fine Foods cookies in Essex, MA, Didi Davis’s Rose Sugar from Salt Traders in Ipswich MA, Big Picture Farm goat milk caramels from VT, Preserved Lemon Syrup from Brooklyn’s Morris Kitchen, Quin Candy, and Sqirl jams.

HRN Pick: The Cookie Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum

Inside Julia’s Kitchen Episode 171: Meet Rose Levy Beranbaum: On Inside Julia’s Kitchen, host Todd Schulkin talks to award-winning cookbook author and respected baking authority Rose Levy Beranbaum about her latest book, The Cookie Bible. They also dive into how Rose discovered her passion for baking, what you need to know about flour when baking cookies, and how Rose works with her collaborators. Plus, Rose shares a Julia Moment.

HRN Pick: A SACRED art print

Agave Road Trip Episode 66: The Best Gifts for the Biggest Mezcal Fans: Agave Road Trip hosts appreciate  Liquor.com's Nacho Jimenez for including SACRED art prints among the best gifts you can get for mezcal lovers. They offer their take on more of the best gifts for mezcal lovers in this episode. 

HRN Pick: Gubbeen Cheese or cheese from a local artisan

Dyed Green Episode 18: Knives Out: With the start of their award-winning cheesemaking in the 1970s, the Fergusons have worked diligently to make Gubbeen cheese and meat products a household name synonymous with quality, care, and respect for the land in restaurants and homes around Ireland and throughout the world. We sit down with Fingal Ferguson, the fifth generation of Gubbeen farmers, to talk about life on the farm, the West Cork artisan community, and the beauty of staying small. We also discuss Fingal’s passion for knives and knife making, as well as how to not rest on a legacy but continue to stay creative and challenge yourself.

HRN Pick: Omsom’s ready-to-use meal starters

In The Sauce Episode 86: Building with Your Sister in a Global Pandemic: Vanessa and Kim Pham are the founders of Omsom, the direct-to-consumer, ready-to-use meal starters packed with the aromatics, seasonings, and oils at the foundation of many Asian dishes. On this episode of In the Sauce, Kim and Vanessa share their story, their views on food appropriation, and how Omsom is helping make Asian condiments feel representative of the changing DNA of the U.S.

HRN Pick: a Zingerman’s gift basket

All in the Industry Episode 337: Amy Emberling, Zingerman’s Bakehouse: Amy Emberling is one of the original bakers and current partners at the legendary Zingerman’s Bakehouse in Ann Arbor, MI. Zingerman’s Bakehouse opened in 1992 as a complimentary business to Zingerman’s Delicatessen, an Ann Arbor institution founded in 1982. They have championed local farmers and food purveyors for more than 40 years. Amy has been an avid food lover and baker since her childhood in Nova Scotia, Canada. After high school, she moved to Cambridge, MA, and received her bachelor’s degree from Harvard University. She then followed her passion for food and learned to cook and bake at L’ecole de Gastronomie Française at the Ritz Hotel in Paris, France, as well as in Michigan restaurants. In 1999, she received her MBA from Columbia University. Amy has been working in the food world for over 30 years. In 2000, she became a Partner at Zingerman’s Bakehouse, where she continues to be involved in hands-on baking and teaching classes, in addition to managing the overall business.

HRN Pick: Dessert Person by Claire Saffitz

Inside Julia’s Kitchen Episode 148: Meet Claire Saffitz: Todd Schulkin welcomes Claire Saffitz to Inside Julia’s Kitchen. She is the author of the bestselling cookbook Dessert Person, and recipient of the 2021 IACP Julia Child First Book Award, which comes with a professional development grant from the Foundation. Todd and Claire discuss the merits of desserts, the ins and outs of developing recipes, and how she’s using the grant. Plus, Claire shares her Julia Moment.