Like Father Christmas, I’m making a list, and checking it twice. I have scoured the food and drink world to bring you the greatest and most varied gifts for Christmas 2021. Entirely coincidentally, those who are obliged to buy presents for me can consider this my Christmas list, but I hope it will also provide inspiration for the food-lover in your life.
For the keen cook
I’ve used a lot of cooking thermometers over the years, both at home and at work, and Thermapen is the hands-down winner. With a temperature range of -49.9 to 299.9°C, and an accurate measurement in one second, it is easy to use, easy to read, and easy to clean. Compact and brightly coloured, use the Thermapen to check temperatures in meat cooking, jam-making, confectionery and any other kitchen temperature you care to think of.
Thermapen digital thermometer, Thermapen, £66
For the fancypants food lover
I’m not sure there’s a better gift than really posh butter (I might be sightly biased), but this crab and lobster butter not only received three stars at this year’s Great Taste Awards, but was also awarded their Golden Fork award, for the best product of the year from London. The butter combines the ‘sweetness of British Isles lobster and Devon crab, the nutty complexity of caviar, and the herby, aniseed uplift of fennel.’ At just shy of £100, it’s not cheap, but then it’s not your common or garden butter – and it does come with its own butter dish.
Ridiculous No 55 crab and lobster butter, Sublime butter, £95
For the baking obsessive
Bakery Bits makes me feel like a child in a sweetshop: I want everything, immediately, thank you very much, and I might cry if I don’t get it. There are cloches, specialist ingredients, cake cases, books and kits galore. But if you really want to win over the bread baker in your life, then it has to be the Challenger bread pan: baker extraordinaire Jim Challenger set about designing his perfect cast-iron Dutch oven to create the platonic crust and crumb on his sourdough loaves.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in