Useful Gifts for Cooks Who Have Nearly Everything

My family and friends are not big holiday gift giving people. We’re lucky to have most of the basics of life and so it’s often the little gifts that say “I thought of you” that are most welcomed.

In fact, my parents have always been the hardest people to give gifts to. They only want practical things ,so I’m always careful to choose things that that I’m 150 percent sure will make their lives better. With all that in mind, I came up with this list of useful gifts for cook. I have a well-stocked, well-equipped kitchen, but if someone were to gift me one of the items in this list, I’d be super happy. They do not cost much. I’ve test driven them and can vouch for the joy they give me on a regular basis.

Openers and Scrapers

Can openers are not the sexiest tools in the kitchen but they can be workhorses if you find a solid one. I had a European can opener that worked well for many years but the blade dulled over time. That’s bound to happen. The new one, the E-Z-DUZ-IT can opener, is proudly made in America. It’s heavy and boy does it grip and open a can well. The opener was designed in 1954 and now made by John J. Steuby Company, which makes metal machinery and parts. I love the quirkiness and reliability of the E-Z-DUZ-IT opener.

Opening jars seems to get harder as I age. Cue the Kuhn Rikon Strain-Free Jar Opener, which adjusts to lock onto small and large-ish lids. You just give the handle a turn and the lid turns to release. I’ve used a jar opener with jagged teeth that gripped the lid but I didn’t like how it marred metal lid. Silicone lid grippers cost less but they take a fair amount of effort (I’m often bearing down on the jar). I’ve had this KR jar opener for a few years and it’s proven to be sturdy. I bet the strain-free gripper opener and I will grow old together.

Cleaning out containers for recycling or reusing is easier with the OXO Jar Spatula. It has become a reliable tool in my kitchen for making sure practically every bit of hoisin sauce, peanut butter, mustard, and the like gets scraped out of their containers. When shopping for the jar spatula, make sure it has the little hook-like side because that does part of the spatula does most of the work. Buy the OXO jar spatula.

Handy Helpers for Grating, Stirring, and Washing

After I remodeled my kitchen, I wanted to store kitchen gadgets more efficiently. Box graters take up a lot of space and honestly, I only used two (2) sides of the grater – the smallest and biggest/coarsest holed-sides. That became evident when I was often grating vegetables for recipes in Ever-Green Vietnamese. The most useful grater in my book (and in my kitchen) is the OXO folding grater. It has two options, stands sturdily like a ladder, or it can be separated and used flat. It stores neatly in a drawer to boot. The OXO two-fold grater has covers to safely keep you from scrapping your fingers too. It’s very sharp so be careful.

Inexpensive, sturdy wooden spatulas used to be easy to obtain. Mine are getting old after twenty years of service. I’ve tried five wood spatulas this year and the FAAY teak spatula from Thailand is most comfortable to use. It’s a little short at 11.5 inches but it performs just fine in my kitchen. What I like a lot is that there are teak spatula options for right and lefthanders.

My brother, mom and sister adore using a rice washing bowl to easily wash, rinse, and pour off water from their grains. I’ve been using it whenever I go to my mom’s house and bought one myself. You may think you don’t need this but if you’re a frequent rice eater, you know how the grains can easily fall out of a bowl if you’re not well practiced at pouring off the water. The strategically placed drainage holes on the side make water pouring a cinch. If you wash other grains, the rice washing bowl may work so long as the grains aren’t super tiny, like teft. Check out the rice washing bowl.  

Measure and Pour

A scale rarely lies. I rely on a scale nearly every day of my cooking life. My scale of choice is the OXO digital scale with 11-pound (5 kilo) capacity because it’s easy to clean, reliable, and handles a decent amount of food. The 5-pound capacity scale costs less but lacks the stainless-steel plate on top. I liked the scale so much that I dared to gift it to my picky mother, who eventually said that it’s the best gift I’ve ever presented her. The only downside to the OXO scale is that it stays on by itself for quite some time – a battery waster. Get yourself (and others) the OXO scale and remember to turn it off soon after using. If you've used my recipes on this website before, my digital scale has made many cameo appearances!

When my plastic pour-over coffee maker broke, I researched and eventually bought the Metal Pour Over Coffee Maker by Hario. No, the handle does not get hot. The silicone skirt makes sure the coffee’s heat remains in the cup. The stainless-steel construction means it is built to last. Does the swirly pattern yield better coffee? It seems to aerate the coffee nicely and I do have a delicious cup each morning. When buying the Hario Coffee Maker, get some of their filters because they are designed for Hario’s maker. I tried to use a cheaper regular filter and the flavor wasn’t as good. Go for the total kit. Here's the Hario in action the other morning -- I use a cheap plastic measuring cup to pour the hot water stream in a circular pattern to facilitate flavor development. I was cleaning out the can of condensed milk in the process too.

Game Changing Spices and Condiments

Now, more than ever, there are incredible spices available to home cooks. My favored importers deal fairly with the spice farmers and other producers. Those importers offer the freshest, most fragrant and flavorful spices. They often deal with growers on a first-name basis. The spice trade is often opaque (I’ve heard stories about olive pits and papaya seeds being blended in with peppercorns!) and growers, such as those in Vietnam, have not received their fair share of revenue.

The cost of good spices is reasonable when you weigh the quality that you’re getting. I’ve written about spices for magazines such as EatingWell and have tried many over the years. Hands down -- Burlap and Barrel, Diaspora Co, and Curio are among the very best. They know exactly who grows the spices you buy. You can’t say that for what’s sold at supermarkets or (sigh) the bulk bins where I long shopped for spices. Moreover, the spices stunningly amp up your food and cooking.

And, speaking of spices – for extra potent Sichuan peppercorns (like, you should use half as much as what a recipe calls for), shop at Mala Market, a mail-order company based in Tennessee. Owner Taylor Holiday carefully selects artisanal, intriguing products from China. I’ve long used Mala Market’s Sichuan peppercorns and recently I ordered an outstanding ten-year-old Baoning black vinegar. It’s smooth and sophisticated, with plenty of depth. I’ve used the premium vinegar for wherever Chinkiang vinegar is required. It lent elegance to dishes such as kung pao tofu, kung pao chicken wings, hot and sour soup (regular and vegan), and pan-fried Chinese pork pies. The charming bottle resembles a cognac bottle so I’ve kept the Baoning vinegar out on my counter.

Two other amazing ingredients from Mala Market are the one-year-old light soy sauce that’s complex and salty sweet but devoid of sugar. I’ve tried tricked out soy sauce that contain sugar and MSG and naturally brewed and unenhanced Zhongba soy sauce is leagues better. For your stir-fries and chile oil, try the Roasted Rapeseed Oil. Rapeseed is commonly used in China and what I’ve used and tasted in China is very heavy. This one from Mala Market is light and makes your flavors dance and sparkle. Try the rapeseed oil for homemade chile oil. Roasted rapeseed oil is not easily sourced in America.

And, of course, you may gift that special cook a bottle of fish sauce. I have over a dozen brands of nuoc mam in my kitchen but my go-to ones are preservative free, made of 3 ingredients (fish, water and time), and crafted in Vietnam by small producers -- Son and Red Boat. Son is a bit harder to source from Asian markets than Red Boat, but you may find both online. Note that you can buy Red Boat in smallish bottles at Trader Joe's and Cost Plus. (If fish sauce is new-ish to you, here's a post on how to buy and store fish sauce.)

For Pressing, Steaming and Drying

Designed for applying weigh and pressure to steaks, these metal presses are terrific for vegetables. I've used them for roasting eggplant, such as for the eggplant soaked in dashi, and for grilling large mushrooms. They don't get super hot because of the design. The Chef Presses were purchased at Now Serving, a cookbook shop in Los Angeles. The owner, Ken Concepcion, was formerly the executive chef at Wolfgang Puck's Cut steam restaurant. I purchased the medium and heavy ones. They may be stacked for extra weight. Here's the 13-ounce press in action on a steak. (I'm using an Anolon X skillet that gave a great sear over medium heat on my average 9,500 BTU burner. See my article on nonstick skillets for details.)

Do you often scrambled to line your Chinese steamer baskets at the last minute? I tried these silicone steamer basket liners and found them to very handy. I've used paper and banana leaves, cutting them to size. In China I've seen pine needles used for lining and cabbage leaves, too. Ditto for sewn fabric liners. These mesh silicon liners are convenient, wash well with dish soap and dry pretty fast. Trim them to size, if you want. I leave mine as is. They're good for dumplings like har gow, but not bao, which you often need a little paper underneath to move them around.

And finally, for drying awkward items such as recycled plastic zip-top bags, tall wine glasses, and blender jars, I love this retractable rack. It looks flimsy but is strong. It stores away in our cupboard near the sink so when I don't need it, I don't see the rack.

If you have gift ideas to add, please do! I’m always looking for pointers from y’all.