With the holiday season quickly barreling down on us (it feels that way when the local Marukai Wholesale Market is already playing Christmas music sung by pseudo Alvin and the Chipmunks sung in Japanese), it’s that time when we have to decide who gets what gift. It doesn’t get any easier each year especially with the state of the current economy as is. Penny pinch this year or perhaps just one large gift from an individual “secret Santa”. My personal inclination would be to shun the large quantity of downsized gifts and maybe just concentrate on a special gift for one (or a few) recipients.
Food is Always Good
With families cutting out the “nice to have” and spending only on the “need to have” items, gift certificates from local restaurants satisfies both. Food is one of the top “need to have” but with the economy the way it is, many families have pushed dining out right out the door. Therefore a gift certificate can provide that restaurant meal that probably was pushed way down the list of spending priorities and at the very least, provides sustenance albeit in a nicer setting. And getting that gift certificate from local restaurants also provides income for local businesses in your neck of the woods.
If the recipient(s) don’t fancy dining out, then gift certificates from local supermarkets – especially small independent markets – also fit the bill of providing a “need to have”. I would seek out the small independent markets as larger national chains can weather these economic downturns longer than small markets. Or if you want to personalize the gift, make a food gift basket on your own choosing foods that might be considered “luxuries” in these times. Add a bottle of wine, maybe some nice heirloom tomatoes, fancier cuts of meat or seafood, artisnal breads, etc.
Food needs to be prepped
The basic kitchen implement in my mind is the knife. A good cooks knife. Sharp, long enough for all types of food preparation, comfortable in the hand and durable enough to be passed down to the next generation. Though you might want to skimp here given the multitude of cheaper cutting devices available, cheap knives are… cheap knives. Spend the money up front and it will reward the cook (gift receiver) for years. Good kitchen knives are very sharp right out of the box and they keep their edge longer than cheap knives. When it’s time, they also are easy to sharpen to regain that razor’s edge. Remember that sharp knives don’t cut users as much as dull knives (you tend to force the knife when it’s dull reducing your control of the blade).
If you can only have one knife in your lifetime, The Gochiso Gourmet would choose the Global G2 Cooks Knife. Made by the Master Cutlery Corporation at the Yoshikin Factory in Japan, Global knives combine very sharp blades made from CROMOVA 18 steel hardened to Rockwell 56 – 58 hardness with excellent balance and style. They slice through hard root vegetables like “buttah” and maintain their edge as well as any kitchen knife. They do retail for about $90 but this is one knife that performs all kitchen cutting tasks with ease and will last until the next generation of home chefs enters the kitchen.
Food needs to be cooked in something
Once that food is prepped, it now needs to be cooked. Once again you could purchase cheaper pots and pans that would need to be replaced in a couple of years and give the home chef countless headaches due to scorched dishes from uneven heating or you could spend a little more for an pot that would cook food evenly, beautify the kitchen and last a lifetime (or two). The Gochiso Gourmet has personally gone through his share of name brand cookware from Magnalite to Calphalon to Circulon to Anolon and back. And if I could do it all over again, I would choose just one brand: All-Clad. The sandwiched aluminum and/or copper core within layer of stainless steel provides even heating and durability. Plus a benefit of the stainless interior means that acidic foods will never interact with the cooking vessel. I previously was enamored of the Copper Core line from All-Clad but if I had to choose just one pot, it would be from the Stainless line of cookware. I do have a couple pieces from the Copper Core line (which also cooks wonderfully) but the magnetic bottom of the Stainless line allows it to be used on induction cook tops. A 6 to 8 quart Dutch oven or stock pot does run at least $250 but once again, cooking with ease for a lifetime is an excellent trade-off.
Food needs to be cooked
Now that you’ve gifted the kitchen knife and the cooking vessel, how does the recipient actually cook the food? I’m not suggesting you purchase a complete stovetop for the gift recipient but a novel gift would be an induction cooker. Induction cookers heat the cooking vessel directly with electromagnetic energy so they are fast, very energy efficient (84% versus standard gas or electric burners at < 50%) which means that you also use 40 to 70% less energy and this also translates to less greenhouse gas production. Fast, less energy and GREEN to boot, what’s the downside? The downside is that your cooking vessel must be conductive, in other words it will only work if a magnet sticks to the bottom of the cooking vessel…. Do I hear All-Clad Stainless series? In most cases, the cooking vessel also needs to have a flat bottom; they do make induction cookers for woks but those models are still very expensive. Your basic flat bottomed induction cooker will run between $150 and $300.
Tighter Economy Doesn’t Have to Mean Tighter Wallet
Therefore if you’re strapped for cash a little more this season, my suggestion would be to limit the total amount of downsized gifts purchased and use that extra for great gifts to fewer recipients. Secret Santa, drawing numbers, etc so that the pressure is off of everyone who might feel compelled to stretch their wallets to the breaking point. Me thinks better quality for a smaller quantity instead of lower quality for a larger quantity.
Food is Always Good
With families cutting out the “nice to have” and spending only on the “need to have” items, gift certificates from local restaurants satisfies both. Food is one of the top “need to have” but with the economy the way it is, many families have pushed dining out right out the door. Therefore a gift certificate can provide that restaurant meal that probably was pushed way down the list of spending priorities and at the very least, provides sustenance albeit in a nicer setting. And getting that gift certificate from local restaurants also provides income for local businesses in your neck of the woods.
If the recipient(s) don’t fancy dining out, then gift certificates from local supermarkets – especially small independent markets – also fit the bill of providing a “need to have”. I would seek out the small independent markets as larger national chains can weather these economic downturns longer than small markets. Or if you want to personalize the gift, make a food gift basket on your own choosing foods that might be considered “luxuries” in these times. Add a bottle of wine, maybe some nice heirloom tomatoes, fancier cuts of meat or seafood, artisnal breads, etc.
Food needs to be prepped
The basic kitchen implement in my mind is the knife. A good cooks knife. Sharp, long enough for all types of food preparation, comfortable in the hand and durable enough to be passed down to the next generation. Though you might want to skimp here given the multitude of cheaper cutting devices available, cheap knives are… cheap knives. Spend the money up front and it will reward the cook (gift receiver) for years. Good kitchen knives are very sharp right out of the box and they keep their edge longer than cheap knives. When it’s time, they also are easy to sharpen to regain that razor’s edge. Remember that sharp knives don’t cut users as much as dull knives (you tend to force the knife when it’s dull reducing your control of the blade).
If you can only have one knife in your lifetime, The Gochiso Gourmet would choose the Global G2 Cooks Knife. Made by the Master Cutlery Corporation at the Yoshikin Factory in Japan, Global knives combine very sharp blades made from CROMOVA 18 steel hardened to Rockwell 56 – 58 hardness with excellent balance and style. They slice through hard root vegetables like “buttah” and maintain their edge as well as any kitchen knife. They do retail for about $90 but this is one knife that performs all kitchen cutting tasks with ease and will last until the next generation of home chefs enters the kitchen.
Food needs to be cooked in something
Once that food is prepped, it now needs to be cooked. Once again you could purchase cheaper pots and pans that would need to be replaced in a couple of years and give the home chef countless headaches due to scorched dishes from uneven heating or you could spend a little more for an pot that would cook food evenly, beautify the kitchen and last a lifetime (or two). The Gochiso Gourmet has personally gone through his share of name brand cookware from Magnalite to Calphalon to Circulon to Anolon and back. And if I could do it all over again, I would choose just one brand: All-Clad. The sandwiched aluminum and/or copper core within layer of stainless steel provides even heating and durability. Plus a benefit of the stainless interior means that acidic foods will never interact with the cooking vessel. I previously was enamored of the Copper Core line from All-Clad but if I had to choose just one pot, it would be from the Stainless line of cookware. I do have a couple pieces from the Copper Core line (which also cooks wonderfully) but the magnetic bottom of the Stainless line allows it to be used on induction cook tops. A 6 to 8 quart Dutch oven or stock pot does run at least $250 but once again, cooking with ease for a lifetime is an excellent trade-off.
Food needs to be cooked
Now that you’ve gifted the kitchen knife and the cooking vessel, how does the recipient actually cook the food? I’m not suggesting you purchase a complete stovetop for the gift recipient but a novel gift would be an induction cooker. Induction cookers heat the cooking vessel directly with electromagnetic energy so they are fast, very energy efficient (84% versus standard gas or electric burners at < 50%) which means that you also use 40 to 70% less energy and this also translates to less greenhouse gas production. Fast, less energy and GREEN to boot, what’s the downside? The downside is that your cooking vessel must be conductive, in other words it will only work if a magnet sticks to the bottom of the cooking vessel…. Do I hear All-Clad Stainless series? In most cases, the cooking vessel also needs to have a flat bottom; they do make induction cookers for woks but those models are still very expensive. Your basic flat bottomed induction cooker will run between $150 and $300.
Tighter Economy Doesn’t Have to Mean Tighter Wallet
Therefore if you’re strapped for cash a little more this season, my suggestion would be to limit the total amount of downsized gifts purchased and use that extra for great gifts to fewer recipients. Secret Santa, drawing numbers, etc so that the pressure is off of everyone who might feel compelled to stretch their wallets to the breaking point. Me thinks better quality for a smaller quantity instead of lower quality for a larger quantity.
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