Gin Pickles For fans of Batch 206’s award-winning Counter Gin, these handcrafted pickles should be a hit as well. Made from the spent botanicals after a gin mash—juniper, lavender, orange peel, lemon peel, and verbena—plus a bit of sugar and gin itself, these pickled cucumbers will give a classic martini a lovely woodsy, herbaceous twist. They’d also be great on a holiday crudité platter or sliced on a sandwich. Chef Shop, 1425 Elliott Ave. W., 286-9988, chefshop.com
Salt Blade Salami Besides Salumi, it’s the only other wholesale charcuterie business with USDA certification to sell to grocery stores and restaurants, and its salamis, soppressatas, and pepperoni have now become de rigueur at many gourmet stores and restaurants—and it’s recently expanded to a new space. Favorites include the porcini and sage salami and “The Seattle Stick,” enhanced with Caffe Vita coffee and Theo Chocolate nibs. You can find Blade at the University District Farmers Market on Saturdays, but his products are also stocked in stores like DeLaurenti, Home Remedy, The Green Market, and The Feed Store, among others. 355-4719, saltblade.com
Joule The award-winning website from Seattle’s Chef Steps features high-quality recipe videos for the adventurous home cook—and fans have been eagerly anticipating the release of its sous vide cooking instrument and app, Joule. Well, it’s finally here, and for the food geek in your life, the wand will certainly work magic (and banish overcooked food from their life forever). A sous vide implement, it allows you to perfectly control temperatures, particularly of meats, by way of a gentle water bath. The app preheats Joule, allowing your vacuum-sealed steak or chicken, or even veggies, to get to the exact desired temperature. Cook it in advance of dinner, then just give it a quick sear on the stove right before serving. $199, chefsteps.com
Sweet Caroline’s Jams Made in small batches, with less pectin and sugar to allow the fruit to dominate, these jams come in delightful flavor combos such as grilled peach with cinnamon, spiced cherry, blackberry orange fennel, and, my personal favorite, pear ginger cardamom (good on a slice of toast or as a marinade for a pork loin). New to the operation: “Beer Jam” flavors such as apricot jasmine IPA (made with Elysian’s Jasmine IPA) and raspberry chocolate espresso stout (made with Pike Brewery’s Extra Stout). You can find owners Caroline and Greg at multiple farmers’ markets throughout the summer, but they’re at the Ballard Sunday market year-round. sweetcarolinesjam.com
Loaves From Sea Wolf Bakers For a present with a real personal touch, and a particularly thoughtful hostess gift, put together your own bread basket featuring the superlative doughs from this bakery, which are served on menus at Renee Erickson’s and Ethan Stowell’s restaurants, among others. Find a pretty basket, line it with some rustic burlap or a pretty printed napkin, and load it up with items like their hearty, dense rye sourdough (with a touch of coffee and caraway), ciabatta rolls, baguettes, and lye rolls (made with mushrooms and Emmental Cheese). Throw in some croissants for good measure. 3621 Stone Way N., 457-4181, seawolfbakers.com
