Gourmet Food - Cooking Light

Photo: Randy Mayor

Our Favorite Gourmet Foods

The best part of giving a gourmet gift—stocking your pantry at the same time. All items can be found at specialty grocers unless otherwise noted.

Photo: Randy Mayor

Counter Culture Coffee

Counter Culture's amazingly smooth coffees are the next best thing to locally grown; each variety includes details about the exact farm where the coffee was cultivated. Check online, and you can even Google Map your selection.

Price: $11 to $14/12-oz.

Shop: Counter Culture Coffee

Photo: Randy Mayor

Crofter's Pomegranate and Black Currant Fruit Spread

Slather on the sweetness with Crofter's intriguing Pomegranate and Black Currant Fruit Spread.

Price: $5

Photo: Randy Mayor

Sal de Ibiza Fleur de Sel

Mediterranean fleur de sel brings out the bright flavors of tomatoes, and we just love the summery jar—no matter what the time of year.

Price: $24/4.4-ounce ceramic jar

Shop: The French Farm

Photo: Randy Mayor

Grove 45 Olive Oil

Grove 45’s olive trees are Italian imports. But the olives they produce are grown, harvested, and pressed into spicy extra-virgin oil in the Napa Valley.

Price: $45/18.5-ounce bottle

Shop: Grove 45

Fee Brothers Old-Fashioned Aromatic Bitters

Rochester, NY-based Fee Brothers produce intense, flavorful bitters—classics as well as unusual versions like rhubarb and chocolate.

Price: $7

Shop: Amazon.com

Photo: Randy Mayor

The Meadow Salt Starter Set

Make flavors bloom from Smoked Hawaiian to Black Turkish, these finishing salts wake up the palate.

Price: $24

Shop: The Meadow

Photo: Randy Mayor

Granny Cho Kimchi

Hot, crunchy, tart, complex: The essential Korean fermented-cabbage pickle gets better with age.

Price: $9

Shop: Granny Choe

Photo: Randy Mayor

Spice Hunter Turkey Brine

Fans of the salty soak say it results in a more tender, flavorful turkey. Give it a try with Spice Hunter's Turkey Brine, premixed with sea salt, brown sugar, dried cranberries and apples, orange zest, black peppercorns, thyme, rosemary, and sage.

Price: $10

Photo: Randy Mayor

Foods Across America Root Beer Bundle

This collection includes one bottle each of regional root beer specialties from Berfhoff, Boylan, Dog N Suds, Faygo, Fitz's, and Sprecher. Pour yourself a flight, or just add reduced-fat vanilla ice cream for floats.

Price: $35

Shop: Foods Across America

Photo: Randy Mayor

Tanimura & Antle Artisan Lettuce

Like bagged lettuce, only better and much fresher: Tanimura & Antle's 4-pack of artisan lettuce includes petite heads of sweet, soft gem and mildly bitter tango lettuces.

Price: $4

Shop: Specialty Grocers

Photo: Randy Mayor

Lucini Italia Vinegars

Who needs oil, with vinegars this smooth and flavorful? We sampled the entire line—pinot grigio, pinot noir, aged balsamic, dark cherry-infused, fig-infused—and loved them all.

Price: $11-$16 each

Shop: Lucini Italia

479º Popcorn Pop It Yourself Kit

All you need for the big night: Colorful organic popping corn; seasonings like habanero sugar and curry salt; grapeseed oil; and paper cones.

Price: $35

Shop: 479º Popcorn

Nudo Italian Olive Tree Adoption

Adopt an olive tree, then get tins of first-press oil from its fruit throughout the year.

Price: $109

Shop: Nudo Italia

Photo: Randy Mayor

Neuske's and Benton's Bacon

As the national bacon craze continues, we nominate two favorites: Nueske's and Benton's. A little of either goes an astonishingly long way, suffusing your dish—and kitchen—with rich smokiness.

Price: $20/2 pounds (Nueske's), $21/4-pound-order (Benton's)

Shop: Benton's Hams

Matcha Green Tea Set

Matcha, finely powdered green tea, can be frothed like a latte.

Price: $69/5-piece kit includes bowl, sifter, scoop, frothing whisk, and matcha.

Shop: The Spoon Sisters

Photo: Randy Mayor

Humboldt Fog Goat Cheese

Luxe, creamy Humboldt Fog, with its trademark ribbon of bitter vegetable ash, is as iconic now as cheddar.

Price: Varies

Photo: Randy Mayor

Dry Soda

Dry Soda's zippy flavors have a fraction of the calories and sugar of standard sodas.

Price: $19/12-pack

Shop: DRY Soda

Photo: Randy Mayor

Flatout Good Whole-Grain Flatbread

Superlight, and supercrisp these whole-grain flatbread rounds are ready to party.

Price: $5

Shop: Major grocery stores nationwide