The Vittles Christmas Gift Guide 2022
The Vittles Christmas Gift Guide 2022
An actually useful, mostly non-corruptable guide to food gifting
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Yes, it’s that time of year again! The bit where Vittles pretends to reluctantly release a Christmas gift guide, but secretly revels in showing it has better taste than OFM. Christmas gift guides are inescapably Christmas gift guides: if the Vittles one is any different it is simply that it’s better, that it contains things that the people who compiled it would actually want to receive, and that it is (mostly) free from corruption. But remember! Like an adorable puppy, the Vittles Christmas Gift Guide is not just for Christmas: like the two previous versions, which are still very much relevant, this guide is simply a list of 200+ things that have given Vittles contributors delight this year, or over our lifetimes, and can be bought and used at any time, for any occasion. And if you really don’t want to contribute to any more consumption, please read until the end for an alternative idea.
Otherwise, if you really can’t think of anything else:
Author Key
AH - Angela Hui
AK - Amy Key
ASM - Anna Sulan Masing
BB - Barclay Bram
CK - Coco Kwok
CRC - Chloe Rose Crabtree
EC - Ed Cumming
HvH - Hester van Hensbergen
IR - Isaac Rangaswami
FG - Feroz Gajia
JH - Joel Hart
JL - Jenny Lau
JN - Jonathan Nunn
KB - K Biswas
LD - Lucy Dearlove
MPS - Molly Pepper Steemson
MT - Melissa Thompson
NB - Nick Bramham
PH - Phineas Harper
RA - Robbie Armstrong
RB - Rida Bilgrami
RT - Ruby Tandoh
SB - Stephen Buranyi
SD - Sharanya Deepak
SH - Simran Hans
SI - Saba Imtiaz
SW - Sean Wyer
SYL - Sing Yun Lee
TE - Thom Eagle
Stocking Filler Condiments
Gulyáskrém
As a rule, Europeans don't do spice. But the Hungarians make an exception for fiery chilli powders and pastes, a holdover from their time in the Ottoman Empire. Christmas in Hungary means halászlé, a deep-red spicy river carp soup that, in colour and general demeanour, wouldn't seem out of place on a Sichuan table. The base is hot paprika powder, but every good Hungarian chef keeps a tube of paprika paste in reserve for ad-hoc spice adjustments. My favourite of these is csípős (hot, biting, stinging) Gulyáskrém, or ghoulash paste. Essentially hyper-concentrated combo of fresh and aged chilis, and herbs, it can go in anything from stir-fries to pasta to sandwiches, for a savoury-spice punch. Anywhere one uses a secret dash of chili-crisp, fish sauce, or gochujang, could be varied instead with a little Mitteleuropean heat. SB
Amba
If you read my Vittles piece on the stuff, you will already know that Ship is the brand I’d recommend purchasing for an amba lover. Don’t be fooled by any shiny new versions; Ship is the real deal. You can get Camel if you’re looking for the ultimate gobstopper effect, but Ship has a fruitiness that lingers under the kind of lashings of electrifying punch you’d expect to find in a whisky sour. It can be purchased online or at Iraqi grocery stores on Edgware Road, such as Babylon Foods. JH
Big mustard
I'm not here to sell you on mustard. But what about a massive mustard? Edmond Fallot is always tasty. It's a more honest condiment than the arrogant Maille. But it is at its best in a big pot. Since embracing the large format I've found my attitude towards it has changed, too. The psychology is all different. Abundance breeds enthusiasm. To the man with a massive mustard, everything is a target. I get it from The Deli at 80 in Stroud Green. EC
Harissa
A few months ago I picked up a bottle of Lamiri Harissa from my local deli and it’s become a pantry staple. Sourced from Tunisia by a family-run business, this particular version is prepared with dried baklouti chillies, rendering it deliciously smoky. I fold it into pretty much everything from scrambled eggs and soups to pasta and daal. Order online or procure from local stockists. RB
Chilli oil
I moved to the Netherlands this year and, bereft of regular access to achar or Nimco masala papri, I turned to these chilli oils by Real Good Food. The Crunchy Spice oil goes with everything – I have put it on eggs, pasta, rice, bread – and the Yum Phrik would make my five-year-old (and current self) eat all my vegetables. SI
Sumac
I am fortunate enough to still have a tub of handground sumac from Tavlinsky, an organic spice store in Levinsky Market, Tel Aviv. What their sumac offers, and what you should be looking for in the UK market, is a more rustic grind. You can always further crush the product for a specific dish, but the texture is the easiest way to tell that it is a quality product actually made from dried sumac berries. Another good indicator is origin. Arabica offer a suitably pert version from Ajloun, Jordan, and Bo Tree Farm offer a flavoursome cured version from Gaziantep, Turkey, which has exactly the kind of crumbly consistency you want to see. If you’re looking for excellent value, a Palestinian version by Yaffa Foods is a good option, which you can buy directly online or at Mr Falafel in Shepherd’s Bush Market. JH
Salt
Tons Valley Shop in Uttarakhand do a great pisyun-loon, Himalayan salt that is harvested and ground by local communities in the mountains, flavoured with local herbs (perilla seeds and garlic being some of the more common ones). Pisyun-loon has tons of body that hyper-refined salt is always cleaned of when it’s sold for a large market, goes really well on a hot roti with ghee, on toast and butter, or on fresh fruit. It makes really simple things, entire meals in themselves.
Also, Diaspora Co. has managed to ethically source salt from the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, which is harvested by the Agariya community, who have been slow-filtering salt for generations. Kutchi salt is high in minerals and just really tasty and has that robust crystalline depth – both to cook with and as garnish. That Diaspora Co. has managed to create a well-run system in one of the most state-guarded, exploited salt marshes in the world is a feat in itself. SD
Pickled mushrooms
Was your Christmas gift from two years ago the Noma ferments book? Did you go on a foraging class this year? Did you download a mushroom identifying app, pick up a bunch of mushrooms in Epping Forest and do a long Instagram post about nature’s bounty (before ultimately jetting them because you weren’t 100 per cent sure you wouldn’t give yourself kidney failure)? Well, have I got a product for you! One that resides at the perfect intersection of I-love-natural-wine and I-used-to-live-in-East-London-but-it’s-changed. Take yourself to any polski sklep (or the giant Ukrainian shop Baza in Leyton, or Tblisi on Mare Street) and buy a jar of pickled mushrooms. They’re tart, sweet and punchy. Toss them in a salad, throw them on some pierogi or let them sit on your shelf untouched (like the Noma ferments book). BB
Food
Hamper 1: Palestinian foods