The first Hanukkah candles have been lit, which means we’re officially in the thick of spendy season. Excess runs wild during the holidays, and the last thing we’d do is advise you to buy more “stuff,” but, in terms of presents, we consider consumables an exception.
These holiday goodies keep the footprint low and indulgence high. That means (to the best of our ability) we’ve left out goods wrapped in tons of plastic, containing palm oil or other ingredients harmful to the Earth, or flown in. Our gift list includes updated versions of your favorite traditional treats like peppermint bark and big tubs o’ popcorn, along with a Santa sack full of fresh artisanal offerings.
Here are our favorite edible gifts for the gourmands in your life:
A classic minty delight
Natural Candy Store Organic Peppermint Bark ($22 for 8 ounces)
The first person to layer dark and white chocolate, then strew it with peppermint deserves the Nobel Prize in candy. (Well, it should be a thing.) This classic Christmas confection is pure chocolatey, minty delight. The Natural Candy Store created a plant-based version with chocolate made from Rainforest Alliance-certified cocoa. Like all their products, it’s also free of synthetic dyes: The red color in the peppermint comes from beet juice.
The coolest beans
Primary Beans Bean People Membership ($33.75 per quarter)
Replacing any kind (or any amount) of animal protein with beans is an awesome step toward a diet that’s gentler on the planet. Primary Beans, founded by two sisters in Arizona, gets its mostly organic beans from climate-conscious farms. The Bean People Membership delivers the recipient a curated box every three months containing “surprise varieties” from different growing regions, along with information about the growers.
Spectacular spices
Diaspora Co. Amriki Masala Trio ($32 for 3 tins)
Diaspora Co. started with turmeric but now has a menu of 30 single-origin spices. This time of year, we particularly like their Amriki Masala Trio, a South Asian take on three classic American blends: steak masala (for seasoning your Impossible burgers, of course), taco masala, and pumpkin spice. The company pays its farm partners in India and Sri Lanka an average of six times the going rate, making sure they earn a living wage, and has also put more than $500K towards humanitarian causes like emergency relief in India.
A salty surprise
Fishwife Tinned Seafood Co. Sardine Set ($40 for 4 tins)
Okay, tins of seafood may not sound particularly sexy, but if you call them conservas and package them in wildly vibrant boxes, you’ve suddenly got a great gift in your hand. Fishwife’s seafood is sourced from responsibly managed fisheries and aquafarms. We recommend the sardine set in particular, because even the wild-caught varieties are way-low on the carbon-footprint scale compared to other swimmers.
Yummy money
Mama Ganache Hanukkah Gelt (from $12.50 for 15 pieces)
Chocolate coins are a Hanukkah tradition—as is the sad fact that they’re often waxy, tasteless, and come from who-knows-where. Not so with the sweet mock money (milk and dark) from Mama Ganache Artisanal Chocolate, whose organic confection is made with cocoa sourced directly from farmers around the world. The company supports Project Hope & Fairness, a nonprofit that helps farmers in West Africa process and market their own cocoa.
A major oil and vinegar upgrade
Flamingo Estate Olive Oil & Fuyu Persimmon Vinegar ($85)
We may have to move to Flamingo Estates in Los Angeles, a self-described “pleasure-obsessed home of sun-worship.” Meanwhile, we’ll settle for the gift box containing a bottle of their California-grown, cold-pressed olive oil and sweet-tart fuyu persimmon vinegar, a “Japanese bottle of sunshine” made from seasonal ingredients harvested only during the equinox. Flamingo Estates says it only works with farms that employ sustainable, organic practices grounded in regenerative farming.
The OG popcorn
Stone Hollow Farmstead Heirloom Popcorn Movie Night Trio ($78)
Unlike most of the corn in the U.S., heirloom varieties come from seeds that go back generations. So forget the factory tins in favor of snacks from Stone Hollow Farmstead. Their almost hull-less kernels come packaged in 16-ounce glass bottles arranged in reusable wooden boxes. The Movie Night Trio was also one of Oprah’s faves for good reason: It comes with Lady Finger heirloom popcorn (an 1849 variety), rosemary-and-bay infused olive oil, and herb-infused sea salt. Queue “It’s a Wonderful Life!”