10 Diy Food Gifts

Food gifts are the ones people actually use up, which is the whole argument for them.

Most of these are made in an afternoon, several keep for weeks, and a couple need a fridge and a note saying so.

Each one below has a pin so you can see what you’re aiming for, and a link to a recipe that has actually been made.

Ten of them.

1. Decadent Homemade Chocolates

Bark is the chocolate gift that looks like effort and takes about half an hour.

Use bars, not chips, for the base, because chips have stabilizers that stop them melting smooth and setting glossy.

Chop the chocolate small and melt it over barely simmering water, and keep every drop of water out of the bowl or it seizes into paste.

Spread it on parchment in a quarter sheet pan about a quarter inch thick, swirl in the white chocolate, and press the toppings in while it’s still wet.

Pistachios, dried cranberries, and chopped apricots give you three colors without trying, and a pinch of flaky salt finishes it.

Set it in a cool room, not the fridge, then break it into shards and pack it in cellophane bags with parchment between layers.

The pin is The Cozy Apron’s chocolate bark, which uses a pound and a quarter of dark chocolate with almonds, pistachios, cranberries, apricots, white chocolate, and flaky salt, and makes enough for four or five bags.

2. Gourmet Fruit Jams

Small-batch jam that isn’t water-bath canned is a fridge jam, and the gift tag has to say so.

Fig jam is the one that feels like a gift in October, since figs are still in and nobody else is making it.

Figs, sugar, lemon zest and juice, and a split vanilla bean, left to sit for half an hour so the sugar pulls the juice out.

Cook it to 220 degrees on a candy thermometer, which is set point, and the lemon does the job pectin would.

Fill small 4-ounce jars, because a small jar gets finished and a big one gets forgotten at the back of someone’s fridge.

Kraft paper over the lid and a tag with the date and “keep refrigerated, three weeks” is the whole packaging.

The pin is a home cook’s photo of gift jars with no recipe attached, so the recipe is The Mediterranean Dish’s fig jam, which is two pounds of figs, two cups of sugar, two lemons and a vanilla bean, keeps three weeks in the fridge or a year in the freezer, and needs no canning.

3. Infused Olive Oils

This is the one food gift that can make someone sick, so the method matters more than the bottle.

Fresh herbs or garlic sitting in oil at room temperature is a botulism risk, and the sprig of rosemary left in the bottle for looks is exactly how that happens.

Blend the rosemary into the oil, warm it gently for twenty minutes, then strain it through cheesecloth so nothing solid is left.

Bottle it in swing-top bottles that have been washed and dried completely, since water in the bottle spoils the oil.

Even strained, homemade infused oil goes in the fridge and gets used within a week, and the tag says that in plain words.

It solidifies in the fridge and comes back to liquid in ten minutes on the counter, which is worth putting on the tag too.

The pin is a home cook’s Christmas-gift bottles with no recipe attached, so the method is Giangi’s Kitchen’s rosemary infused oil, which purees a bunch of rosemary into four cups of olive oil, heats it gently, and strains it through dampened cheesecloth without pressing.

4. Artisan Sourdough Bread

Sourdough is only a realistic gift if you already keep a starter, because building one takes a week before it’ll raise a loaf.

Mix the dough in the evening, fold it a few times over the first hour, and let it ferment overnight on the counter.

In the morning, shape it, put it in the fridge for a few hours, and score it cold, since cold dough scores cleanly.

Bake it in a preheated Dutch oven with the lid on for the first half so it steams itself, then lid off to brown.

Let it cool completely before it’s wrapped, or the steam softens the crust you just baked.

Wrap it in a linen bread bag or parchment and twine, and give it the day it’s baked.

The pin is Old-Fashioned Inspiration’s easy overnight sourdough, which is 90 grams of starter, 520 of flour and 12 of salt, mixed at 8pm, fridge-proofed in the morning, and baked at 500 lid on then 450 lid off.

5. Flavored Sea Salts

Flavored salt is the cheapest gift on this list and the one people run out of first.

Coarse sea salt or kosher salt, not fine, because coarse holds the flavor and doesn’t clump.

Dried herbs only, or fresh herbs dried out on a low oven first, since any moisture in the jar turns the salt into a brick.

Rosemary with lemon zest is the one that goes on everything, and the zest has to be dried too.

Pulse it a few times in a mortar and pestle or a food processor so the herbs break into the salt rather than sitting on top.

It keeps for months in a sealed jar, and a small wooden spoon tied to the jar makes it look like it came from a shop.

The pin is Little Yellow Wheelbarrow’s herb-infused salts, which sticks to dried herbs and coarse salt, suggests warming the salt in a low oven if the herbs still hold moisture, and packs it with twine and a tag.

6. Handcrafted Truffles

A truffle is ganache rolled into a ball, and ganache is two ingredients.

Eight ounces of chocolate and half a cup of cream, with the cream heated until it bubbles at the edge and poured over.

Leave it alone for a full minute before you whisk, because stirring too early leaves lumps of unmelted chocolate.

Two hours in the fridge until it’s firm enough to scoop, then a small cookie scoop and cold hands to roll.

Roll them in cocoa powder right away so the coating sticks to the warm surface.

These have cream in them, so they live in the fridge for three days, which means they’re the gift you make the day before, not the week before.

The pin is Lane and Grey Fare’s cocoa dusted truffles, which add a little vanilla and kosher salt to the ganache, keep three days in the fridge, and say not to freeze them.

7. Custom Spice Blends

Buy spices in bulk for this, because a dozen supermarket jars costs more than the gift is worth.

Mix each blend in a bowl with a whisk, not in the jar, or the heavy spices sink and the first spoonful is all cumin.

Leave the salt out, or keep it light, so the person cooking can salt the dish themselves.

Three-ounce glass spice jars are the right size, and a funnel stops half of it going on the counter.

Write what it goes on, not just what’s in it, since “southwest blend” means nothing to someone holding the jar.

Ground spices lose their smell after six months, so this is a gift for someone who cooks often.

The pin is Naturally Ella’s homemade spice blends, which include a southwest blend of chipotle, cumin, garlic, oregano and smoked paprika and a curry blend built on turmeric and fenugreek, with printable tags and recipe cards.

8. Flavored Vinegars

Vinegar is the safe cousin of infused oil, because the acid does the preserving.

White wine or rice vinegar for delicate herbs like tarragon, apple cider vinegar for anything with citrus or fennel.

Pack the herbs into a clean jar, bruise them with a wooden spoon, and pour the vinegar over cold.

Taste after a day and again after two weeks, since the flavor keeps building.

Strain it into glass cruets, because vinegar with the herbs still in it keeps for weeks and strained vinegar keeps for months.

A fresh sprig in the bottle looks good and drops the shelf life to about a month, so it’s either pretty or long-lasting.

The photo is Garden Therapy’s, pinned without its link, and the recipe is Garden Therapy’s herb-infused vinegar, which gives parsley, rosemary and sage, fennel and citrus, and tarragon and garlic, and keeps six months to a year once strained.

9. Homemade Granola

Granola is the gift that scales, since one tray fills four jars.

Blend a third of the oats into flour first, and that’s what makes it clump into clusters instead of staying loose.

Maple syrup and melted coconut oil for the binder, and spread it flat on parchment without stirring once it’s in.

Bake it until it’s golden at the edges, then leave it on the pan until it’s completely cold, because it only crisps as it cools.

Dried cranberries go in after baking, since they turn hard and bitter in the oven.

Pack it in wide-mouth jars the day it cools, and it stays crisp for two weeks sealed.

The pin is Alphafoodie’s Christmas granola, which is three cups of oats, almonds, walnuts, cranberries, maple syrup, coconut oil and cinnamon, makes about seven cups, and suggests adding the fruit after baking.

10. Personalized Tea Blends

A tea blend is a base tea plus something dried, mixed in a bowl and scooped into jars.

Black tea with orange peel, cinnamon and clove is the one for this time of year, and green tea with mint and lemon peel is the lighter one.

Everything has to be fully dry, since damp peel or petals grow mold in a sealed jar.

Some herbs aren’t safe for everyone, including several that shouldn’t be given to someone pregnant, so check before you add anything beyond the kitchen basics.

Write the steep time and water temperature on the tag, because green tea brewed like black tea tastes like grass.

A tea infuser tied to the jar makes it usable the moment it’s opened.

The photo is Under A Tin Roof’s, pinned without its link, and their three cozy tea mixes walk through choosing a base tea, dried flowers and herbs, and spices, with a note on which herbs to research first.

For something to put next to the jars on a holiday table, the Christmas finger foods post has ten more.

And the spiced nuts in the savory fall snack ideas post keep two weeks in a jar, which makes them one more gift.