Edible Gifts for Men Who Say They Want Nothing
When a man says he wants nothing, he usually means he does not want more things to find room for. Edible gifts get around that. A tin gets opened on a Friday night, a jar of hot honey goes on pizza, a bottle of bitters goes into a drink, and by spring the gift is gone and remembered. The trick is matching the food to a habit he already has.
This guide sorts edible gifts for men by habit: the snacker, the heat seeker, the home bartender and the sweet tooth. Each gift is a pair priced from listed prices, and a table at the end collects them.
A quick way to pick the habit
Think about the last time you saw him eat or drink something he chose himself. If it was crackers and something from a tin, he is a snacker. If he reached for the hot sauce, he is a heat seeker. If he made a drink and fussed over it, he is a home bartender. If he finished dinner and went looking for chocolate, he has a sweet tooth. Many men are two of these, and the pairs mix well.
For the snacker
Spiced sardines and the sauce made for them
José Gourmet, a Portuguese conservas brand launched in 2008, packs small petinga sardines with piri-piri and laurel, along with pickles, cloves, carrots and pepper (shop José Gourmet spiced small sardines). Salsa Espinaler is a blend of vinegar, peppers and spices made to go with Spanish conservas (shop Salsa Espinaler). Open the tin, shake a few drops over the fish, add bread. Together: $15.98.
Smoked oysters and padrón sardines
Ekone Oyster Co. grows Pacific oysters in Willapa Bay on the Washington coast, then steams, opens and brines them in small batches at its cannery in Bay Center; the habanero tin brings some heat (shop Ekone habanero smoked oysters). Ramón Peña, the Galician conservas producer, adds a fried green padrón pepper to its Gold Line sardines (shop Ramón Peña sardines with padrón pepper). Together: $26.98.
For the heat seeker
Hot honey and a smoked salt
Bushwick Kitchen's Bees Knees Spicy Honey blends wildflower honeys from the USA and Argentina with habanero, and the Brooklyn maker has made it since 2014. The maker suggests it on pizza, in margaritas and on cheese plates (shop Bees Knees Spicy Honey). Saltverk's Birch Smoked Salt is Icelandic flaky sea salt dried over birch smoke; the maker describes it as woodsy, smoky and slightly sweet (shop Saltverk Birch Smoked Salt). One goes on the pizza, the other on the steak. Together: $31.00.
For the home bartender
A Manhattan kit, minus the whiskey
Angostura says its aromatic bitters have been made to the same recipe since 1824 (shop Angostura aromatic bitters, 4 oz). Luxardo, a family company established in 1821, candies marasca cherries and packs them in marasca cherry syrup with no thickeners or preservatives (shop Luxardo Maraschino Cherries). A Cocktail Kingdom Japanese-style jigger measures 1 ounce on one side and 1.5 ounces on the other, with half- and three-quarter-ounce marks inside (shop the Japanese-style jigger). Together: $39.49. He brings the whiskey.
An old bar book and a bottle of bitters
How to Mix Drinks, or The Bon Vivant's Companion by Jerry Thomas is a hardcover reproduction of the 1862 edition with a new introduction and appendix by David Wondrich (shop How to Mix Drinks by Jerry Thomas). Fee Brothers has made cocktail bitters in Rochester, New York, since 1864, and its Old Fashion aromatic bitters come in a 5-ounce bottle (shop Fee Brothers Old Fashion bitters). Together: $29.49. For more ideas beside the bottles, see Christmas gifts for cocktail lovers.
For the sweet tooth
The steak chocolate bar and a brown butter bar
Chocolate Naive, the Lithuanian bean-to-bar maker founded by Domantas Uzpalis, dry-ages grass-fed Black Angus sirloin, dries it gently at low temperature in a vacuum, and folds it into dark milk chocolate with a minimum of 62% cacao, along with lingonberries, sea salt and black pepper (shop the Naive dry-aged beef chocolate bar). Dick Taylor, which makes its bars bean to bar in Eureka, California, infuses 73 percent dark chocolate with browned Humboldt Creamery butter and finishes it by hand with roasted cacao nibs and sea salt (shop the Dick Taylor brown butter bar). Together: $25.99.
A small add-on
Mayana's Kitchen Sink mini bar layers peanut butter, pretzel, crispy rice and fleur de sel caramel with 66% dark chocolate (shop the Mayana Kitchen Sink mini bar, $4.49). It fits in a coat pocket or on top of any of the pairs above.
Edible gifts for men, by habit and price
| Habit | Gift | Listed price |
|---|---|---|
| Snacker | José Gourmet spiced small sardines, Salsa Espinaler | $15.98 |
| Snacker | Ekone habanero smoked oysters, Ramón Peña sardines with padrón pepper | $26.98 |
| Heat seeker | Bees Knees Spicy Honey, Saltverk Birch Smoked Salt | $31.00 |
| Home bartender | Angostura bitters 4 oz, Luxardo cherries, Japanese-style jigger | $39.49 |
| Home bartender | How to Mix Drinks by Jerry Thomas, Fee Brothers Old Fashion bitters | $29.49 |
| Sweet tooth | Naive dry-aged beef bar, Dick Taylor brown butter bar | $25.99 |
| Any | Mayana Kitchen Sink mini bar | $4.49 |
Prices follow the listed price on each product page. Products ship across the continental U.S. from theambrosianpantry.com.
A few things to check
- Heat. The habanero oysters and the hot honey both contain habanero. For a man who avoids heat, choose the snacker pair with Salsa Espinaler or the sweet tooth pair.
- Allergies. Tinned fish and oysters are seafood, and the Mayana bar contains peanut butter. Read each label before buying.
- Alcohol. Aromatic bitters are made with alcohol; Angostura's label states 44.7% ABV. For a man who does not drink, choose the snacker, heat seeker or sweet tooth pairs.
Short answers
What is a good edible gift for a man who has everything? Something he will use up: a tin of fish with a sauce for it, a jar of hot honey, a bottle of bitters or an unusual chocolate bar.
What food gifts suit a man who likes spicy food? Bees Knees Spicy Honey, made with habanero, or Ekone's habanero smoked oysters.
What is an inexpensive edible gift for a man? The José Gourmet spiced sardines with Salsa Espinaler, $15.98 at listed prices, or a Mayana mini bar at $4.49.
For a man who cooks, gifts for dad who cooks sorts rubs, salts and sauces by how he cooks. The shop is at 263 Josephine Street in Cherry Creek, Denver.
