$30 and under gifts for food lovers and cooks
Profumo del Chianti
Powder-fine seasoning salt from Tuscany’s master butcher Dario Cecchini, scented with wild lavender, rosemary and bay. It is pretty much the Platonic ideal of finishing salt for most grilled meats, but we also like to toss freshly popped popcorn with a tiny pinch of this and a few drops of the best olive oil.
$19.95, http://www.formaggiokitchen.com (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)
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Storefront bacon
Now there’s a local bacon good enough to sit belly-by-jowl with the nation’s best; it’s from Storefront Neighborhood Market, the deli owned by the meat-obsessives at sister restaurant Salt’s Cure. Who wouldn’t want a slab under the tree?
$11.45 per pound, 4624 Hollywood Blvd., Los Feliz, (323) 665-5670 (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)
Trufflebert Hazelnuts
Toasted hazelnuts are delicious. Toasted and salted Trufflebert hazelnuts are something beyond that -- hazelnuts with a flavor that approximates what wine geeks are getting to when they talk about the hazelnut notes in a $120 bottle of Meursault.
$15 per 1-pound jar at Mozza2Go, 6610 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 297-1130; or $9 per pound plus shipping at http://www.trufflebertfarms.com (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Tostapane
Why is bruschetta always perfect in Italy? Because they toast their bread on one of these, a thin, square sheet of perforated stainless steel, topped with a wire mesh screen. Pinpoints of flame work through the tiny holes, lightly charring the bread, crisping the surfaces without drying out the interior.
$29.95, http://www.toastercentral.com (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)
Doughmakers cookie sheets
Recommended by top bakers, these are cookie sheets that will last for decades. Their heavy construction and special pebble-grain surface allow even browning and easy release. The set we have in the Times Test Kitchen is at least 10 years old, and they still work as good as new.
From $14 plus shipping, at various websites. (Russ Parsons / Los Angeles Times)
La Chamba black clay comal
Perfect for heating tortillas, it also makes terrific quesadillas. Give one side of the tortilla a light spritz of olive oil, then lay it on the comal and add the fillings. It’s also great for roasting chiles or tomatillos. Because of its concave shape, it’s best used on gas stoves.
$29.95 for 12-inch comal and $39.95 for 13-inch comal, $39.95 at Toque Blanche in Half Moon Bay, (650) 726-2898, http://www.mytoque.com (S. Irene Virbila / Los Angeles Times)
Digital scale
Digital scales make measuring ingredients for baking much more accurate, and you can use the tare function and add successive ingredients as well. With more recipes using weights, it’s time to get on board.
About $30, widely available (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)
