Small Gifts That Make a Big Difference

Little things can express love in a big way. A charming yule tradition, bright and splashy oversized knit or embroidered Christmas stockings can be filled with little things that do big things. If someone who loves to cook is on your gift list, give a collection of neat kitchen gadgets or gifts that will be well appreciated all year round.

Various gourmet retail shop owners, sales reps and chefs were happy to share some ideas for the thoughtful kitchen gift giver. Many of them came up with the same suggestions.

Heading the list this year is the electric mini chopper, the garlic “susi” press with cleaners, gold coffee filters, combination salt and pepper mills and wine openers. Other innovative recommendations include video tapes on cooking and entertaining, timers with novel shapes and sounds, recipe computer software, thermometers, good kitchen shears and Chinese cleavers. For the modern cook, a lot of Euro-style, upscale tools in bold colors and high tech design have entered the market.

A haven for cooks, its shelves overflowing with an exciting assortment of kitchen paraphernalia, is Jeanne Kaats’ 15-year-old gourmet shop, Cookin Stuff (Torrance and La Habra). Always pleased to help customers, Kaats suggested the following for yuletide presents:

The Vinnie Decorker, a functional wine decorker ($4.95) that stands 5 to 6 inches high.

Lightweight but durable is the Champagne Opener ($7.95), an invention from Champagne Products in Monrovia that has been a big seller all over.

Aprons in different shapes and darling designs from Mullins Square ($18.50). Salamander aprons ($17.80) with lobster, fish, sports designs with matching mitts.

Rubbermaid’s Spoonula (from $1.99), a spade with a scoop shape at the end. “It’s so practical it should have been done a hundred years ago,” Kaats said.

Little puff pastry canopy cutters from Benson West ($14.95) that come in four sizes.

Not quite small enough to fit a Christmas stocking but inexpensive and appropriate for the season is Rowoco’s lattice pie topper ($3). The plastic disk molds come with holes in shapes of Christmas trees, lattice squares, hearts and apples/cherries.

Another larger item is the Corian Cutting Board from Winterwood Originals ($35). “It’s one of those few things that I’ve been really excited about,” Kaats said. Available in plain rectangular or elephant, heart, kangaroo and other shapes, these marblelike slabs with nonporous surface are safe and free from bacterial buildup.

“When TV’s Frugal Gourmet, Jeff Smith, recommends a tool, people rush to the stores to buy them and we have to reorder,” says a Williams-Sonoma store clerk. The “Frug,” as Smith calls himself, gladly offered some kitchen tool ideas.

“One of my favorite toys is the wooden lemon reamer; it works better than any juicer I have ever seen--get one made of good wood,” Smith said. “I like the garlic susi press ($10.95) from Zyliss (this has a cleaner that loosens and removes all remaining scraps in the holes); the Moha Mandoline which is wonderful for cutting vegetables into thin slices or into julienne-style cuts ($24.95). Buy a good supply of wooden spoons and wooden whips--not metal, they’re pan wreckers. Another favorite of mine is a little porcelain grater from Japan, it looks like a small washboard--great for grating ginger. “

For holiday entertaining, Smith highly recommends obtaining huge white platters as well as large dinner plates. He finds it much more exciting to see a platter heaped with vegetables at one end and a meat course at the other rather than a tiny serving presentation. More ideas on tools and equipment as well as recipes on American ethnic cooking can be discovered in Jeff Smith’s new book “The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American” (William Morrow and Co.:$17.95)

Phil Carter, owner of Kitchen Kitchen in Rancho Mirage, has been helping cooks in the Coachella Valley since 1979. This year his beautiful catalogue has boosted sales in his specialty shop. Here are some of his many stocking stuffer suggestions:

For the most efficient corkscrew, Carter recommends the Screwpull ($14.95), either the compact pocket version or the classic version. Both are easy to use; the gadget allows the cork to climb out of the bottle whole, without leaving bits and pieces in the wine. For someone more special, there is also an ultimate Screwpull ($99) in gold or silver finish.

Dinosaur cookie cutters ($5.95 each) to bake cookies for youngsters that are still loyal to these creatures; or for the trendy, the darling little teapot from Otagiri ($24.95) shaped as a black-and-white cow, the animal craze forecasted to replace the dinosaur in 1988.

Unique and new from Zyliss is the fish and asparagus cradle or rectangular wide, slotted scoop ($19.95).

One of Carter’s best-selling lines for the season is the Spice Market collection of porcelain scent warmers, the decorative Space Scenters that release fragrant oils.

Another useful and lasting tool is a mushroom slicer that doubles as an egg slicer from Westmark ($11.95). Made in West Germany, it has sharp stainless steel blades instead of flimsy cutting wires.

Easy on the pocket and easy to appreciate is the wooden-knob dish brush ($2.25) with blue, red or black nylon bristles and a smiling face design.

The Pepper Power ($29.50), a battery-operated grinder that works with a one-hand push but can also be operated manually with a twist. Made in Switzerland, its white sleek body stands 7 1/2 inches high.

Slicing Gadget

One of Carter’s most saleable gadgets is his exclusive Slicing Spear ($6.95), an accessory for the food processor feed tube. “We have sold almost 4,000 spears by mail and in the store,” he said. “To use it, pierce the vegetable (such as carrots, celery, cucumber, zucchini) then control the thickness of the slice by pushing gently or firmly into the processor feed tube. A safety guard keeps the end of the spear from coming in contact with the blade.”

Marty Love is the dynamic buyer responsible for expanding the gourmet shelves of Gelson’s. Putting together all sorts of gadgets and food products in gift baskets keeps her extremely busy during the holidays. And according to her, she’s busier than ever this year.

“You name it, we’ll put it in,” she said. Good sellers for her stores have been Rowenta’s wide-mouth toaster, the revolving spice rack from Kitchenetics, Metro Marketing’s harmonic stainless-steel kettle and the ingenious Saladacco garnish cutter.

“Another one that has really done well for me--and they’re inexpensive too--have been the plastic, shiny ‘silver’ trays (from $1.99) from Sabert Corp.,” Love said. “The minute I put them in they’re gone. They’re reusable and durable enough that if you step on them, they go back up in shape.”

Love provided these practical tools for stocking fillers:

The Laser Five from Regent Sheffield (from $4.95 a piece to $39.95 a block set) with its precision grinding edge that never needs sharpening. Made in England, it has a 30-year warranty.

“They’re incredible knives,” Love said, “I’ve sold a block to every employee in our deli section.”

Salt and Pepper Mill

Another interesting gift is the Duo from Woodard & Charles ($24.95)--a combination salt and pepper mill in hard acrylic which stands only 3 1/2 inches tall.

George Friedman of Gallant-Friedman, representing a whole line of culinary and gift ware, enumerated these gift ideas:

Lift-Off ($10) shaves off pills or fuzz balls, loose threads and other unsightly worn signs from fabrics and garments. One of the year’s top inventions, the little gunlike, battery-operated gadget has high speed blades.

With the concern about chemical contamination from paper, the Swiss Bendow gold tea or coffee filters ($16) have been enjoying good sales. Disposable gold filters from Melitta are also now available.

The Zelco Calorie Counter ($24 at Bullock’s) helps you tabulate your total daily calorie count as you eat.

High-fashion household tools from Takagi (from $4 at By Design) make great little gifts with their bright red or black colors.

For downtowners who haven’t yet discovered the new specialty cook’s boutique at Seventh Marketplace, proprietor Sandra Elliott welcomes them to check out her gift suggestions. They also make terrific hostess gifts, she said. “I’d like to have people get away from the bottle of wine or even flowers, which can go up in costs nowadays.”

The scented, hand-dipped cranberry candles ($3.50 a pair) are unique for being dripless. Also soothingly fragrant are the cinnamon and French vanilla versions.

Wood products such as the olive wood mini cheese boards from Spain ($4.95) or the tiny eucalyptus pate spreader and knife and mustard paddle (from $1) can be teamed with some jars of condiments and spreads. Another wooden piece is the Italian pan drainer ($3); slotted and curve-shaped, it works by holding it against a pot in the sink when draining off liquids.

A Little Bit Country

For a country touch, Elliott suggests putting together with a red Christmas bow, a short garlic braid ($11) with the super susi garlic press.

Made of stainless steel, the little Taglia pizza cutter ($4.75) has a good functional form and sharp blade.

Anne Kupper, public relations manager for Williams-Sonoma, suggested the following ideas: the Italian-made Bacchus Wine Bottle Coasters ($8 a pair) in glass with grapes and leaves pattern; a very useful, good-looking stainless-steel oil can ($23 for 1 pint and $28 for 1 quart) for leftover oil. A great feature is the non-drip spout under the flip top. Another convenient new gadget is the lead crystal Honey/Syrup Server ($20). It’s designed with a bowl that holds warm water so syrup flows easily. Pressing the chromed plastic handle dispenses the syrup in a drip-free manner.

Another idea contributor is Charlie McPhee of CM Products in Huntington Beach. Microwave owners and fans of Lean Cuisine-type frozen dinners will appreciate his microwave-proof, Frozen Food Pouch 2-Holder-Servers. Aside from avoiding drippy food pouches, the stand holders also work for boil-in-bag dinners, they have end tabs for pressing out pouches, protecting fingers from burning. For orders, send $5.95 to CJM Products, 8562 Larthorn Drive, Huntington Beach, Calif. 92646 or call (714) 968-0350.

Other gift suggestions came from Franklin Pentecoste of Vest & Associates in the form of the elegant Landis Ice Cream Scoop ($10), which is designed like the classic old Italian dipper, for a graceful sweep of ice cream serving.

For the treasure collector, Pentecoste suggested the Limoges fruit boxes (from $75). Made of porcelain, hand-painted and hand-mounted with gold clasping and trim, the tiny fruit boxes are available in apple and pear shapes. (Coming up in spring is an asparagus Limoges box.) And these lovely miniatures, of course, topped our list for the ultimate stocking gift--stuff them in a Missoni knit sock perhaps?