Italian Food For Holiday Gifts

Regina Juno

Regina Juno

Community Member
Dec 5, 2014
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Italy is such a hub for quality gourmet food. I know that Italians go all out with their holiday menu, but do they gift food for the holidays? I'm wondering if it is a cultural practice to give food as gifts. Americans are always giving Italian Panetone as a gourmet gift, do Italians do the same. What is your take on giving food as a holiday gift.
 
The first thing that came to mind is "truffles"! I have just been reading about this and not having the real life experience I can share to be recommending any type of truffles. But apparently the Italian truffles are top notch, and a lot of the tours and wine pairing activities are selling the experience as part of a culinary adventure. The white truffle fair is usually held during the months of October and November, and many fairs are providing these truffles for sale. Festival foods are also going to be a good choice, as Italy will be experiencing many festivals up to New Year's eve.
 
Tins of biscotti (almond) are very popular and also bottles of truffle oil or vinegar from specific regions. They are great gifts as they can be used by the whole family and of course boxes of chocolates. I would buy them for myself and are gifts I would love to receive. A nice food hamper would have something for everyone.
 
This al sounds similar to what American give during the holidays when it comes to gourmet food gifts. Actually, Americans particularly consider a gourmet food gift to be of quality if it actually is an Italian oil or something like that. We have stores like World Market that are full of foreign products packaged for holiday gifts.
 
Yes! Yes they do! :) And they don't just gift the boring box of chocolates either :P They gift a lot of different foods!

For starters, most Italians who choose food as a gift will go for the Christmas goodie basket. You can either buy one already made (and wrapped), or you can buy an empty basket (costs vary depending on the size) and you fill it yourself. The usual items are: panettone, chocolates, bonbons, olive oil, cheeses, wine/champagne ecc., ecc.

I also have a friend who actually makes some foods herself (mostly preserves, fancy ones :P), wraps it up real nice and gives it as a Christmas present to a lot of people. Yeah, it takes time to make it but it's a good gift! I can't wait to get mine! :D It's always better to receive a practical gift rather than something you might forget about in a week..
 
Christmas Eve on the other hand sees the Italians observing a symbolic fast in which they consume a light dinner which excludes all the heavy items such as pork and lamb meat. Rather the main course is based around fish and other seafood items along with snails and frogs.
 
I'd assume it would vary on the person. I know I love giving food as holiday gifts. I try to stay away from giving desserts and I feel that everyone does. However, I love giving dried meats and cheeses. I know that I personally enjoy getting different types of food for the holidays. Especially stuff I wouldn't normally buy for myself.
 
I've made my own infused olive oils for gifts for people before - I have quite a few herbs growing in our garden, and things like basil or oregano infused in olive oil are wonderful to add to Italian cooking! Plus, those fancy oils are pretty pricey in gourmet stores, so people seem to really enjoy them!
 
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