The flavor “innovation” started with pumpkin spice and apple cider, as I’m sure you well know. But pumpkins and apples belong to October. And now that Halloween is but a distant memory, the time has come for all manner of food companies to once again change up their perfectly good products in step with the season. And this year, as Bettina Makalintal points out, a few have made the baffling decision to do so with fruitcake, a flavor many Americans are likely unable to identify, let alone crave.
First, Mountain Dew released a “Fruit Quake” flavor, as Bettina describes it, “the fruity, spiced, borderline-cloying flavor of fruitcake reimagined in ways a Victorian royal never could have dreamed.” Then Spam — yes, this Spam — produced a figgy pudding-flavored version of its canned meat. The flavor, from a taste standpoint, Bettina reports, is not good. Which raises the question, who are products like this for?
I suppose for some, pure novelty – rather than the promise of something actually enjoyable to eat – is enough to inspire a purchase of a stunt food like this. I will also say there is something appealing about the packaging, so maybe these limited-edition cans will attract the Spam collectors among us. But if it is the once-in-a-lifetime (probably) experience of actually consuming figgy pudding Spam you’re after, might I recommend washing it down with Aura Bora’s new green bean casserole seltzer?
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A tin of butter cookies, Monkeybiz coaster, Figgy Pudding Spam, and a shiitake mushroom grow kit. |
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My favorite item from Bettina’s gift guide for the avid home cook — an overall very thoughtful list of things to get the person who already has all the basic kitchen necessities — is this, the coolest-looking fish spatula.
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I’m putting these beaded coasters on my personal gift wishlist. Monkeybiz, the South African nonprofit behind the hand-beaded work, also makes a beaded orange that I imagine would be quite pleasing to hold.
- It recently came to my attention that Santigold, the recording artist, released three tins of tea to coincide with her latest album,
Spirituals. I am admittedly tired of the relentless stream of celebrity-owned and -endorsed drinks, but as a fan since my disparate youth, I think a
creator like Santigold, an L.E.S. artiste, if you will, would find a way to make a drink worth the purchase. (See what I did there?)
- Back to the Roots just added shiitake mushrooms to its collection of grow kits.
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If you're looking for a wearable food-themed gift, note that Spur, a jewelry brand that updates heirloom pieces, has a line of cute studs that includes a pair of teensy raviolis and a set of potato chips.
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Rachel Antonoff’s holiday collection also has a prominent food motif. The coziest options: a babka sweater, and a puffer coat in your choice of an olive or farfalle pattern.
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Great Jones teamed up with Lisa Says Gah on a mini holiday collection that evokes “the wonderful world of alpine chic and après-ski.” The
floral-patterned Dutch ovens and aprons are all highly giftable.
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I am slightly devastated that this beautiful Diaspora Co. cookie tin will only be available in person at the spice brand’s New York City pop-up shop. But in my search for consolation
holiday cookie tins, I came across this festive amaretti cookie tin from Giada De Laurentiis’s Giadzy, and then there is of course, this enduring classic.
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