For the food lovers in your life, here are some gifts that are as fun to shop for as to give. That's because you get to taste them before you buy. I’m talking about high quality olive oils and vinegars.
Across the Twin Cities, small shops are cropping up that specialize in selling high quality olive oils and balsamic vinegars. I bought 10 Christmas gifts this year at the Vinaigrette shop below. Do you have similar shops near where you live?
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Vinaigrette is at 5006 Xerxes Avenue in Minneapolis (www.vinaigrettemn.com).
I love this new retail concept that allows customers to taste each and every kind of oil and vinegar they offer. The Vinaigrette shop above, offers 10 extra virgin olive oils including: 100% Italian, Italian Organic, Californian. Egyptian, Greek, Spanish, Syrian, Tunisian and grape seed oil. Here are some of the stainless steel airtight containers with the oils and vinegars. Each one has a spigot for pouring some of the contents into small plastic tasting cups.
They also sell flavored oils including: basil, chili, garlic, lemon, orange, oregano, porcini mushroom, rosemary and truffle. You can choose how much you want to buy, by the size bottle you select.
Vinegar flavors include: Balsamico di Modena, balsamic vinegars flavored with cherry, fig, pear and raspberry, Cabernet vinegar, Chardonnay vinegar, Champagne Vinegar and the golden balsamic vinegar. The balsamic vinegar with fig is one of my favorites, especially for the holidays!
Once you choose your favorites, someone at the shop will bottle it for you while you wait. They will even put your bottles in gift bags tied with ribbons. If you like, you can ask for recipes using these products to be included in the bags.
You can check out two similar shops in or near the Twin Cities by clicking on the links below;
Stillwater Olive Oil Co. and The Olive Grove.
Once you give vinegars and oils, here is a recipe you can share for a simple Vinaigrette Dressing.