Food gift ideas

Molecular gastronomy kit
This kit is just about good geeky fun. You get packets of agar-agar, calcium lactate, sodium alginate, soy lecithin and xanthan gum as well as all kinds of pipettes and tubing, and a DVD to show you how to use them. It’s like a kid’s chemistry set that lets you make your own spherical olives.
$58.95, molecule-r.com  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Aqua Chef professional oven
Finally, a sous-vide cooker for the rest of us! The water oven from Aqua Chef looks like a small home fryer but is made for extended cooking at low temperatures in water.
About $160, http://www.aquachef.com  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Digital probe thermometer
Whether you’re watching a roast in the oven or boiling sugar to a specific temperature on the stovetop, a digital probe thermometer makes it easy to stay on top of what you’re cooking in the kitchen.
$20 to $30, widely available  (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)

Unicorn magnum plus pepper grinder
This is an excellent peppercorn grinder. It has a precisely cut, extra large grinding mechanism with a wide range of adjustability and an easy-to-fill storage chamber (with a sliding loader) that holds a lot (almost 11/4 cups) of peppercorns.
$45, http://www.unicornmills.com  (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

Mortar and pestle
Smart cooks would choose a mortar and pestle any day over a spice grinder, or even a blender or food processor. Pounding with a pestle crushes and pulverizes spices, herbs and other ingredients to release more of the oils.
Prices vary, but you can find a good one for less than $50, widely available  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Vic Firth maple rolling pin
Everyone should have a good, basic rolling pin in the kitchen. These are solid rock maple and are fitted with stainless steel ball bearings for smooth, effortless strokes.
26 to $50, http://www.vicfirthgourmet.com  (Glenn Koenig / 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)

Clay Coyote couscous steamer
Properly made couscous is steamed, not boiled. And while it may take a little longer to cook, there’s a night-and-day difference in texture. Clay Coyote offers a lidded steamer in an array of beautiful glazes that is perfect for steaming couscous, meats and vegetables.
$65, http://www.claycoyote.com  (Glenn Koenig / 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)

Japanese Wok from Hitachiya
These steel woks, hand-hammered in Yokohama, heat up fast, have a silky finish and clean up well too.
$58 to $102 at Hitachiya, Rolling Hills Plaza, 2509 W. Pacific Coast Highway, Torrance, (310) 534-3136, http://www.hitachiya.com  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Double-lid Donabe rice cooker
Naoko Moore of Echo Park brings in Japanese clay pots from the 180-year-old producer Nagatani-en in Iga, Japan. They’re made of heavy clay and have a double lid that captures the steam. Rice cooked in this pot comes out perfect, each grain absolutely distinct, the way it is in a great risotto.
$120 to $325 at Toiro at http://www.toirokitchen.com  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

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)

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)

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)

Subscription to Canal House Cooking
Having trouble finding a food magazine that fits just the way you want to cook? Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton produce three cookbooks a year, full of thoughtfully chosen, absolutely delicious-sounding dishes. And there’s no better food photographer than Hirsheimer anywhere.
$49.95, thecanalhouse.com  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)