The Onggi Gift Guide
Our favorite kind of gift? It’s something fermenty, something fizzy, something salty or spicy or sweet. If we can’t eat it, let’s cook with it, make something with it, dream with it. We want gifts that support small businesses, farmers, fermenters, people who really care about their crafts, both locally and abroad. So, we put together a list of our very favorite fermenty gifts that will inspire and delight!
For The One Who Loves Dinner Parties
Matoba Suisan Katsuobushi Flakes
Say hello to your new secret weapon. These poached and smoked skipjack tuna flakes, or katsuobushi flakes, pack a ton of flavor into a tiny little serving. Use them as a luxurious dashi base for any kind of broth-y soup-y noodle-y situation, or add them anywhere you want a hit of umami—on top of fried tofu, fish dishes, or rice.
Shared Cultures Koji Salt
San Francisco based Shared Cultures salt is made from Pacific Ocean sea salt, infused with shio koji (made from organic rice!) that gives a major umami kick to any dish. It’s a secret weapon for building flavor.
Raft Cranberry Five Spice Syrup
This syrup was made for the holidays, and it’s a stunner at dinner parties. The tart cranberry is perfectly matched with warm ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, cloves, and star anise. Organic cane sugar (and all organic spices) adds the richness and sweetness. Mix it with your favorite spirit in a cocktail or simply add some soda water and a garnish for the perfect dinner party starter.
Japanese Home Cooking
Make noodles, soupy broths, dumplings, and Japanese classics to delight guests and leave them feeling cared for. The recipes in this book are comforting, nourishing, and delicious with an eye toward traditional Japanese techniques and flavors. Author Sonoko Sakai offers adaptations to more easily found ingredients, so you can make these recipes whether you’re in Kyoto or Portland, Maine. For a real dinner party experience, pair these recipes with a gorgeous donabe, perfect for serving tableside.
For The One Who Loves A Project
Onggi Fermentation Crock
This is our crock! Perfect for worry-free home projects, these lil crocks will make your fermentation fantasies come true. Made from beautiful porcelain to better regulate temperature with a water well to lock out oxygen (while allowing CO2 to escape)! They're designed by our bud Troy Yoshimoto and made locally by C&M Ceramics.
Noma Guide To Fermentation
This fermentation tome is a project-lover’s dream. Coming from the brains behind the ferments at the three Michelin star restaurant Noma, David Zilber uncovers the magic behind ferments that are often are a little bit outside the norm. This isn’t a book about how to make dill pickles or sauerkraut—it’s full of imaginative ferments that touch on different cultures. Kombuchas, misos, vinegars, and lacto-fermented fruits live with equipment guides and best practices on creating your own fermentation chamber.
Adam Field Pottery Onggi
The fermentation friend in your life is going to absolutely lose it when they see this gorgeous handmade Onggi made by exceptional potter Adam Field in Montana. This traditional-style Korean earthenware crock is perfect for kimchi, sauerkraut, rice wine—you name it! It’s absolutely beautiful, packed with history, tradition, and creativity that’s ready to spring into something delicious.
Wooden Shoyu Barrel
Making your own soy sauce is a gratifying and fascinating project that gets more fun the more you do it. These wooden shoyu barrels get better with age, taking on flavor and happy fermenty bacteria that make every batch better than the one before it. These barrels are similar to, yet smaller, the ones used for Yamaroku soy sauce. Using them is walking in the footsteps of traditional shoyu brewers—right in your kitchen!
For The One With A Fridge Full of Condiments
Sea Urchin Shoyu
It’s shoyu with the magical umami salty-sweet qualities of uni, or sea urchin. The unique ocean-y flavor can’t be denied, and once you have it, you’ll crave it. This gift is for the people in your life that understand the power of an excellent condiment and how it can change the way you cook.
Pineapple Miso Hot Sauce
This hot sauce has flavor! It’s the perfect gift for those who like a little heat but don’t want to get overwhelmed with spice. The tangy and fruity pineapple pairs perfectly with Philippino, Vietnamese, and Latin cuisines, although we put it on practically everything.
Yuzu Ponzu
Rice vinegar has never been tangier! Organic yuzu from Japan’s Kochi Prefecture gives this ponzu beautiful citrusy flavor that’s perfect with seafood. This is a gift for the shellfish lover in your life. From scallops to clams, lobster, and shrimp—this is a condiment they’ll never go without again.
Soken Sweet Cooking Sake
An under-the-radar staple, this incredible mirin is slightly sweet, rich, and gives a hit of acidity to any dish. We use it on freshly made rice, to amp up sauces and marinades, or give an extra delicious oomph to a glaze. Get creative! A little goes a long way.
For The One With Five Drinks On Their Desk
Soba Cha Tea
For the one in your life who is never without a cup of tea, this soba cha will change the game. It’s a toasted buckwheat tea from our friends at Kettl, sourced from the Togakushi region in Japan's Nagano Prefecture. Uncaffeinated but with tons of roasty toasty nutty flavor, it’s the perfect accompaniment to the post-work wind down.
Jeong Colombia Single Origin Blend
This one’s for the friend who won’t talk to you before they’ve had their coffee in the morning. It’s sourced from smallholding farms in Jericó, Colombia and tastes of smooth milk chocolate, cream, and rose. It references a Korean coffee culture that emphasizes community—and it comes with compostable packaging, a win/win!
Yamile Non-Alcoholic Sparkling Rosé
This sparkling rosé is a non-alcoholic flavor bomb that will inspire any beverage enthusiast. It’s a smoky combination of rhubarb, fermented raspberry and gooseberry, goldenrod, anise, and honey. It’s complex, surprising, and strangely even better the day after opening.
INNA Fig Shrub
This shrub is steeped with fig flavor, transporting you to a warm day on the Mediterranean. It’s jammy with a hit of acid and rich sweetness. Perfect mixed into some sparkling water with an herbal garnish, or even mixed with your favorite spirit or non-alc as an excellent anytime bev.
For The Wellness Obsessed
Wild Fermentation
This absolutely seminal book by Sandor Katz explores the basics of fermentation. It’s the perfect gift for the friend who is ready to dive deep into the projects fermentation allows for. From sauerkrauts and kimchis to cheesemaking and even beer brewing, this book holds a world of inspiration to connect anyone with the power of yeast and healthy bacteria.
West Maquoit Mushroom Ale Vinegar
Vinegar is known to have health benefits when added to drinks or food, and Maine’s West Maquoit’s locally-made mushroom ale vin is one of our favorites. Umami-rich and earthy, this vinegar is made with Black Pug Brewing’s mushroom scotch ale and locally-foraged black trumpet mushrooms. This vinegar is perfect for the mushroom enthusiast in your life.
Maine Beekeeper Wildflower Honey
This local raw unfiltered wildflower honey is nature’s wellness gift. Raw honey has a ton of proven benefits, including anti-inflammatory properties, allergy-fighting properties, and it even acts as an antioxidant. It doesn’t hurt that it’s delicious! Our favorite local honey, it’s rich, creamy, crystallized, and perfect on anything that needs a hint of sweetness.
For The One With A Serious Sweet Tooth
Kettl Houjicha Chocolate Bar
Houjicha, or roasted green tea, gives this Belgian chocolate bar a wonderfully toasty roasty flavor. The combo of silky milk chocolate and powerful houjicha is unique and luxurious.
Sugarpine Drive-In Miso Caramel Sundae Sauce
This is a holiday gift and an activity baked into one, giving you a reason to get your loved ones together for a sundae-making party! Chickpea miso adds some umami richness to this caramel, perfect on anything from vanilla ice cream to a banana split of epic proportions.
For The One Who Needs To Be Cozy
Onggi Patch Beanie
Iconic Onggi swag—this beanie is warm, cozy, and, frankly, a winter staple. It also comes in natural white, vintage green, and stone.
Onggi Heavy Fleece Hoodie
It doesn’t get cozier than a big, soft, comfy hoodie. This wide-fit heavy fleece couldn’t be more comfy and warm for fall and winter days.
Onggi Crew Socks
Cozy crews with a fermenty spin! Our new crew socks are one-size, a soft cream color, and the perfect accessory for your ferment-happy pals.
