An Island Christmas: Local Gifts for the Foodie

As Christmas approaches (a month away today!), I thought I'd take the chance to share a series of gift guides featuring local offerings. As a PEI based blogger I thought it'd be fun to share some of my favourite PEI products that would make great gifts or stocking stuffers. They're all totally un-sponsored items I've personally seen, used, tasted, enjoyed, or heard about and wanted to try or buy myself. There is so much goodness on PEI, and when we are known for so few things (read: Anne, Potatoes), I feel a sense of pride in sharing some of the great gift ideas you can find locally (or order if you're not an Islander yourself and just love PEI!) to share with family and friends over the holidays.

First up? A few ideas for the food-lover in your life. PEI is a treasure trove of good eats, and fantastic locally made products. I could list a string of wonderful restaurants to try, farmer's market stalls to visit and local seafood to savour, but today I'm sharing some of my own favourite items (and one I'm keen to try) that would certainly please the culinarily inclined on your list (they're listed clockwise from top left corner!).

Honey Delights - Honibe is a PEI owned and operated company that makes a range of honey-based products. Their drops are my favourite product, but the Honey Delights are a pretty delicious candy option for the sweet-lover in your life!
 Tea - The PEI Preserve Company in New Glasgow PEI is one of the few touristy places I genuinely really like and go to myself even when friends from off-island aren't visiting (although I certainly always take friends there when they do!). They have a whole range of delicious products and I've only recently come to enjoy their teas - inspired by an Ottawa co-worker who sent an order home with me whenever I'd visit. I've tried several of their blends, and all of them have been delicious!
Honey Drops are easily the most well-known Honibe product. Not unlike a sugar cube in that they're hard drops used for sweetening your tea, they're unique in that they're made from 100% pure honey. I prefer honey in my tea to sugar, and these are a godsend!
Anne's Chocolates - Made in "Avonlea Village" PEI (admittedly, a tourist attraction not a real place, quaint and cute though it is), I can vouch for the fact that all of the tasty treats I've tried are seriously delish. You can find them year-round in the Charlottetown Shop, or online!
Paderno - Pots, pans, bakeware, gadgets and more, this PEI run company (with an online shop!) is a top name. Super high quality, and I literally use their pots every day. They are so worth it.
Preserves From the aforementioned PEI Preserve Company, this signature product is one of my favourites. There are so many incredible flavours, but Raspberry Champagne is my favourite. Also delicious? Their Lemon Curd (and Lime curd for that matter) is absolutely. Incredible. Seriously - yum.
Raspberry Cordial - I'm officially a fan of this drink, modelled after the beverage mentioned in the infamous Anne of Green Gables scene where Anne and Diana mistake wine for the non-alcoholic Raspberry Cordial. It's a bit of a tourist-y thing, but it is legitimately yummy. Raspberry fizz? Yes please!
Summer Savory is the smell of the holidays to me. A delicious herb that is a key component of my mom's traditional stuffing for the turkey, I was so surprised to find that it is not as common as I'd thought! Certainly it's grown in places other than PEI, but we always buy ours locally - and I can't imagine a Christmas dinner without it.
For recipes from the best Island chefs, you can't go wrong with Flavours of Prince Edward Island!
Last but not least, if you're looking for a gift for the cocktail-lover in your life, the Prince Edward Distillery makes Wild Blueberry Vodka. I'd personally love to try it in their recipe for Mulled Blueberry Cider.

Next up in my Island Christmas Gift Guide Series? Fashionable finds from right here on PEI. Look for it next Sunday, same time, same place!

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