Exotic gifts will thrill with love

A Mother’s Day gift is a token of affection for a life devoted to nurturing, whether it be a handmade but loving gesture or an expensive indulgence. While the saying, “It’s the thought that counts,” is certainly appropriate for Mother’s Day, we all — child and mother alike — know the happiness-inducing power of a great gift.

As my daughter was growing up, she warmed my heart with hand-scribbled cards, clay formed into a vase complete with scraggly flowers picked from the neighborhood, a papier-mache blue-striped cat that for years has watched over me from my office shelf. But oh, when she realized that foodie gifts — Greek olive oil, rose petal preserves, salt-caramel chocolates, white truffle paste — were the way to her mom’s heart and that mom was willing to share — we started having some serious culinary fun that continues.

Thinking of my delight at her tasty gifts, I had a trawl through San Francisco’s January Fancy Food Show, searching for edible Mother’s Day presents. The newest and most exciting goodies are launched at the show. My mission was to search the aisles of endlessly varied cookies and crackers, rainbows of chutneys and pestos, olives and salami, and end up with a selection of munchies that would make any mom feel special. Ready to nosh, I hit the stands.

I found my first Mother’s Day must within moments: Heritage Coconut Palm Sugar from Big Tree Farms in Bali, Indonesia. Mother and son owners, Christina and Ben Ripple, were offering samples of their unique golden sugar grains that have a whiff of smoke and depth of caramel flavor.

How can sugar be so chic or so tasty? “It’s harvested from the swaying coconut palms,” Mr. Ripple said, “boiled up in a sugar shack until thick and sweet, then dried and crushed into granules.” Meanwhile, his mom was spooning me a taste. Nothing like the ordinary white powder one adds to coffee or tea — though it would be blissful in either — this stuff is sophisticated, fragrant and only slightly sweet, and perfect for gift-giving in its rustic wooden canisters.

I had a difficult time choosing between the turmeric or ginger sugar, each so hauntingly delicious. They would be memorable sprinkled onto French toast for a Mother’s Day brunch. Heritage coconut palm sugars sell for $8.99 per 8.5-ounce canister and are generally available across the United States.

Big Tree Farm also sells artisanal ingredients from Bali that you’re not likely to find elsewhere. Among their offerings are exceptionally fragrant and unusual peppercorns, pyramid-shaped salts, and honey from the island of Java. (The coffee-steeped honey is so yummy I had to close my eyes as I sucked on a spoonful.) For information, visit www.bigtreebali.com.

Another island delicacy, although an island on the other side of the world from Bali, is mastiha, or mastic from Greece. Mastic is the resin of a bush related to the pistachio tree, which only produces the aromatic resin on the southern part of the Greek island of Chios, near Turkey.

It is an ancient ingredient whose fragrance is subtle yet memorable, which not only has the ability to add flavor and fragrance, but also has healing properties, according to many modern studies. For its myriad of uses, it has long been famed throughout the Middle East and is just now entering the U.S. market in a more significant way.

Mastic turns almost rubbery when chewed. In fact, it is used to flavor Greece’s favorite gum. As an ingredient, mastic has the ability to enhance whatever it is added to and amplify it with a certain air of mystery.

The island’s traditional farmers have organized a collection of products and chic shops, Mastihashops, which sell such diverse fare as mastiha liquor, Turkish delight flavored with mastiha, cookies, candies and even spaghetti sauce flavored with mastiha.

Its soothing properties make mastiha a natural for health and beauty products from eye cream to facial masks to toothpaste. The toothpaste especially gives your mouth a natural, clean feeling, and I’m positive that the eye cream made even my wrinkles disappear. For information, visit www.mastihashop.com.

Olive oil was one of the first things my daughter chose as a Mother’s Day gift, and we have continued that gift tradition. Because of this, I often discover oils I might not otherwise have noticed. Although Mediterranean and California offerings keep my olive oil kitchen going, New Zealand and Australia are growing some splendid olives and pressing fragrant oils, as healthful as they are delicious. The extra-virgin Australian oil has a fruity flavor and lush tropical tones, and the New Zealand oil is herby, fruity and peppery. Both are available nationwide from 34 Degrees, which also produces tangy, intensely flavored fruit pastes to eat with cheese, ripe and vivacious semidried tomatoes and a smooth, rich marinated sheep, and goat feta cheese. For information, visit www.34-degrees.com.

An adventurously cooking mom is sure to appreciate the selection of spices and spice mixtures offered by Seasoned Pioneers from Yemenite Hawaj, with its exotic fragrance (delicious in earthy soups and stews or marinating chicken), to ras al hanout, with its scent of Marrakech’s spice bazaar, or the lemony achiote, which is brick red and tastes of Yucatan.

Hard-to-find ingredients such as amchoor, awajan and black salt are on their list, as are rose petals and Gujarati masala. Seasoned Pioneers spices may be found at Whole Foods or seasonedpioneers.co.uk. The foil-packaged (good for keeping out the light, which destroys the delicate flavor and aroma of spices), resealable, 1- to 2-ounce container sells for just under $5. If buying mail order, there is no minimum order and the shipping charge is the same regardless of how much is ordered.

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