Praline pecan syrup. Marinated mushrooms,pickled asparagus.

Dilly Beans
Habanero Gold Jelly (a pepper jelly version)
Asian Plum Sauce

Linda lou: I think I NEED the recipe for the Pralin pecan syrup. Mmmm. A jar of this with some homemade pecan pancake mix in a pretty batter bowl would make a nice little gift.
:-)

Deanna

I don't know about tapping our hickory trees (like you would maples) to make syrup in the spring, that's a lot of boiling. But I bet that praline pecan syrup recipe would work with hickory nuts - please share!

I haven't thought about canned gifts this year, but in the past I've given mostly jams and jellies (pepper jellies, esp. Hab Gold, Caramel Apple and strawberry jam are favorites) as well as Annie's Salsa. My dad gets pickles (but he gets those all summer/fall) and some people get pickled whole jalapenos (red and green look nice in the jar) or banana pepper rings.

Triple Berry Syrup. We make ours with red and black raspberries and cherries but you can use any mix of berries.

Otherwise it is Annie's Salsa, Deanna's Black Forest Preserves, and Tutti-Fruitti Jam (NCHFP).

Dave

The basic wine jelly (from the Small Batch book) makes a nice gift.

My brother was here for a visit and I sent him home with a box of home canned goodies: Sauerkraut, corn relish, Anne's Salsa, Salsa Verde, Pickled asparagus, Sweet Chunk pickles, Nectarine BBQ Sauce, Jalapeno/Pineapple Relish and Cherry BBQ sauce. We grew up with canned goods, but neither he nor his wife can. He was happy to receive these.

My husband's family is the ones that get to sample anything new in the jam and jelly field. They are more than willing, then they return votes to what each of their families like the best. All are very yuppy.

The praline syrup is in the Ball Blue Book. There is a maple walnut syrup as well. The link below is to an old Cooking forum thread and the recipes are in there in case you don't have your BBB handy.

Christmas is sneaking up on me way too quickly - I better start thinking about making more jams, jellies and chutneys to use up the fruit in the freezer. I'm well stocked with tomato based stuff (salsas, chile sauce, barbecue sauce, etc.) but sorely lacking in the sweet category. Too many recipes - not enough time...

Here is a link that might be useful: Canning Pecan Syrup-Cooking Forum

Awesome! Thank you all for the ideas!

Thanks Malna! I didn't even think to check the easy sources for the syrup recipe.

Deanna

Every year I have a few new "favorites" that I send out as well as some standbys:

Annies Salsa
Spicy Dill Spears
Thai Basil Pepper Jelly
Bourbon Peach Jam
Chocolate Raspberry Jam
Orange Fennel Marmalade with Cracked Black Pepper
Rosemary Port Fig Preserves

I have a few favorites I give every year:
Mixed vegetable mustard pickles - This is my sister-in-law's favorite. Since we go to her house for Christmas, it is a must.

Peach-orange-ginger marmalade
Apricot-Necterine-ginger jam
Blackberry jelly (from the bushes behind my house)
Spicy tomato ketchup

I tried some new things this year:
Orange jelly with pinot noir
Blueberry-orange preserves (a new version of an old favorite)
Ginger jam (no one would guess that I love ginger)

I also make candy for holiday gifts. I have 20 pounds of Callebaut callets - bittersweet, extra bitter, milk and white - sitting in my pantry along with nuts, dried fruit, liquors and everything else I will need. That process starts after I feed everyone for Thanksgiving.

Elaina

Last year I gave Annie's salsa, jam, canned cherries and applesauce. I will be doing something similar this year. My youngest brother also can's so I will probably share my chutneys with him. I am really hoping he will give me a jar of his pickled beets. Yummy!

Thanks for the great ideas!

Jodi