The 24 Best Food Gifts to Send Newly Married Couples

The wedding registry industrial complex tells couples they should focus on thewe’ll have these foreveritems. You know, yourKitchenAid stand mixers, your Le CreusetDutch ovens, and your All-Cladpots and pans. But the days of the extravagant and expensive registry are waning. Since most people have fully stocked kitchens when they get married, many opt for non-registry registry options, likegiving to charityor creating a honeymoon fund.

But what about those aunts and grandfathers who will insist on giving something tangible? The truth is, it doesn’t have to be one way or the other. Why not allow guests to tack a small gift that you can open?

This is why we propose making an edible registry filled with the best food gifts. Ingredients (even the fancy ones) cost way less than stand mixers, and they only take up temporary space in your home. Even if you’re leading a totally minimalist lifestyle, you can get behind the kind of gift that’s consumable. Of course, we aren’t talking regular old groceries—Heinz ketchup is delicious, but it fails to strike a romantic note. Instead, you should register for (or give) the kind of fancy ingredients it would feel extravagant to buy on a daily basis.

Here’s a list of the best food gifts: the truly registry-worthy ingredients, organized by category, with a little something for every type of wedded couple.

High-end teas are something you seldom buy for yourself, which is what makes them such a perfect gift. If you fancy yourself a tea gourmand, a luxury tea sampler is a great registry add-on. Bellocq is one of our favorite tea ateliers, with full-bodied, complex, and fragrant full-leaf varieties worthy of service next to a three-tiered tray of sandwiches and scones.

Diaspora, Spicewalla, or Burlap & Barrel are excellent choices for high-quality, fair-trade spices that beat anything you’d find in a conventional grocery store. Start smaller with Diaspora’s build your own Masala Dabba, or go big with Burlap & Barrel’s 37-jar collection.

You know what they say, a cup of coffee a day keeps the marriage counselor away, which is why registering for coffee, and particularlygood coffee,is worth considering. To make it registry-level, choose fancy-schmancy single-source bean coffees, like those roasted by Sightglass or Nguyen Coffee Supply, or go the classic route with something like a coffee collection from the Upper West Side’s own Zabar’s (my favorite grocery store on earth).

A snacky couple might consider something in the charcuterie realm—and the pretense of a wedding registry allows you to request super luxurious tins of fish or saucissons. (To anyone who doubts the romance of tinned fish…you’re wrong). Murray’s is the best place to go for this kind of thing: Opt for award-winning cheeses like Shakerag Blue and Hudson Flower and Old World cured meats. If you want to really go ham, add a whole leg of jamon to your registry just to see if anyone bites. We also love Dark Horse’s fermented mustards, which add rich and nuanced flair to any cheese board.

Some people consider bespoke oils and vinegars to be a sort of passé gift. We happen to think that if you give therightoils, vins, and hot sauces, you’re giving a couple who loves to cook the building blocks of better dinners for the first few months of the marriage. Acid League’s strawberry rosé vinegar is bright and fruit-forward and good enough to be used in drinks as well as for dressing salads or adding finishing brightness to any dish. Seed Ranch hot sauces add an umami-forward oomph to pizza, avocado toast, or roast chicken.

Dried fruits and nuts are a very old-fashioned gift: For your registry, go classic with a hearty spread from Nuts.com and some delicious California dates. Or, spice up an old idea by registering for Fix & Fogg nut butters: The New Zealand-based company makes tons of interesting flavors, but we especially love the ultra savory and spicy Smoke and Fire and the sweet Coffee Maple peanut butters.