Jars worth opening in the quiet days

The days between Christmas and New Year are the ones that need a good store cupboard. Preserved vegetables, tinned fish and oil, chosen so that lunch is a matter of opening things rather than cooking.

Who it is for

This one goes to the person who cooks. It is not a novelty hamper and there is nothing in it that gets eaten once and forgotten: every jar, tin and bottle is something a good kitchen gets through, and the quality is a step above what a supermarket carries at any price.

Who makes it

Clos Saint Sozy work in the Lot, in the south-west of France, in the traditional way. Conservas Virto have been canning in Navarra since 1927 and still do most of it by hand. We import these ourselves rather than buying through a wholesaler, which is why the hamper costs what it does. You can read how the protected designations work at the European Commission.

Packing and delivery

We pack this hamper in a medium matte-black gift box with a printed ivory-cream sleeve. Everything is packed by hand in Worcestershire on the day it leaves us, and nothing is made up in advance and left sitting in a warehouse. Order early for Christmas – December delivery slots fill from the middle of November, and the week before Christmas always goes first. We deliver across mainland UK and can send the hamper straight to the recipient with a handwritten card and no prices anywhere in the parcel. See the rest of the range on our Christmas gift hampers page.

How to serve it

Foie gras and terrine want to come out of the fridge fifteen minutes beforehand and be cut with a warm blade, onto toast or brioche rather than a cracker that fights them. Most of the jars and tins are designed to be opened rather than cooked – good bread, good butter and a plate is the whole method.