Gastronomic Gifts Outtakes

Before I look ahead to new ideas, let's take a look back at the some of the gift ideas that didn't quite make the Gastronomic Gifts column. Some weren't enough fun, some weren't even close to being useful.

Remember this commercial for Tootsie Pops? If not, here's a YouTube refresher for you young'uns. Anyway, to answer the eternal question--How many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a Tootsie Pop?--the Tootsie people launched this lick counter. Useless? Absolutely. Fun?
(sorry, too busy licking to answer).

While your inner child may enjoy a lolly lick counter, your current child will benefit from Chopstick Kids. These silicone tots hold chopsticks in each foot, allowing children to master, or at least manage, eating with these utensils. While both useful and fun, they were out of stock at the stores nearby, so I didn't include them in the column. Not sure why they made the boy a unicorn, though.


Ben and Jerry, bored with creating puns of ice cream flavors, have invented the Euphori-Lock. This combination lock prevents ice cream interlopers from digging into your Neapolitan Dynamite, Caramel Sutra and the like.


Finally, for the grilling set, there's flavored skewers. This ain't a bad idea, but it seemed a bit off-season. Chapel Hill's Kitchenworks carries them and gave me a pack of the "Mexican Fiesta" variety, but I didn't have a chance to try them out. Not sure when the fiesta will be, but if this warm spell continues, I may have to have a Barbacoa de Navidad. This global warming stuff has a few perks.

OK, I'm spent. Go forth and gift. Happy Holidays!