Dixie Heat is one of our new favorite hot
sauce brands. Photo by Katharine Pollak |
THE NIBBLE.

We try dozens of hot sauces each year. Some are just hot (or scorching!), others have so much flavor that they are astonishing.

We never thought we’d be happy with a product called Louisiana Swamp Scum, but its combination of heat, smoke and vinegar is something special.

The other hot sauces have very different flavor profiles, but similarly colorful names: Dixie Delight, Dixie Heat and Happy Dogs Hot Sauce (the label features a homey photo montage of the creator’s dogs).

Put these inexpensive hot-and-tasty sauces on your gift list. The small bottles have big impact.

• Read the full review to learn more about these flavorful hot sauces.
• Find more of our favorite hot sauces, mustard, mayonnaise and more in our Gourmet Condiments Section.

Most Americans have had the pleasure of a bag of red licorice. Yet we’ve learned that red, chocolate and any color licorice but black isn’t licorice. To be real licorice—and enjoy its health benefits—there must be licorice root extract, which creates black candy.

That’s only one of the discoveries in our review of Kookaburra licorice from Australia (it’s spelled liquorice in the U.K. and its former territories). Aussies simply outdo American manufacturers in making superior licorice. It has more robust flavor, a better chew and a lower, more adult level of sweetness.

In addition to the product review, you’ll follow the story of licorice, whose roots were chewed as well as made into teas as a health remedy, by the Pharoahs, the Caesars and Napoleon Bonaparte—who chewed so much licorice root for his digestive disorders that his teeth turned black!

This seriously good licorice will win many
fans. Photo by Katharine Pollak | THE NIBBLE.

• Read the full review of Kookaburra Licorice.
• Find all of our favorite candies in our Gourmet Candy Section.

Our Orka kitchen tongs go from counter
to table. (Color availability will vary.)

Over time, the fork and spoon have been joined together by some manufacturers to create salad tongs. (Food tongs comprise two arms that are hinged or otherwise joined together, for seizing, holding or lifting foods.)

But do you need separate salad tongs? Given the attractiveness of some kitchen tongs (made for cooking, not serving), we don’t think so. Handsome kitchen tongs like these from Orka can be used for cooking or serving.

We ditched the salad servers and use a pair of kitchen tongs at THE NIBBLE table. Specifically, we use these Orka 12-inch stainless steel tongs with silicone tips. They’re the same tongs used to flip or lift food. They take up less space and add a high-tech look to the table.