You've been there before. You're at a lovely outdoor market where they're selling olive oil infused with the joyful tears of angels or vinegars distilled from the nectar of the gods. You sample. You agree. It really is the shizzle. So when can you justify spending $10-$20 on a bottle of salad dressing ingredients?
You can't. At least not if it's for yourself. Let's be clear, such ingredients cannot reasonably fit into most people's weekly food budget, despite what the cooking shows or the recipe books are telling you. I buy my olive oil in large tanks from the grocery store and the you wouldn't be fooled by the quality.
On the other hand, there is definitely a time for the premium ingredients, but we generally call these birthdays, Christmas, etc. In fact, in this day and age when most people have too much stuff cluttering up their lives, a consumable gift of top quality is generally appreciated and is probably not something the recipient would normally purchase. Couple this with the fact that many of these products are made by artisans or your neighbors in small quantities and you have a feel good gift all around.
Case in point, a friend of ours recently gave the SO a bottle of excellent balsamic vinegar for his birthday that she picked up at a market. For the next couple of weeks we'll be thinking of her as we dip our bread in it and gluttonously try to get every last drop out of that bottle.
(Not long for this world)
If you are the lucky recipient of such finery, by all means, do not squander it. Food goes bad, you know. Eat it, relish it, and don't feel like you have to wait for a special occasion. Life is meant to be lived.
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