Cheese, whiskey, apples, mushrooms There's a DIY kit to suit every back-to-the-earth fancy. Some assembly {and with apples, several years and favorable conditions} required. There's a grassroots movement afoot. A new generation is looking to the past, swapping cars for bikes, planting gardens and seeking out organic, local sources of food. Finding a gift that passes muster with a sustainable-minded friend or loved one may seem like a tall order, but, in fact, it's easier than ever thanks to a bounty of innovative do-it-yourself kits. Kits for growing or making foods and beverages are an easy way for folks to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty-or maybe just a little sticky-in a new project. Chances are, there's an intrepid soul on your shopping list who'd be thrilled with a gift that challenges them to make something new, from scratch. A kit "is cute, and it's not a huge commitment in cost, time or amount of supplies," says Claudia Lucero, co-founder of Urban Cheesecraft, a Portland company that sells DIY cheese kits {$19 to $50, specialty stores}. With a dash of citric acid and some milk, home-crafted fresh mozzarella, ricotta or goat cheese is ready to serve in an hour. Cheese making is "easy, accessible and empowering," says Lucero, and brings people closer to their food source. "When people realize that an 'old-world' craft like cheese making can be taken on at home, they are immediately intrigued," she says. That old-world vibe can be a plus or a minus, depending on the giftee; but it's difficult to imagine anyone who'd be put off by the idea of creating something from nothing. The hands-on involvement "gives you ownership over the gift," says Orlin Sorenson, co-owner of Woodinville Whiskey Co., a company that sells make-your-own whiskey kits {$149.99}, available online or in Washington State and Oregon liquor stores. "For most people, there's a lot more pride in earning a dollar than being given a dollar." Many kits emphasize the grubbier aspects of the DIY process. The Apple Tree-to-Be kit {$22} from Potting Shed Creations comes with 5 Ralls Janet apple seeds, a coir seedling pot, growing medium, a terracotta saucer, an aluminum tag, a hydrocarbon-free jute bag and a reference guide. Ann Killen, co-founder, says the company has been organic since the beginning, with products including wine bottles recycled to grow culinary herbs and contain terrarium gardens, and recycled steel and bamboo windowsill boxes for micro-greens. She also offers a Yule Tree-to-Be, for growing a Christmas tree. Killen attributes the growing interests in the plant kits to curiosity about food development. "Maybe it's because there is so much unknown with food and where it comes from," she says. "Maybe its wanting a smaller footprint." The Apple Tree-to-Be kit offers something else; together time. "It is a project that people can do together," Killen says. "The process of planting, watching it grow and transplanting the tree to its final spot creates a shared experience." Patience helps. It can take up to 10 years for a tree to journey from seed to actual apple production. For less patient agrarians, there's Back to the Roots {$19.95}, a grow-your-own mushroom kit that promises a half-pound of edible mushrooms in just 10 days. According to Back to the Roots communications lead Megan Yarnell, the idea for the product came about when its co-founder, Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez, heard during a business ethics lecture that it was possible to grow mushrooms on recycled coffee grounds. After some successful experimentation, they started growing mushrooms for area restaurants. When friends started asking how they could grow mushrooms, too, the kits were born. Yarnell thinks the advantages of Back to the Roots extends beyond just the growing process, which is why it makes such a great holiday gift. "People can use the food to cook a ameal for their friends and family. It's a gift that keeps on giving, and it's really distinctive." Underscoring its community spirit, Back to the Roots donates a kit and a sustainability curriculum to the classrooms of choice of mushroomers who post a photo of their grown kit on the company's Facebook page. Not every food-related kit requires soil and a green thumb. Glee Gum offers three fun candy kits: Make Your Own Chocolate, Make You Own Chewing Gum, and Make Your Own Gummies {$13.95 each, upscale grocers and specialty stores}. these follow the same basic principles of most DIY kits-they're all natural, with no artificial color. flavor. sweetener or preservatives-but they're higher in sugar content ans are more fun for kids. Kits offer something for everyone. Whiskey lovers will get a kick out of Woodinville's product-"There's nothing like pouring friends a glass of your own whiskey from the barrel,"says Sorenson-and there are plenty of other niche kits, for beer, root beer, soda and wine. Spreading the word about the rewards of cheese making was one of the perks for Urban Cheesecraft's Lucero. After teaching herself how to make cheese and intriguing friends and family with the process, she started a cheese-making workshop. At the end of the day, the real joy of kit giving isn't just the idea of gifting a loved one something they'll enjoy. Like any great gift, it's about the shared experience.
