apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Where is she going? I would give her a cookbook of recipes from that country, especially if you can find one that explains ingredients that she may not be familiar with.

I like Dana's idea. It's great because once the friend gets to the new country, she'll find that the cookbooks there will make all sorts of assumptions about what the people in that culture know. A cookbook from the states will provide a bit of an American perspective that will help her acclimate to the change.

After your friend makes the move, you can send her a care package full of American goodies. She'll appreciate it more then than she will now.

I would get a beautiful book with blank pages (maybe from Etsy), and half-fill it with favourite recipes, things that you have made or eaten together. You could hand-write some of them and glue some in if you want. Some could be short and silly and others could be long and complicated and serious.

I'd leave it half-empty so she could add some later.

I've moved internationally twice and this is the sort of portable, sweet gift that I would love.

Metric measuring cups (dry and wet), metric measuring spoons, a metric scale, and metric thermometer.

I'd go the exact opposite way: Nice set of US cups & spoons, nice measuring container with US system marks, maybe oven thermometer with degrees Fahrenheit. She'll be able to buy the metric stuff in the new place, but it may be hard or impossible to get the US things there, and she may want them to make recipes she brought from the US.

I've moved to the US from Germany myself and found that it takes a good amount of time to adjust to the new measurement system, and that recipes don't always convert well when you try to re-calculate grams to cups or vice versa.

Before buying any actual food (spices, peanut butter, whatever), be sure to check with customs what she'll be allowed to bring. Many countries have heavy restrictions on the food you can bring.

Books are HEAVY. Please, oh dear girl, please do not give that poor woman books. Shipping costs are awful.

What I would do, honestly, is write her a very lovely letter explaining that you realize that she's moving overseas, and once she's set up in her new home, she should expect your wedding gift on her doorstep.

Then, you can send her whatever you like. Consider it a deferred gift.

I think the three most important cooking tools are a chief's knife, a pepper mill, and a garlic press.

The Victorinox 8-Inch Chef's Knife, Zyliss Susi 2 Garlic Press, and the Unicorn Magnum Plus Pepper are all very good, easily fit in a checked bag and a small foreign apartment and you can have the three for less than $100.

If your friend is moving somewhere where she's not speaking her native tongue, I think a thoughtful gift would be to provide a grocery store language guide!

When learning a new language, it doesn't take much to learn to ask "Where is the grocery store?"... but it takes a LONG time before you can ask a clerk "Where is the cinnamon/baking soda/parchment paper/cake flour..."

Maybe look in your own spice cabinet, type a list of what you find in an online translator (or call up your local university's language dept), and laminate a little sheet of cooking basics. You could include tools like "spatula" "strainer" and other non-basic vocab too.

how about a cookbook with metric measurements? the utensils and measuring devices she will acquire there will be metric, so she'll have to start from scratch with recipes. it would be extra nice if you were able to find a book (or hey, make your own-- much more personal!) with foods she knows and loves to save her the time and annoyance of converting all of the measurements. (and one little book isn't that heavy and is definitely easier to pack/send than any sort of kitchen object.)

I live in china, and often in Asia you can not find western baking equipment. I needed to bring cake pans, muffin tins, bundt pan etc. with me. I brought my own western measuring stuff like teaspoons, glass measuring cup etc.
I also brought ingredients that I knew would be hard to find here.
I also find cook books that have basic recipes without "unusual" ingredients are a must. I love my very old "more with less" cookbook. I have learned to make cheese as it is very expensive here. With the internet it is much easier now a days to find recipes, but so many of my friends don't know basic things like how to make a white sauce etc. I make everything from scratch here, so a cookbook with basic recipes is a must!
It is important to know where she is moving and what is available there. If you could talk to someone already in that country they can tell you what is hard to find there.
I have loved to learn Chinese cooking, but I rarely cook Chinese when at home in country. There are so many good resturants here, that I cook mostly western foods at home. I can't get western food out, so giving her something that she can make when she is homesick is a great idea.
I do love the idea of shipping your gift later. Your friend could wait and see what she can and cannot find and you could ship it to her.

Buttermilk powder. Because sometimes the substitutions just aren't the same. Or maybe a slim cookbook on the country's food, just in case they get gifted with something and don't know what to do with it!

I second the US-standard measuring spoons/cups/devices suggestions. If your friend is a baker - then baking soda and baking powder are a must for any american baking recipes. Local substitutions (in Germany at least) are better left untouched.

I live in the UK and wouldn't survive without a kitchen conversion table that I tore out of a food magazine before we moved here. You could find a really thorough one and laminate it for her.

I live in Korea and have found that the best gifts are spices. She can find conversions and recipes online, and good knives and such in stores. Spice mixes (indian, mexican, etc etc) and certain single spices are the difficult things for me to get my hands on. I would go online and do some research, find out what the expats are saying in the country she's moving to. The last care package from home that I requested included anchovies, sundried tomatoes, cornmeal and dry pinto beans, as all are hard to obtain here. Also, the last time I went home, I brought back basil seeds to grow on my porch, which was great fun and an exotic treat!

I'm with bfootnovellista. You have a year to give a wedding gift. Let her know part of the gift is taking care of shipping so she doesn't have to pack it. If you already have it, take a picture of the item and wrap that. Or tell her to look around once she gets to the new destination and give you a list of things she can no longer buy.

Of course,I'm from the South, so something *from her registry*, especially china, crystal or silverware, something that becomes heirloom, is most appropriate. Ordered from her registry also means the store MUST package it properly for shipping.

I, too, live in China, and Western baking equipment is hard to find (and expensive). And my U.S. measuring cups and spoons and the like are invaluable. I have a conversion chart taped to the fridge, and it's a good thing to have, but I like having more familiar measurements close at hand (especially when I'm baking). The temperature conversion is enough to deal with.

Also, when I cook, I cook foods from home. If I want Chinese food, I go out for it. But I can't go out for tacos or enchilladas. When I'm homesick, I make them. (It's the same for a lot of my expat friends. We make the foods we miss most, and go out for noodles.)

When I moved here, a friend from home gave me a tortilla press and masa. It was the thing I appreciated most.

I would include some happy spoons by Zac Designs in her gift!

https://www.cooking.com/products/shprodde.asp?SKU=581527

I bought mine at a local shop plus I've seen them at TJ Maxx. I've given them as gifts and the recipients love them. At our house these are the go-to spoons for cooking.

I talso depends if she is moving for a short-period or if she plans to stay there the rest of her life. If she plans on staying there a long time, pay the cost of shipping and buy her whatever you want.

If not, definetly a slim cooking book from the country where she is going (provided it's a more foreign country...).

Give her the apron – it’s portable and thoughtful and a reminder of you, which will be most important. You could even make one with a picture of you both on it, if you want to be THAT cheesy. When away from home it’s the people I miss most, not the food.

Then get her a gift certificate for cooking classes in the place where she is going to. Try to find one that goes to local markets, chooses local, seasonal ingredients, makes local, traditional food, talks about the history of the food they’re making, and is part of the community she’s joining. Being an expat can be a rich, rewarding experience, but it is also potentially lonely, and food is a good way to connect with others.

Check out slowfood.com to start with, they have events and tastings all over the world. ricksteves.com might be good too.

And then get yourself a plane ticket to go visit her after she’s an expert on the region.

Best of luck to you both!

I live in Korea and these are some great suggestions.

I second the measuring cups and spoons, but, make sure they are plastic for light packing.

Send SPICES, SPICES, and more SPICES.

Here are my recommendations after living here for a year:
-a good Italian seasoning
-all kinds of Mexican seasoning packets (i.e. taco, enchiladas, fajitas)
-cumin
-all spice
-chicken seasoning
-garlic salt
-onion powder
-lawry's seasoning salt
-cilantro

I think the best thing would be to make her a beautiful meal and enjoy eachother's company. She won't miss her blender when she's gone but she will miss you. Make some (yummy!) memories while she's still here.

I send my sister in Italy ziploc bags (they don't have them) and cling wrap plastic wrap. She treats her zip loc bags like treasures, she has some that are years old.