There are kitchen stores where you go because you need a frying pan.

And then there are places where you start looking at a frying pan and somehow wind up reading about Japanese-style knives, Sicilian pistachio spread and a bottle of vinegar made from calamansi.

Milk Street is very much that second kind of place.

Christopher Kimball's Milk Street built its store around the same idea as its cooking: look around the world for useful techniques, interesting flavors and smart tools, then make them practical for the home kitchen.

That makes it particularly interesting as holiday shopping gets underway, because the shelves are full of things that do not feel like the same gifts everybody else is buying.

The current sale section has several worthwhile kitchen upgrades.

The Milk Street 11-inch hammered carbon-steel skillet is currently $69.95, down from $89.95, while the Pasta Pot is $99.95, reduced from $149.95.

The Tuesday Nights Mediterranean cookbook is $23.95 instead of $35, and the Milk Street 365 cookbook is $27 instead of $45.

Browse the Milk Street Sale →

The part that may be even more fun is the food.

New and featured items include handmade Scottish shortbread, Spanish chocolate fig bonbons, Norwegian crispbread, curry simmer sauces, specialty olive oils, international condiments and pantry ingredients that can make an easy food gift without looking like something grabbed on the way to the party.

See What's New at Milk Street →

Milk Street is also pushing its Store Pass, a $30 annual membership that advertises special pricing on more than 200 products, with savings of up to 68 percent on selected items plus early access to sales and new products.

That probably makes the most sense for someone who already shops Milk Street more than occasionally, but it is worth knowing about before paying regular price on several purchases.

Learn About the Milk Street Store Pass →

For holiday shopping, Milk Street looks especially useful for the person who likes to cook but is notoriously difficult to buy for.

Or, of course, for the person who insists the gift is for somebody else and then somehow never gives it away.

Explore the Milk Street Store →

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