Before refrigerators and freezers kept food fresh, pioneers ate only salt-cured meats that doubled as shelters on their beef-covered wagons. Spicy up your sustenance in style with today's Groupon: for $25, you get $50 worth of sauces, marinades, and more from Tavern Direct.

Tavern Direct transforms amateur cooks into world-class gourmands with savory sauces, mouthwatering marinades, and breathtaking balsamic vinegars. Seasoning scientists tap into famed New York restaurant Tavern on the Green's culinary formal wear with marinades and sauces such as Wasabi Wonder and Smokin' Chipotle (9 oz. bottle/$7.50 each). Homely chicken breasts basted in flavored oils, such as the Chili Pepper with Garlic and the Pepper with Lemon Oil (9 oz. bottle/$7.75 each), proudly strut across dinner plates with a carefree arrogance normally seen in royalty and bright-eyed Girl Scouts. Get fresh ideas with Tavern Direct's signature recipes, and discover how to properly wield tangy balsamic vinegars (12.7 oz bottle/$10.95 each) in flavors such as Summer Strawberry, Autumn Fig, and Winter Storm Warning. Alternately, put the Groupon toward one of Tavern Direct's luxurious gift baskets, stocked with sauces, cupcakes, fruit, and more.

In addition to furnishing common comestibles with rich flavor makeovers, Tavern Direct donates 50 cents for every product purchased to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which serves as a national resource on the issues of missing and sexually exploited children.