Salt – are you a user? I’m curious to know how many of you use salt on a regular basis? There was a time when I wouldn’t use salt at all; as what came out of the round blue box, with the little girl and her umbrella on front just didn’t seem to do anything for me. Not taste-wise or health-wise. When I came to this conclusion I stopped using salt in cooking, I didn’t place it on the table. There were a couple of exceptions. If I were baking bread or baking…period, I used salt for optimal results. I would deviate from my “no salt” policy when my father-in-law would visit as he insisted on salting every meal.
Fast forward a few years and Miss T comes along. She was a little salt addict. We would always catch her with the salt shaker hidden under a restaurant table, sprinkling it onto her palm and then licking it off, discretely, I might add. She’d also grab for the salt shaker when one was visible and shake as much as she could on her fries, which generally were already salted to death, until one of her parents took it away. She’s changed quite a bit now. She still likes salt, but has come around to the natural sea salt side.
My initial reason for not using salt is that I knew the refined, pure white table salt I grew up with was not good for my health or my family’s health. Stripped of trace minerals, bleached, and cleaned with chemicals, it can lead to a plethora of physical ailments. Cellulite, arthritis, gout, kidney and gallbladder stones, constipation, hypertension, heart disease, strokes, asthma, osteoporosis, and accumulations of toxins in intestinal tract. Yuck!
Our bodies do need salt, but not that crap. It took me many years to discover pure, unrefined sea salts. If I’d only known way back then what I know now. I suppose better late than never. When sodium is in its natural (unrefined) form, it helps to regulate body fluid because it’s an electrolyte, improves nerve function, glucose absorption, aids in muscle contraction, and blood regulation. In other words our bodies recognize this type of salt, natural with no toxins added.
Working at the Savory Spice Shop has introduced me to even more types of salts. In the photo above top to bottom, left to right are some salts that I’ve learned to have fun with in the kitchen.
Sel Marin, Coarse Pink Himilayan, Fumee de Sel, Fleur de Sel
Red Hawaiian, Alderwood Smoked, Italian Black Truffle, Ghost Pepper
Let’s talk a bit about these salts and how to incorporate them into your kitchen. You can become a user – I am!
First, from the French, Sel Marin is an inexpensive grey sea salt and excellent used in cooking. High in minerals and full of flavor and a bit on the coarse side. It is harvested by drying seawater in shallow pools. As the water evaporates the remaining salt is moved around with salt rakes and formed into small pyramids. It is the top of the salt pyramid that dries first and is considered the best. It is superb sprinkled on meats before grilling or roasting.
Coarse Pink Himilayan is definitely salty. It’s full of salt flavor, yet natural in taste. It boasts 84 trace minerals, including iron and you don’t need much to enjoy it’s full flavor. Pink Himilayan is thought to be the most ancient of all salts. Mined from dried up ancient oceans with salt beds hundreds of feet deep, these mineral rich crystals range in color from white and shades of pink to deep red. It is also easily found in a fine grind and is perfect for keeping in the shaker on your dinner table.
Fumee de Sel is a fantastic finishing salt. Hand-raked in France and smoked in small batches with chips from Chardonnay barrels, the moist salt crystals absorb the rich, natural smoked flavors of the oak and the subtle citrus and herb flavors of the chardonnay. You know I like this one! It is cold smoked by a process where the smoke is funneled through the salt away from the heat of the fire, preserving it’s mineral content. Delicious sprinkled over eggs, salads, veggies and chicken or fish.
The flower of the salt, Fleur de Sel is French, harvested by hand in the traditional way. Seawater is dried in shallow pools. As the water evaporates, bright white crystals will form on the surface. Fleur de Sel has a delicate taste yet a crunchy texture, therefore it should be used as a finishing salt. Splendid sprinkled over pasta or eggs.
Hawaiian Red Sea Salt is all-natural and rich in trace minerals found in seawater. A small amount of harvested red Hawaiian clay enriches the salt with iron oxide. No additives and nothing artificial Hawaiian Red is the official table salt of Hawaii. Colorful and delicious sprinkled on top of shortbread cookies!
Smoked over Northwest alder wood, this Pacific sea salt is a true “smoked” salt. Again no artificial smoke flavor is added, the salt gains it’s appealing color from the smoking process. Try it sprinkled over a tomato salad, on grilled salmon or grilled or roasted meats. Smoking salt with alder wood is a Northwest American tradition used for hundred of years in smoking salmon and meats.
Italian Black Truffle salt is popular in many restaurants, sprinkled over french fries or stirred into mashed potatoes. Wet earth, cocoa, and musk are words used to describe the smell of the truffle in this natural fine grained sea salt. I love the flavor it gives to scrambled eggs or potato salad. Maybe not for everyone but if you’re a truffle lover it’s a must have in your kitchen spice cabinet.
Ghost Pepper, exactly what you might be thinking – a fiery blast of chile heat. I find it is best used in soups, stews, or salsas. Blended with chocolate extract as a binder, upon first smelling this salt, chocolate is detected, however there is no chocolate flavor distinction when tasting it. When tasting this salt alone the first flavor noted is salt then the heat hits your tongue but dissipates quickly. Again this one may not be for everyone but if you’re a heat seeker you should definitely add this to your spice cabinet.
Keep in mind that you will still see “sea salts” on your grocery store shelves that are bright white. These are no better than the easily recognizable blue carton with the umbrella girl. Again refined, bleached and stripped of any valuable minerals. If you are going to be a user, stick to the natural, healthy, pure and unrefined stuff – your tastebuds and your body will thank you.
