Salt Explained
Photo by kevindooley on Flickr
Portfolio magazine's brief primer on salt breaks down some of its different characteristics like color and shape and how they affect flavor.
Thomas Keller’s Per Se in New York presents a tray of 10 different salts to diners, while the restaurant Cyrus in Healdsburg, California, has both Maldon sea salt and pink Hawaiian salt on its tables for diners to experiment with. Salt-centric boutique the Meadow in Portland, Oregon, has 85 to 90 different salts at any given time, according to co-owner and self-described “selmelier” Mark Bitterman. “We’ve doubled in size every year since we started in 2003, but I think we’ve just hit the tip of the iceberg,” says Naomi Novotny, vice president of specialty salt purveyor SaltWorks
What's your favorite salt, and how many kinds of salt do you keep on hand in your kitchen?
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
17 Comments:
My fave is the Allessi Sal de Mer, which I use almost exclusively. However, I'll still salt my pasta water with good old fashioned Morton's.
juliebugsmama at 11:33AM on 11/25/08
Diamond Crystal kosher salt, 50 cents a pound at discount stores.
Luther at 11:53AM on 11/25/08
I'm not really up on my salts but I only keep sea salt in the house (we have 3 kinds but not on purpose). My mother only uses mortons plain because shes says its "the only salt that salts well."
christopher at 12:23PM on 11/25/08
Have fine and coarse sea salt... and that's it!
TikiPundit at 12:36PM on 11/25/08
Grey salt, Fleur de Sel, truffle salt but I still use the good old reliable Malden sea salt and DC kosher salt for most everthing.
bessfour at 12:46PM on 11/25/08
I'm with Luther - that's my go-to, everyday salt. I do have basic Morton's Iodized on hand, and some sea salt (both coarse and fine) for random applications (fine sea salt is great on popcorn)
trillian42 at 12:49PM on 11/25/08
I'm afraid I am a salt fanatic. I have Fleur de sel, Celtic Grey Sea Salt, Hawaiian salt, Peruvian pink salt, and kosher salt for cooking. Table salt is Maldon sea salt. I even have smoked salt which I use to make rubs for grilling meats in the summer.
lamora at 1:43PM on 11/25/08
For most things, we'll use the DC kosher salt. We also have sea salt from a Hawaii trip and hickory salt from a bbq ribs recipe.
plantainsandkimchi at 2:02PM on 11/25/08
We use Hawaiian Sea Salt for it's texture and Maine Hickory Smoked Sea Salt for the obvious. Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt is our favorite and our all purpose.
plantainsandkimchi at 2:02PM on 11/25/08
standard mortons kosher, peruvian pink, grey salt, hawaian red sea salt, smoked sea salt flakes, (great on salads especially) fleur de sel, maine smoked sea salt and standard sea salt fine and coarse. Also Bacon salt in original and hickory, which i found at a local grocery. Yes I'm huneybumper and i'm a salt aholic.
huneybumper at 3:01PM on 11/25/08
Oh thank god for this thread. I have 8 different kinds of salts and my best friend thinks that I have lost my mind however is see I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE!
This was his plea: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zieske/2399897070/in/set-72157603427053152?edited=1
GretchinF at 3:15PM on 11/25/08
Morton's, kosher, and mediterranean sea salt.
nightowl at 3:45PM on 11/25/08
I highly recommend "Salt: A World History." Its full of all kinds of interesting stuff.
bobbob at 3:48PM on 11/25/08
I highly recommend Redmond RealSalt, mined from an ancient sea bed in central Utah. It is extraordinarily tasty and a lovely pink color, too. It's not bleached or kiln dried or heated or altered with chemicals -- it comes in its natural state. Check out their web site at www.realsalt.com. It's the only salt that my daughter uses at her famous restaurant, and people fall in love with the taste after eating her food and lots of them buy some to take home.
DollyBS at 5:24PM on 11/25/08
Course salt "smoked" on a grill. Awesome in recipes are even on popcorn.
ostman at 11:01PM on 11/25/08
I know I sound like a liar.... But I have 47 varieties, not including the seasoning rubs which contain a lot of salt. It's an obsession for me, one that my boyfriend loves.... Most of them I made myself. I have lavender, saffron, smoked jalapeño, mushroom, homemade celery salt, pineapple. Day to day I use Malden's or Murray River flake.
There's a video on YouTube called "Muffins" by liamkylesullivan. That's my salt collection. Mmmmm, blood salt.
mangabanga at 3:09PM on 11/26/08
Hi mangabanga,
You don't sound like a liar, because I have over 60 to 70 varities of salt at home! (yes, no rubs or seasonings, just salt). I have over 20 kinds of salts just from different prefectures (some with different flavors like kombu, charcoal, shiso) from Japan. I have a "rainbow" of salt collection, bigger than another other condiments at home.
@DollyBS - I love redmond salt too. Maldon's is my "table" salt, while Remond Salt and a type of Japanese sea salt is my everyday salt.
kobetobiko at 10:22PM on 11/28/08