Salt suggestions

[old onion]

I take salt for granted too but I have a needed desire for Old Thompson Mediterranean Sea Salt and a Himalayan Pink Salt. I like seeing these new suggestions.

[jbart65]

I have tried a lot of salts, but I mostly stick to Diamond Crystal for cooking. I use a few different finishing salts such as Maldon, pink Himalaya and genuine Fleur de Sel, but only for a limited number of dishes on which they actually improve flavor or texture.

Smoked salt similarly has limited uses, in my view, and I smoke my own. More subtle than store-bought smoked salts. You can even use a regular Weber grill to smoke salt.

Lay the salt out out on tinfoil or a flameproof cloth. Build a small fire in one corner of the grill. Add soaked and dried wood of your choice at the same time. The dry stuff lights up right away and starts flavoring, the wet stuff smolders and keeps the smoke going longer. Turn the top vents entirely closed and leave the bottom ones open just barely - enough to keep the fire going. Smoke it for 4-8 hours.

I usually use the most neutral charcoal briquettes I can find so the smoke flavor is mainly coming from the wood. A mix of hickory and pecan is quite good. So is Apple and Oak.

[ken123]

I got some Arabian sea salts some time ago from an India trip in Bombay.. Very coarse and an intense strong but fresh 'sea flavor'. I regrind it in a mortar and pestle - fine grind for faster absorption on salads etc. I should get some more.

---
Ken

[gladius]

I recently bought some Insan Bamboo Salt from South Korea. It’s sea salt that has gone through 1300 days of roasting processing. It provides alkaline organic mineral salt (pH level 9-12) and supplies 70-80 minerals and trace elements. The flavor is intense without the bite.

https://www.hk3.com.my/en/bamboo-salt/

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HbKbZhJw4lQ


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HbKbZhJw4lQ

[Rufus Leaking]

I’m really big on using finishing salts rather than seasoning foods before cooking. Unless I’m after a Maillard reaction on meat, I much prefer to use Jacobson Flake salt AFTER the cooking. It’s just salt sourced from seawater, and I pinch it to break it up. It hits the tongue and crunches, very satisfying without a lot of sodium. I also use the Himalayan pink for salads and softer foods, and I use Morton kosher for cooking. I’ve tried a half dozen or so smoked and flavored with wine, etc, but nothing beats the Jacobson flake. It’s expensive AF, I get it from William Sonoma, but it is exactly what I want salt to do.

[joanjet]

Ukrainian mineral salt, the same that my mom used to use in Crimea in her youth, and the same salt that my family that remained in Crimea continues to use. Still the same company.

By far the best salt to keep on hand, bar none.

The Artemivsk rock salt deposits have been mined since the 1880s and the same mine continues to be mined to this day.

It's sold in many grocery stores in the US, I have found (at least in the Chicagoland area). Only 2 bucks for a 1.5kg slab.

The package is ukrainian on one side and Russian on the other side

Look for the big words "соль" or "сіль" in blue rectangles on either side (Russian and ukrainian respectively)

[gastro gnome]

Ukrainian mineral salt, the same that my mom used to use in Crimea in her youth, and the same salt that my family that remained in Crimea continues to use. Still the same company.

By far the best salt to keep on hand, bar none.

The Artemivsk rock salt deposits have been mined since the 1880s and the same mine continues to be mined to this day.

It's sold in many grocery stores in the US, I have found (at least in the Chicagoland area). Only 2 bucks for a 1.5kg slab.

The package is ukrainian on one side and Russian on the other side

Look for the big words "соль" or "сіль" in blue rectangles on either side (Russian and ukrainian respectively)

Chicagoland resident here. Where you find these Eastern Bloc salts. Seems like it would be at one of the many Greek-owned independent grocers around the area (like Fresh Farms) that have a wide array of Polish, Slavic, and Russian products. Just curious.

[joanjet]

Chicagoland resident here. Where you find these Eastern Bloc salts. Seems like it would be at one of the many Greek-owned independent grocers around the area (like Fresh Farms) that have a wide array of Polish, Slavic, and Russian products. Just curious.

Garden Fresh is where I found mine. Anywhere that carries Slavic or Polish products is likely to have it. I swear I was able to find online listings from a local store at one point but for some reason I can't find it using any combination of keywords, english or russian.

[gastro gnome]

Garden Fresh would have been my other guess

[cpentak4]

I switched to Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt after watching Salt Fat Acid Heat on netfliz and have not looked back. You can get it on Amazon.

[ronnie_suburban]

For large-granule finishing salt, I really like Maldon Sea Salt Flakes.

=R=

[MisterJames]

I use the fine, kosher, and powder versions of Redmond Real Salt, Himalayan pink salt, and SaltWorks El Dorado mesquite smoked sea salt.

I also use Red Boat fish sauce as a salt alternative.

[LaVieestBelle]

I should have chimed in a year ago when this thread started...but since it’s been revisited I may as well jump in.

One of may favorite topics, though what I use tends to fall into a somewhat narrow and very French category... I’ve spent time there every year for many decades, and salt has for so long been part of the culinary landscape. It’s not the only category of salt, just what I’m accustomed to.

I do remember, about twenty years ago, having an inner ear problem. The ENT MD told me to cut back on salt. When I mentioned that some French boxes of sea salt said “doctors recommend for health benefits due to the good minerals” on the outside, he looked at me as if I’d lost my marbles.

A million years ago it seems classic Mortons was the box seen in every kitchen, the the slogan about being so fine that it pours. That fell by the wayside. Then there was Kosher, and I do keep a box of Diamond in the cupboard, mainly for dissolving in pots of water. Over time though, even for dissolving, I’ve gone toward more inexpensive French sea salts like Baleine fine crystals. Found it on sale last week at Whole Foods for under $3 for 26 ounces...

For the rest of the salt wardrobe, I keep the classic French fleur de sel for finishing. For coarser crusts and for sprinkling over a chicken I am roasting, I go for the “gros sel gris” from France—these are the thickest flakes, gray in color, with more moisture and minerals than other types. Very unprocessed. For me, roast chickens are not quite the same without.

Even away from home right now, here is the lineup....

The thick gray crystals are the gros sel. The open jar shows the fine fleur de sel. The latter I use really for finishing, and love it.

A word about regions. The French can be very partisan and happily opinionated about salt regions. There is the Camargue, which some regard as a more commercial area. There is Guerande, quite good. The final area, where I try to find my fleur de sel, is the Isle de Re. I knew a Parisian bistro owner—we bonded because we had six-year-old sons back then, the same age and equally challenging. She was eventually written up by the NYT. She lived for Isle de Re, which she said she ate like bonbons.

Outside of France I have enjoyed the Sicilian Trapani. But I keep going back to the French. I also keep Maldon, which is wonderful, but I find the crystals to be the largest and reserve them for when the size matters and you want a very obvious flake.

I do play with some of my fleur de sel. I keep one little pot that I mix with pimente d’espelette, a Basque dried red ground pepper that is particularly aromatic without being too hot. I make another version every spring—fleur de sel with dehydrated ramps. During ramp season I grab everything I can. Some I dehydrate and mix with fleur de sel for ramp salt. I also got a tip for compound ramp butter from Publican in Chicago. Soften very good sweet butter, and mix in some of that ramp salt (with the dehydrated ramps). Then fold in minced fresh ramps for color and freshness. I live for this...

So back to salt talk. I love reading about it, and if you can find them there are two VERY fascinating articles. The earliest was by the award-winning food writer Jeffrey Steingarten, in Vogue. I kept it for years and can no longer find it but I think you can locate it. It was republished in his second book, It Must’ve Been Something I Ate; The Man Who Ate Everything. It’s called Salt Chic. There is fantastic detail about how we perceive the taste of salts (or, in some cases, if we can distinguish them) plus a lot about the science and culture of salts. He has his favorites. That came out about 20 years ago but is such fun to read.

Years later, in 2011, there was a neat article about salt by the science-food writer Harold McGee, still easy to find. It was in the New York Times and was called: In Salts, a Pinch of Bali or a Dash of Spain. Tons on the science and the taste and the use of salt, with a tasting study. Lots of questions about if and when you can distinguish tastes beyond “saltiness.” Both articles are interesting reads for anyone curious about salt and very much worth your time.

Happy salting!

[gladius]

I do remember, about twenty years ago, having an inner ear problem. The ENT MD told me to cut back on salt. When I mentioned that some French boxes of sea salt said “doctors recommend for health benefits due to the good minerals” on the outside, he looked at me as if I’d lost my marbles.

---
Like eggs and yolks once had a bad rap now they are "good" for you as are natural salts.

[salemj]

I do remember, about twenty years ago, having an inner ear problem. The ENT MD told me to cut back on salt. When I mentioned that some French boxes of sea salt said “doctors recommend for health benefits due to the good minerals” on the outside, he looked at me as if I’d lost my marbles.

---
Like eggs and yolks once had a bad rap now they are "good" for you as are natural salts.

Haha. Yes. Although the salt recommendation by the ENT has nothing to do with normal health and is a standard recommendation. (Probably a diagnosis of Meniere's diseases, which is thought to be aggravated by changes in fluid density and viscosity in the inner ear, so controlling salt first, then caffeine, potassium, alcohol, and sometimes even sugar are the starting place for avoiding spikes and rapid changes to fluid viscosity and circulation in the inner ear as a first step.). This might explain why the doctor was nonplused by whether or not the salt was "healthy" in other ways...in fact, the minerals could aggravate the problem further. Thankfully, not everyone with this problem is sensitive to salt as a trigger, but enough are that it continues to be the first recommendation by just about any doctor out there. Just a fun little fact.

[LaVieestBelle]

Joe, I am very impressed. Meniere’s was actually the diagnosis. It cropped up when I was in college. The doctor at the college clinic looked in my eyes, ears nose and throat and declared that it was either MS or psychosomatic. I knew it wasn’t the latter, and the former was discounted after I hightailed it to a big city for testing. Years later I was reading about inner ears and went “Bingo—I know what I have!” I went to a specialist who confirmed it. Over the period of a decade it resolved on its own and in the meantime I squeezed through the occasional episodes without ever giving up salt. Or, for that matter, caffeine or nice alcohol. I was lucky. Great diagnosis, Dr. Joe!

I wish I could create good links for the two old, involved salt articles by McGee and Steingarten but they are easy to Google and I really recommend them to anyone who likes to think about salt.

[delmar]

I ran into the owner of Salt Farm at a local fair outside a brewery and tried some of her stuff. Really impressed. Prices aren't cheap, but worth it. Sweet curry, black truffle and wasabi sesame are all favorites. Looks like she shut down her www site (shopsaltfarm.com) and just runs off Etsy - https://www.etsy.com/shop/SaltFarm. I can vouch for this stuff - definitely worth it.

I like Redmond too. Walmart usually carries it. $5 or so for spice jar sized shaker. Yes, more expensive than some salts, but for table and kitchen use (aside from baking [bread specifically] and fermenting), it lasts pretty long.

For baking, brining, smoked fish pellicle generation and fermenting, I like himilayan sea salt. I've tried a few. The costco stuff is a good balance of availability, quality and cost for me. Yep, some better options out there. But many more worse. I picked up the soccer ball sized jug for under $10. I'd probably get some different stuff I didn't do a fair amount of brining and smoked fish, where I burn through a good amount of salt. The mineral flavors do really well with smoked proteins in my book, so worth the extra $$$ to get high mineral content, but not quite getting the uber pricey stuff.

For pickling, morton's pickling and canning salts work great and are reasonable. Crystal clear, no caking agents, easy to find at Walmart, Target or grocery store.

Can we now talk pepper? I don't know much and would love to be educated.

[delmar]

Joe, I am very impressed. Meniere’s was actually the diagnosis. It cropped up when I was in college. The doctor at the college clinic looked in my eyes, ears nose and throat and declared that it was either MS or psychosomatic. I knew it wasn’t the latter, and the former was discounted after I hightailed it to a big city for testing. Years later I was reading about inner ears and went “Bingo—I know what I have!” I went to a specialist who confirmed it. Over the period of a decade it resolved on its own and in the meantime I squeezed through the occasional episodes without ever giving up salt. Or, for that matter, caffeine or nice alcohol. I was lucky. Great diagnosis, Dr. Joe!

I wish I could create good links for the two old, involved salt articles by McGee and Steingarten but they are easy to Google and I really recommend them to anyone who likes to think about salt.

Oh, I wish you good health. My mom battled Meniere's for some time. Then BVVP, which she still gets bouts of from time to time. The whole calcium ear crystal thing. She and her neurologist have become quite chummy - she affectionately calls his Dr. Dizzy.

I've got moderate tinnitus...too many hours at rock concerts and listening to loud music in my car. I can't imagine what it would be like to have vertigo on top of that!

[LaVieestBelle]

Thankfully it all went away over the years. Good thing, because I adore salt!

[LaVieestBelle]

I ran into the owner of Salt Farm at a local fair outside a brewery and tried some of her stuff. Really impressed. Prices aren't cheap, but worth it. Sweet curry, black truffle and wasabi sesame are all favorites. Looks like she shut down her www site (shopsaltfarm.com) and just runs off Etsy - https://www.etsy.com/shop/SaltFarm. I can vouch for this stuff - definitely worth it.

I like Redmond too. Walmart usually carries it. $5 or so for spice jar sized shaker. Yes, more expensive than some salts, but for table and kitchen use (aside from baking [bread specifically] and fermenting), it lasts pretty long.

For baking, brining, smoked fish pellicle generation and fermenting, I like himilayan sea salt. I've tried a few. The costco stuff is a good balance of availability, quality and cost for me. Yep, some better options out there. But many more worse. I picked up the soccer ball sized jug for under $10. I'd probably get some different stuff I didn't do a fair amount of brining and smoked fish, where I burn through a good amount of salt. The mineral flavors do really well with smoked proteins in my book, so worth the extra $$$ to get high mineral content, but not quite getting the uber pricey stuff.

For pickling, morton's pickling and canning salts work great and are reasonable. Crystal clear, no caking agents, easy to find at Walmart, Target or grocery store.

Can we now talk pepper? I don't know much and would love to be educated.

Start a pepper thread and I’ll pull together suggestions!