Friday, January 23, 2009

An abundance of salt

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A guest in my kitchen recently discovered that I have nine different kinds of salt in my cupboard (yes, I know there are only eight in the picture - I discovered the ninth after I had put my camera away).

For those of you who may be as salt-obsessed as I am, let me detail, from approximate left to right:
  • Kosher salt - all-purpose, although I tend to use it only for making gravlax (cured salmon) because it has been in the back of my cabinet, and I prefer sea salt for everyday use
  • Fleur de sel (in the glass jar) - sea salt from France, very expensive; I use it sparingly on salads or blanched green beans, where I want a little crunch
  • Smoked Maldon sea salt - sea salt from England, smoked over oak; smoked salt has, well, a smokey flavor that you don't get from plain salt
  • Himalania pink salt - from the foothills of the Himalayas, with trace minerals that actually make it pale pink; it tastes like regular salt, but I like the color
  • La Baleine - fine crystal sea salt from France; this is my everyday salt
  • Halen Mon smoked salt (it has a very long Welsh name, but I'll spare you) - Welsh sea salt, also smoked over oak; I sprinkled this on top of the cheese straws I made a few weeks ago
  • Murray River gourmet salt flakes - from an underground river in Australia; also pink
  • Truffle salt - sea salt with bits of black summer truffle; a true luxury sprinkled over scrambled eggs or a toasted cheese sandwich
  • Hawaiian 'Alaea sea salt - a truly orange coarse salt that gets its color from Hawaiian clay; I use this decoratively, because its color really shows on top of focaccia, mashed potatoes, salad, or the lovely salted-caramel truffles I made over the holidays
  • (not pictured) La Baleine coarse salt - the same sea salt from France described above, but in big crystals; this goes into our table salt grinder

And there you have it. A lot of salt. Good thing we have kidneys.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, I wish I could say I had all of those salts in my pantry. Salt is so good though.

The truffle salt sounds particularly interesting. I might have to look out for that one.

Thanks for the info!
Nick
Macheesmo

Erika Kerekes said...

I think my husband brought the truffle salt back for me from a San Francisco day trip last year - someplace in the Ferry Terminal building. But I'm sure it's available other places. I don't use it as often as I should. It's probably great on mashed potatoes...or steak...or a cheese sandwich...or ice cream....

Pam said...

Sounds like you'd be an easy person to shop for for birthdays and holidays. I'll get Erika some salt!

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