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Salt of the EarthBy Carole Kotkin
Today salt has over 40,000 applications from manufacturing to medicine, but to most of us, its main function is in the kitchen. Cooking with salt can be traced back to ancient Egypt, when salt was used to dry or “cure” food. Curing is really a scientific process. It involves using salt to draw the moisture out of food and create an environment hostile to bacterial growth, thereby preventing food from spoiling. Curing was essential in the days before refrigeration. The method is no longer the means of survival it once was. In fact, “cured foods “such as gravlax, prosciutto, and caviar are now delicacies rather than staples of our diets. Although it isn’t always visible in a dish, we know when salt is or isn’t there. It doesn’t just add a jolt of flavor the way spices do. Salt penetrates, drawing out juices and absorbing the water in food. It makes food taste more like itself. It also makes us hungry, so we enjoy whatever we’re eating more. Salt affects all foods, both savory and sweet. Although it is fair to say that all salts taste “salty,” that quality may be the only thing salts have in common. Salt runs the range of color; white, red, gray, pink, orange, brown, and beyond. It can be used as it’s found, in large coarse crystals, or ground to a powder. The variances in taste are significant, as tangible to a connoisseur as the tannin in red wine is to a winemaker. At its purest, salt is 40 percent sodium and 60 percent chloride but depending on its origin and processing it can vary markedly in taste and texture, just as a chardonnay grape grown in California can vary from a chardonnay grape grown in France. The size of the crystal, too, helps determine whether the taste is flat, metallic, clear, muddy, acrid, bright, complex or easy to use.
“It’s fun to try different salts, just as it’s fun to try different wines, “says author Sandra Cook. “I see the variety of salts as a whole new way to view salt as a condiment. Restaurants will soon offer several selections of sat at the table for diners to choose the ones they like,” she continues. But With the bewildering array of colors, textures, and even tastes, how do you become a discriminating shaker? To find out what you prefer, conduct an informal salt tasting by shaking a few grains on bread, boiled potatoes or sliced tomatoes. Try just a few salts at a time so you are not overwhelmed. Table salt—salt mined from rock deposits processed to form small, uniformly shaped cubes. Additives, like calcium silicate, help make it free-flowing. Iodized salt is the same, with the addition of potassium iodide, to prevent goiter, and a small amount of dextrose sugar, used as a stabilizer. Most table salt is mined like coal or extracted by forcing water down into subterranean salt deposits. The resulting brine is pumped out and processed to form tiny, dense, cube shapes. Table salt isn’t any saltier than other salts. It tastes saltier because, the crystals are small and don’t dissolve well and tend to linger on the surface of the tongue. Kosher salt—originally developed to draw blood out of meat in accordance with Jewish dietary laws. It is inexpensive and sold in three-pound boxes for less than $2.00. Like table salt, it comes from mined rock deposits but contains no additives, dissolves quickly, and imparts plenty of flavor without over-salting because of its large surface area. It is made by compacting granular salt between rollers, which produces large irregular flakes. Cooks prefer these large-grained salts because of the textural element they add to foods. One tablespoon of kosher salt equals about 2 teaspoons of table salt. Rock Salt— While all salts come from oceans, several oceans have been trapped underground and nothing is left of them except rock hard deposits. Large areas of the United States (much of the Midwest) lie on top of massive salt mines. Some producers drill deep down into the caverns of salt and fill them with water. Then they pump the brine to the surface and cook it until crystals emerge. This is called rock salt. Rarely eaten, it is used most often to evenly transfer heat for roasted meats and fish, or as a bed for shellfish—and of course to use in old-fashioned ice cream makers and to melt snow and ice. It’s often gray because of its high mineral content. Sea Salt:Sea salt is available in both fine crystals that resemble table salt, while the coarse crystals look like the grains on soft pretzels. Because of its fuller flavor, less is usually needed. Fine sea salt, which dissolves almost instantly, can be used just like ordinary table salt. Coarse crystals are used to salt cooking water, breads or, at the table, to season cooked food and to provide texture. It can be ground fine in a salt mill. La Baleine: sold in both coarse and fine crystals, comes from the Mediterranean and is produced by a French manufacturer. It has a pleasant, bright taste; it is sold for about $2.70 a pound. Sel Gris, France (also called Celtic gray salt): from Guerande, on France’s Atlantic coast where shallow basins are flooded with ocean water. Evaporation takes place between May and September when artisan harvesters rake the salt to the edge of each bed. The salt picks up its gray color and distinct flavor from minerals in the bed’s clay bottom. Fleur de Sel, France: long considered the Romanee-Conti of salt, it’s carefully hand raked from a thin layer of tiny crystals (or “flowers of salt”) that form on top of ocean ponds on Ile de Noirmoutier, an Island in the Brittany region of France. Noirmoutier, which means black monastery, was named for the monks in black dress who lived here in the seventh century. They were the first to begin harvesting the salt, using techniques that remain unchanged today. A by-product of Sel Gris, Fleur de Sel is created only when the winds are calm and the days are warm. It is on these rare few days that the gray salt “blooms” lacy, white crystals. It is damp and clumps like wet sand, and it tastes like it has just been collected from the clearest sparkling sea. It’s clean, dry, and light, with a nice crunch, no aftertaste and great meltability. Some people think it has a faint aroma of violets. Use sparingly on foods just before serving. The crystals aren’t transparent but opaque—each one easy to see. Red Alaea Sea Salt, Hawaii—Once used only in religious rituals, this salt is a mixture of volcanic clay and sea salt, is known for its russet color and earthy mineral flavor. It’s a bit harsh, with an iron taste from the clay, and it lingers on the tongue. Black lava salt, Hawaii—a blend of sea salt, purified black lava, and activated charcoal. It has a sulfuric aroma from the purified lava. Both lava salt and red Alaea salt are specialty-finishing salts. Maldon, England—contains no additives. Produced by panning the salt beds in Maldon, Essex, England. It’s a good finishing salt that gets it delicate flavor from a tradition of boiling the sea water to form hollow pyramid-shaped crystals that are soft enough to crush between your fingertips. It looks like tiny pieces of shaved ice. It has a fresh briny taste . Ravida, Italy—From Sicily’s west coast, these fine moist crystals, which dissolve immediately, are extremely powerful, almost stinging the tongue. Even a small sprinkling feels like swallowing a gallon of seawater. Salt Sources:Napastyle.com or 1-866-776-6272 Bakerscatalogue.com or 800-827-6836 Chefshop.com or 877-337-2491 Deandeluca.com or 800-221-7714 Zingermans.com or 888-636-8162 Earthy.com or 800-367-4709 To read more about salt: |
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few years ago I picked up a one-pound package of salt while shopping in a
gourmet store. When the cashier rang up my purchase at $30.00, I protested,
“You’ve made a mistake, this is just salt.” She replied, “This fleur de sel
just arrived from France. And it’s like no other salt you’ve tasted.”
This rare sea salt from Brittany is esteemed for its complex flavor, crunchy
texture and subtle aroma. Fans say this salt not only tastes better, it’s
also better for you because it contains none of the additives typically used
in regular salt. Sprinkled on sliced tomatoes or added to scrambled eggs, it
adds an exciting bite and intense flavor. It forms a delicious crust on a
piece of prime rib, makes rare steak taste better, and it adds sparkle to
oysters on the half shell (just a grain or two). Any baker will tell you it
brings out the flavor of chocolate. Salt, a mineral consisting mainly of
sodium chloride, used to come regular or iodized (plus kosher, if you wanted
to get fancy). Like so many foods, salts have become trendy and home cooks
and professional chefs are using not just one but a variety of salts-- gray
salt, red salt, French salt, Spanish salt, Italian salt, Portuguese salt,
salt with algae, salt mixed with herbs, and even smoked salt. These salts
are bringing added complexity and nuance to all kinds of dishes. Such a wide
variety was the norm up until the 20th century, when Morton’s used an
evaporator to make salt white, fine, uniform and inexpensive. Demand for the
more expensive hand-harvested salt nearly died off for several decades until
the renewed interest in salt harvesting began with the back-to-the-land
movement that moved through France in the late 1980’s. 
Culinary
interest in salt may be new, but salt has been around forever. Salt is
intrinsically valuable—we could not exist without it. Not only does salt
sustain us, but it also gives life and character to the food we eat. It is a
basic component of taste, along with sweet, sour and bitter. Sodium
together with calcium, magnesium and potassium, helps regulate the body’s
metabolism. According to The Institute of Food Science and Technology,
several authorities recommend an overall reduction in salt intake to reduce
the effect on blood pressure, although others take the view that evidence
does not justify universal restriction of dietary salt. Doctors still warn
people who suffer from hypertension—estimated to be 10 percent of the
population –to cut way back on salt. But for everybody else, salt is still
the essential mineral it has been since the beginning of time. 
Salt
has always played a role in society. The ancient Greeks traded salt for
slaves leaving us with the phrase, “not worth his salt.” Roman soldiers were
partially paid in salt. In fact, the world “salt” comes from the Latin word
salarium, meaning salary. Venice was built on revenue from the salt trade.
Over the course of human history, salt has added much more than flavor. Its
ability to preserve foods and sustain civilizations through cold winters has
sent countries on desperate searches to find it, control it, tax it, and
trade it. In some parts of the world, salt was minted into coins as valuable
as gold. Obtaining it “has forced man to explore, to think, to work, to
travel,” writes Margaret Visser, a food historian, in “Much Depends on
Dinner.” “To obtain salt he has erected whole political and economic
systems; he has fought, built, destroyed, extorted, and haggled, “writes
Visser. But even as it bestowed power, salt retained an earthbound
simplicity. Jesus referred to his followers as “the salt of the earth.”
“Until recently, salt was part of the Roman Catholic baptismal ceremony. A
few grains were placed on the baby’s tongue to signify purity, endurance,
wisdom, power, uniqueness, and protection from evil,” writes Visser. 
“Salt
was important in practical terms to the Jews, for they were originally
vegetarians, and when they were allowed to eat meat, it was with the proviso
that the blood had to be removed from it, which was done by salting, “
writes co-authors Sandra Cook, Sara Slavin and Deborah Jones in their new
book, “Salt and Pepper.” Salt just might be one of the most important
commodities in our world not threatened by depletion. Like wine, salt is
known by its region, and prices and flavors depend on who makes it and
where. Sea salt is created when ocean waters flood shallow beds along
coastlines. Though sea salts are harvested all over the world, including the
coasts of South Africa, Sicily, and South Korea, French salts from the
pristine waters off the coast Brittany are highly prized. The salt is so
pure that farmers can package the crystals without any processing. For
centuries, salt farmers in the area have tended to a checkerboard of shallow
pools where the seawater evaporates under the hot sun and leaves precious,
large grained crystals that provide bursts of pure salt flavors. Salts from
other areas must sometimes be heated and washed, which gives them a bright
white appearance. Brittany salt has a light gray color because the ocean’s
flavorful minerals and nutrients naturally remain inside. The salt is
purified during this process, leaving a salt with a high percentage of
sodium chloride and minerals (magnesium, zinc, calcium, iron and potassium).
Some
salt, like the French fleur de sel, tastes clean and pure, almost sweet.
When dissolved, fleur de sel transforms into the delicious briny water from
which it was made. By comparison, refined table salt can taste acidic and
feel shrill on your tongue. Randal Caparoso maker of Caparoso
California and Oregon Pinot Noirs, says, “Any cook knows that sugar balances
salt and a food cured in salt would be matched with a sweet sauce. In the
best of food and wine pairings, wine and food interact perfectly on the
palate. For example, the fruit flavors, peppery spices and soft tannins of a
Pinot Noir will complement the flavors in salty foods.” Joy Sterling,
marketing director and partner at Iron Horse Vineyard thinks sparkling wines
such as her Classic Vintage Brew would be very appealing with bread sticks
wrapped with prosciutto, Parmigiano tuilles (Frico), or sushi. Caviar, the
most luxurious of salty foods is classically paired with bubbles, especially
a vibrant Blanc de Blancs. “I love to watch the award shows on television
while nibbling on peanuts, salted popcorn, and potato chips and drinking one
of our sparkling wines. I feel as glamorous as any star on the red carpet.”
Salt
is an ingredient chefs feel strongly about. There’s even a restaurant called
Fleur de Sel in New York city. Chef-owner Cyril Renaud wanted his first
restaurant to be a personal statement, so he named the place after the
highly prized, hand-harvested sea salt that’s native to Brittany, just like
him. “Fleur de sel has been part of my life since I was a young boy. My
grandfather has worked in the marshes of Noirmoutier most of his life
harvesting oysters and fish; not salt.” There’s a little mill of Fleur de
sel on every table and he keeps about 20 varieties of salts in an oak chest
in his dining room. “It lights up the food and makes it lively, “Renaud
says. He buries a lamb loin in a coarse sea-salt paste infused with
pink peppercorns and bay leaves, and then bakes it. “It’s cured and roasted
at the same time, ” he says. The lamb is served with crème fraiche lamb jus,
pink peppercorns, salsify and kamug (a grain from Egypt). The salt absorbs
steam and becomes a hard shell when baked, seals flavor into food, and
creates a silken texture that he likens to Pastrami. Salt crusts are not to
be eaten, but even when baked and discarded, salt works its magic. Renaud
also sprinkles a few grains of sea salt over all of his desserts. 
When
it came time for Melissa O’Donnell to open her own small restaurant in SoHo
in New York City, she christened it “Salt”. “I looked up “salt” in Larousse
Gastronomique and read that it represents purity and simplicity; the same
characteristics I wanted to emphasize in my restaurant. Salt enhances food
and doesn’t manipulate it, “ she continues. On O’Donnell’s whitewashed
communal tables sit bowls of three different salts—fleur de sel, smoked
Celtic salt, and grey salt “so the customers can have fun tasting the
different flavors.” Luke Mangan, chef/owner of award-winning Salt
restaurant Sydney, Australia, says, “Salt has always been a sign of
hospitality, friendship and prosperity and that’s what I wanted to convey in
my restaurant.” He offers two sea salts at the table: English Maldon to be
sprinkled over meat dishes, and Ravide salt from Sicily to be used over fish
dishes. He always has a selection of salt crusted specialties on the
menu—barramundi, salmon and lamb rack. 
Most
chefs, prefer the flavor of kosher salt or sea salt to ordinary table salt
for cooking because most brands have no added chemicals or bitterness.
Todd Humphries, executive chef at Martini House (named for its
Prohibition-era owner, an opera singer and bootlegger) in St. Helena,
California, says, “Chefs salt with their fingers, not with a shaker or a
measuring spoon. Kosher or coarse sea salt is not ground as finely as table
salt, so it is easy to pick up between your fingertips and control the
crystals as you sprinkle them on your food. You have less tendency to
over-salt with coarser salt.” Chef Cyril Renaud of Fleur de Sel disagrees,
“No one touches salt in my kitchen. It’s unsanitary and leaves a taste of
salt on the fingers,” he advises. He prefers to pour salt from specially
perforated boxes of La Baleine Sea Salt. One thing, however, is clear,
learning how to salt properly is one of a chef’s most important skills. Chef
Humphries makes up exotic blends of salts and spices to use in his kitchen.
He prepares a mix of Hawaiian pink salt, cloves, allspice, black, green, and
Sichuan pepper, juniper berries, and dried ginger that he rubs into a
flatiron steak before grilling. “I love the mouth-feel of fleur de sel and
sprinkle it on Carpaccio with Perigord truffles and Nantucket Bay scallops.
Cookbook author Sandra Cook writes, “A bit of salt added to the batter for
cookies, cakes, and other baked goods brings out the flavor of the other
ingredients and adds a tiny edge of its own flavor. Salt mitigates the
sweetness and cuts the acidity of fruits such as pineapple and citrus. A
recent trend among chefs is to sprinkle a few grains of coarse sea salt on
baked goods and other desserts, for the crunchy texture and contrast of salt
and sweet.” Cook says, “I like the balance of salt and sweet. A little salt
makes a connection between the two, and achieves a delectable balance.
Especially with chocolate.”