Salt (merged topics)

[Cynthia G]

and the mission for this weekend is to buy Malden salt and/or fleur de sel.

Haven't been able to find Malden Sea Salt locally in a long time. And the shipping costs more than the salt to have it mail ordered!

[Jim Dixon]

Note: Shameless self-promotion below...

I've got a very nice Portuguese flor de sal available (about two-thirds of the pallet is still in my basement...I call it Lot's Wife), and it fits into a USPS priority mail pouch for low-cost shipping.

Go to my web site for details.

end of ssp....

Jim

[Jinmyo]

Novelty salts are great as garnishes.

(I use fleur de sel for steaks, red Hawaiin for fish, Malton flakes for many things etc.)

But kosher salt is what one cooks with.

edit:

Um. I've nothing to sell. But Jim's good lad and I'm sure worth his salt.

Edited February 28, 2004 by Jinmyo (log)

[Marco_Polo]

Note: Shameless self-promotion below...

I've got a very nice Portuguese flor de sal available

I've got nothing to sell myself, but I can confirm on Jim's behalf that Portuguese flor de sal from the Algarve is truly a superior product, equal in quality to the better known French fleur de sel de Guerande from Brittany. I spent some time in the Algarve researching the subject for an article and was impressed by the hand-care and the quality of the finished salt.

Personally, I love coarse sel de Guerande (not fleur de sel de Guerande) to sprinkle over fish or meats before grilling over charcoal. The salty, burnt on crunch, for me, is the taste of summer.

My favourite for table use is Maldon sea salt from the marshes of Essex. It's very friable and I just love the way you can take a pinch in your fingers and crumble it over foods; light and delicate, it never seems to oversalt the food itself.

Texture and crystal structure seem to me as important as pure taste.

MP

[Brad S]

I was given a 1 kilo gift of Fleur de Sel de Camargue.

It is one of the finest salts i've yet to taste.

It is however very expensive, about $50 a kilo.

[Verjuice]

Haven't been able to find Malden Sea Salt locally in a long time. And the shipping costs more than the salt to have it mail ordered! 

Cynthia, they carry it at Wild Oats here (Santa Fe), and I know I've seen it somewhere else, too, but I'm forgetting where. Also, it's inexpensive.

My favorite salt!

[Cynthia G]

Thanks, Verjuice. Maybe they were just out last time we looked at Wild Oats....

[gus_tatory]

I've got a very nice Portuguese flor de sal available (about two-thirds of the pallet is still in my basement... I call it Lot's Wife), and it fits into a USPS priority mail pouch for low-cost shipping.

Go to my web site for details.

kind offer, Jim. thanks.

i'm just a little leery ordering white, powdery substances by mail given the current geo-political situation(s).

[fredbram]

and the mission for this weekend is to buy Malden salt and/or fleur de sel. 

Haven't been able to find Malden Sea Salt locally in a long time. And the shipping costs more than the salt to have it mail ordered!

I've been having trouble finding Maldon's at Wild Oats and Whole Foods in Denver. I solve the shipping cost thing (somewhat) by ordering 6 boxes at a time, which actually don't last all that long.

Maldon's I use for most everything--Table salt for pasta water and baking, and kosher salt for pickling and brining type things.

[skiplombardi]

I've lurked around here long enough to see how a discussion can turn into a cause celebre, but.....

I found this article while I was doing research for a piece I was writing on seasoning food. This author pretty well debunks the whole notion of "designer salt," and backs it up with quotes from a Chemistry professor (emeritus) at Penn.

And most notably--for me--is his assertion that FDA regulations require all salt to be at least 97.5% NaCl. If that's true, it doesn't leave much room for all those nifty minerals from Brittany.

Again, if this author is correct, I think the important issue with salt is the size of the crystals, not their source. OR...is fleur de sel imported without having to be subjected to scrutiny by the FDA?

I hope some of you follow this link and will have further comments. I'd certainly like more evidence yea or nay.

Best regards,

Skip Lombardi

http://www.skiplombardi.com

[Mottmott]

My addled brain can't seem to keep it straight: which is saltier by volume? Morton? Diamond?

[SBonner]

Just going over our kitchen inventory and thinking of salt. We currently have in use the following: Maldon, Red Hawaiian, and an organic Brittany. Any other gems out there I should know about and how are you using them?

Stephen Bonner

Edited March 3, 2005 by SBonner (log)

[TJHarris]

I think Maldon and Fleur de Sel are my favorite specialty salts. I do reserve those for special uses thought. I generally use Morton Kosher for normal usages.

[zeitoun]

Another variety is Kala Namak (more info here) or black indian rock salt. I know one store that carries it here in NY but I haven't tried using it yet. It can be purchased either finely or roughly crushed (pebble size).

Edited to add: i personally use Morton kosher for cooking and either grey salt or fleur de sel as garnish

Edited March 3, 2005 by zeitoun (log)

[emsny]

Bear in mind Jeffrey Steingarten's finding, after a series of blind tastings, that, with a very few, very weird exceptions, all salt TASTES the same once dissolved. So specific uses will be dictated by look and texture. My favorite table or finishing salt, for what it's worth, is Malden - it has the most beautiful structure, plus it is very easily crushed between the fingers: a great pleasure to handle.

[Wolfert]

Malden has been a personal favorite for years, sort of like an old boyfriend I never thought I would drop.

Recently, I purchased some of the Slow Food winning salt from Portugal via egulleteer Jim Dixon and found it incredible.. I'm not thinking this infatuation is

a 'fling.' it could last a long time.

[Jim Dixon]

Ms. Wolfert,

Your check is in the mail.

I first read about Necton flor de sal (Portuguese for fluer de sel) in an article by Corby Kummer in the Atlantic Monthly (no longer available free online, but a slightly different version is on the Slow Food site). At about the same time I realized that most of what I ate at home was being drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with coarse salt. So tracked down Necton, sent an email, and a little more than a year later I had emptied my bank account and had a pallet of salt in my basement. Our food has tasted better ever since.

For more info, including how to order some for yourself, follow the link to Real Good Food in my signature below.

Jim

[shelora]

I returned recently from Zihuatanejo in Guerrero Mexico with 10 kilos of the local sea salt. The regional salt there is hand harvested and sundried and is by far the best salt I have ever had. It is slightly citrusy and has a gentle salt taste from start to finish. Some salts hit you hard and dissipate quickly. This salt is magic. It's available in coarse and fine at the local market.

S

[Smithy]

I am very fond of The Salt Traders' Danish Viking-Smoked Salt. It has a lovely dark amber color and distinctive smoky flavor that goes especially well with pork dishes and some pasta dishes. It reminds me, actually, of some flavor notes found in certain sausages and hot dogs.

I'm glad to see some recommendations of other salt types. So far I've experimented with a Japanese Nazuna(?) sea salt and a Murray River Basin salt, and couldn't tell much difference from the regular Eden sea salt I usually keep around. I've been reluctant to blow money on further experiments, but with this thread's guidance I'll go exploring anew.

[Country Cook]

Smoked salts are great, I had some hickory salt on my eggs this morning it's like instant smoking but much less intrusive than liquid smoke (my old favorite).

[YoChefGregg]

Fresh French bread with butter, topped with Maldon sea salt is one of my favorite snacks.

[fifi]

Bumping this up because I am in the search of very fine salt, almost powdered in texture. Many years ago, it used to be fairly common and was sold as "popcorn salt," sometimes with butter flavor or plain. As I was salting the most gorgeous huge onion rings at my favorite burger joint a couple of weeks ago, I was dismayed that the regular table salt just kind of bounced off. These onion rings were so well done that there wasn't enough grease on them to catch the salt. That is when I remembered the really fine salt that we used to use on fried foods, like shrimp, as they came out of the frier. You actually use a lot less to get the right level of seasoning. Popcorn salt used to be in the grocery stores. Nope. And I have been to the usual places like Penzey's and Chef's Catalog and no dice.

Any ideas?

[scott123]

Put some table salt in the coffee grinder you use for spices. 30 seconds later, you've got popcorn salt. Clings wonderfully to nuts as well.

Edited February 5, 2006 by scott123 (log)

[fifi]

I am going to try that, scott. Oddly enough, the Morton's site show's the plain popcorn salt. I was talking to my sister and she has been looking for it, too . . . with the same result. We are puzzled.

[snowangel]

I am going to try that, scott. Oddly enough, the Morton's site show's the plain popcorn salt. I was talking to my sister and she has been looking for it, too with the same result. We are puzzled.

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I'll check my supermarket next time I'm there. Where in the grocery are you looking? It might be by popcorn, not with the rest of the salt in the spice section.