Sea Salt or Rare Crystals

[andiesenji]

It may seem strange to some people but I "collect" salts from various places around the world.

Since it doesn't spoil, it will still be good when I am long gone as long as it is kept dry and clean.

I use Diamond Crystal kosher salt for my general cooking. I also have pickling salt for (of course) pickling.

There there are the so-called "gourmet" salts which I have collected over the years.

Lima French Atlantic salt which is a moist salt and has to be kept sealed or it solidifies into a solid lump. La Baleine Sel de Mer, fine, medium and coarse. Didier Aube's Sel Gris Marin from Guérande and Fleur de Sel de Camarque.

Pacific "organic" sea salt from New Zealand, fine and coarse. Halen Mon from Wales (plain and smoked) and Maldon Salt from England.

Hawaiian pink sea salt.

Black salt from India (very strong aroma, has to be kept tightly sealed).

I have a small container of salt a friend sent me from South Africa but it has never been opened.

I also have a large jar of "Real Salt" from Ogden, Utah (mined sea salt) which is white with tan flecks - Real Salt also certified kosher....

and 2 1/2 kilos of Mexican sea salt from Colima, brought back from Mexico by neighbors who paid 20 cents American for the more than 5-pound bag.

I also have some huge salt crystals sent to me by one of my cousins who found them while he was exploring around the salt springs in southern Illinois.

There are other gourmet sea salts and eventually I will try to collect all available.

It is sort of like my collection of hot sauces. It gets to be a rather mild obcession, I will never use all of them but it is fun to keep adding to the number.

[Susan in FL]

It may seem strange to some people but I "collect" salts from various places around the world.

That is awesome!

[balex]

I also have a large jar of "Real Salt" from Ogden, Utah (mined sea salt) which is white with tan flecks - Real Salt also certified kosher....

This is a joke, right?

[andiesenji]

I also have a large jar of "Real Salt" from Ogden, Utah (mined sea salt) which is white with tan flecks - Real Salt  also certified kosher....

This is a joke, right?

Not a joke see the link:

Real Salt

[pintchow]

I swear by Maldon sea salt, for its crisp clean flavor. I don't use a lot of salt but when I do, a touch of the pure crystals does wonders. Not to be wasted in pasta water though. About $5 for a box.

I also have the Hawaiian pink salt, best as a colorful prop in the kitchen, not much flavor.

Kosher salt, I use as all-purpose..to wash the fishiness from seafood (yes, sad that I live in SF and cannot find super fresh fish),... and add sweetness to pineapple (yes, also sad that I can manage to find sour pineapples).

I have the 'Salt' book..interesting...but I'd rather read one of Nigella's (Lawson) books for entertainment..she has such wit..I digress...

Anyway, happy salting. Is anyone going to branch out to talk about soy sauce?

[balex]

I also have a large jar of "Real Salt" from Ogden, Utah (mined sea salt) which is white with tan flecks - Real Salt  also certified kosher....

This is a joke, right?

Not a joke see the link:

Real Salt

But this is rock salt not sea salt. All rock salt was originally sea salt. (IANAGeologist).

Aren't they just "lying" when they call it sea salt?

(edited to add two uselessl links salt info and

salt institute)

Edited July 13, 2004 by balex (log)

[Moopheus]

As I toss a heaping handful of sea salt into my pasta water I am again dumbstruck at the difference in costs between sea salt in Italy and in the USA. I buy a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of lovely, minerally tasting sea salt for about $.15 US. In the USA prices are so much higher than this it is incomprehensible.

Why?

I just bought a 1 kilo bag of Italian sea salt for $2, at a pricey Brooklyn boutique store. So not quite as cheap as in Italy, but given basic import costs not so bad. Much cheaper than any other sea salt or fleur de sel on the shelf. I figure the price of salt isn't worth worrying about too much--this one bag will probably be enough for several years.

I use a little salt in my pasta water, but not a lot. I don't like it if it tastes salty.

[FunJohnny]

Just to amplify what was said elsewhere in this thread -- I think one salts pasta water because that way the pasta will absorb the salty flavor. Once fully cooked, the pasta is saturated and won't absorb any additional flavor. So if you think salt is a needed additive for flavor's sake you need to have the cooking fluid salty. For those of us with blood pressure or other circulatory issues not a good idea, but over time, and with better drugs, I've kinda struck up a compromise -- I add a little bit and tell myself its salty enough .