Share
Salt is the most important flavor enhancer in the world; almost no food item, be it sweet or savory, is complete without a pinch of the crystalline mineral. For thousands of years, people all over the world have harvested the mineral from a variety of sources, from oceans to mountains.
Maldon Sea Salt
Maldon Sea Salt is probably the most popular artisanal salt in the world. The company gets its name from Maldon, England, where it is headquartered. The town first commercially produced salt in AD 43, using salt ponds to dry brine from the River Blackwater. This method would remain the sole means through which farmers would be able to obtain the mineral for well over a thousand years, until the company was founded in 1882. The company was a part of a coal firm, which allowed it access to boilers and flues that would be repurposed to boil brines. The first batches of salt produced by the company would be made by boiling brine over fires over an intricate network of brick flues, as a result of which the salt crystallized in pyrimidine shapes, making it resistant to caking. The salt would be used as table salt up until the nineties, when chefs began to capitalize on the crystals’ unique shape, using it as a garnish instead of an inclusion on everything from brownies to tenderloin. There is no other finishing salt on the market that has the same cost-to-performance ratio as Maldon Sea Salt, which is why it continues to be the industry standard today.
Korean Bamboo Salt
Korean bamboo salt is the most expensive salt in the world, costing upwards of 200 USD for just half a kilogram. This steep cost can be attributed to the extremely labor-intensive process required to produce the salt. The salt is made by roasting Korean sea salt in bamboo segments that are sealed with yellow clay in nine different sessions that span over a period of 40–50 days. The salt has to be de-molded and ground each time it is roasted in an effort to increase purity and mineral concentrations. Each firing is carried out in a special kiln, with the ninth and final roast being the hottest, at around 1000°C. The finished salt is chopped by hand, after which it is bottled and sold. The salt is an important part of traditional Korean medicine and is also used as table salt. The salt imparts a distinctive smoky flavor to the food it is added to, with an intensity that is unique to the coarse purple-black chunks.
Himalayan Pink Salt
Himalayan Pink salt is mined from the Salt Range, a mountain range that is situated in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Almost all of the pink salt in the world can be traced back to the Khewra Salt Mine, situated on the foothills of the Salt Range. The harvested salt is in the form of large blocks, which are ground down to coarse granules or a fine powder similar in consistency to regular table salt. The salt is 98% pure, with 2% trace minerals responsible for the pink color and mild metallic taste that are characteristic of the granules. Himalayan salt is used around the world in a manner similar to regular table salt. Blocks of the salt are also fashioned into cutting boards, which may be used to serve unseasoned game or red meat. Himalayan salt is rarely iodized, which is why nutritionists don't recommend using it as a replacement for table salt unless supplemented with a multivitamin.
Hawaiian Sea Salt
The term is used interchangeably to refer to two different types of salts hailing from the big island. The "red" variant has a small amount of natural volcanic red clay added to it in an effort to increase the mineral content of the salt. The "black" variant contains activated charcoal, which is meant to help detoxify the body. Both salts are used as seasonings for traditional Hawaiian dishes, such as poke and jerky.
Herbed salt
Herbed salt is freshly ground in a 1:1 ratio, one part fresh herb and one part high-quality non-iodized sea salt. These salts have a multitude of uses in both traditional and contemporary cuisines. For example, rosemary salt is the salt of choice for curing fish for preparations like gravlax and as a finishing salt served with delicate cuts of meat such as tenderloin. Salts made this way are also a great way of preserving the flavor of fresh herbs, since the salts can last in the freezer for the better part of a year with negligible changes in flavor.
