Salt is finding itself regularly as an ingredient, not just in savoury but, in sweet dishes too. You can’t move for salted caramel chocolate and desserts… not that I’m complaining, I love the stuff! Gourmet salt is the obvious next step in the seasoning’s journey.
I fell in love with Jacobsen Salt Company’s exquisite salt flakes when I made Alison Roman’s salted butter chocolate chunk shortbread. Alas, their gourmet salt isn’t available here in the UK.
Thankfully, there are a lot of others from which to choose. Take your pick from the three above, or match your salt to the dish you’re making. Go in search of Hawaiian sea salt or alaea, which gets its red colour from mineral-rich, volcanic clay which gives it a very earthy taste. Hawaiians traditionally use it in raw fish dishes and for making salted, dried beef.
Rare Persian salt, on the other hand, has a mild flavour and is dotted with beautiful sapphire blue rock crystals. It’s recommended for coating the rim of your Margarita glass!
Egyptian frost salt – looks just like… frost! It has a dry, soft and feathery texture. It’s very slow to dissolve, so would suit sprinkling over the top of dishes before they go into the oven.
Korean bamboo salt, (also know as jukyum or jukyeom), consists of sea salt that has been kiln-roasted inside bamboo up to 9 times. Traditionally, it’s used as a general health aid however, it’s recently been claimed to inhibit the growth of certain types of cancers in mice.
- Giuseppe Giusti Balsamic Vinegar of Modena-infused Sicilian sea salt 153g: £6.99, Selfridges
- Fleur de Sel de Guérande 250g in linen gift bag: £18.59, eBay
- Rivsalt pink Himalayan rock salt with grater and stand: £24.95, Harvey Nichols
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