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Salt is not just Salt!
Salt may be the most important ingredient in the kitchen. Thankfully it's in abundance and it may be the one commodity left that won't surge in price!
People often question why food at a restaurant tastes so much better then at home. We like to think it's the amount of training and time we put into it (wouldn't you hire a carpenter to build your house?) but I also think Chefs still haven't turned their backs on REAL butter and salt.
The proper amount of salt is obviously very important, but the type of salt is even more important.
Salt has played a much more significant part in history. The ancient Greeks traded salt for slaves resulting in the phrase "not worth his salt." Roman soldiers were paid in part with salt (the word salt comes from the Latin word salarium, meaning salary).
Like so many things salt has become trendy. Red salts from Hawaii, Jurassic salt from Utah and a long list of salts from Europe, including the smoked sea salt from England that we use on our prime rib and other roasted meats. Are the trendy salts overrated
or are some of the imported salts really worth up to thirty dollars a pound? You would have to make that call for yourself after trying them but I believe they have a place in the kitchen.
Table salt is what most people use. It is mined and processed to form small, uniform cubes. Additives are added to prevent caking. Most table salt is mined like coal or extracted by forcing water down into subterranean salt deposits. The brine is then pumped out and processed to form tiny, dense, cubes shapes that don't dissolve well.
Kosher salt is made by compacting granular salt between rollers which produce large irregular shapes. This shape allows the salt to easily draw blood from freshly butchered meats (part of the koshering process). Unlike table salt, most kosher salt does not contain additives.
Sea salt is created by flooding salt beds along coastlines. During the summer months the water evaporates and leaves large crystals. The different waters and minerals from the surrounding areas lend their flavors and profiles to create the "salts of the world".
Again these salts can get very expensive so use good judgment and remember a little salt goes a long way.
For basic cooking nothing beats 50 cents a pound Kosher salt. Kosher salt blends well and has a clean finish. I have found that most "gourmet" salts are better to finish food or garnish with. They seem to lose their unique quality in the cooking process. The exception to this would be the smoked sea salt that I referred to earlier.
A couple of salts that are favorites at our home are:
Fleur de Sel (flower of salt)
Created when the winds are calm and the days are warm. On these rare days grey
salt will "bloom lacy white crystal. This is then skimmed from the surface and allowed
to dry.
Maldon Sea Salt
This salt gets its delicate flavors from boiling the sea water to form hollow, pyramid shaped crystals that you can crush between you fingers.
Click here to try some salty recipes at home!
Bon Appetite!
Casey Belile
Belhurst Executive Chef
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