Download Salt Information Guide

Salt Information Guide
Each sea salt has a distinctive look, taste and texture due to its trace mineral content, crystal shape and size.
Many gourmet sea salts are intended for use as a condiment or garnish rather than a seasoning, but they all
have that special quality of enhancing the flavor and finish of foods. It is our hope that this guide will give
you some insight into the nature of the different exotic natural sea salts we bring to you based on the many
variables that define them. As you become more familiar with the distinguishing features of each of our sea
salts we know you will enjoy experimenting with their many potential uses.
Blended Sea Salts
Salt artisans combine sea salt crystals with herbs, spices, dried fruits or
vegetables to create their own signature gourmet blends. Used as a spice rub on
beef, fish or poultry these aromatic sea salts permeate your meat with their
luscious flavors and smells. You can use blended sea salts to season soups and
sauces or sprinkle them on sandwiches and salads, there is a blended sea salt to
enhance any dish you wish to serve
Coarse Sea Salts
Coarse grain natural sea salt is the work horse of the gourmet sea salt trade.
These larger, fully developed sea salt crystals are preferred for cooking and
roasting, but they are also milled or ground into smaller size crystals for
exceptional finish and table salts. Coarse sea salts are used in the finest gourmet
blended and smoked sea salt products as well.
Cooking Sea Salts
Many chefs and gourmet cooks prefer natural sea salt when preparing their
favorite dishes. Broiling meat encased in a crust of sea salt is a healthy way to
reduce its fat content because the sea salt draws out and absorbs the fat, while
sealing in moisture and flavor. Coarse sea salt is well suited for cooking as it is
easy to measure with your fingers, less is required for flavoring foods and they
are relatively inexpensive and readily available in bulk. Try a blended sea salt
for roasting or broiling meats and vegetables for an intriguing change of taste.
Finish Sea Salts
These are sea salts that are enjoyed best when added to food just before eating.
They have a pleasing texture and will melt easily on the tongue. A high mineral
content imbues them with subtle flavors and a milder salty taste. When used as
a condiment it brightens food flavors and facilitates a balance between
sweetness and acidity by decreasing the sourness of acid and increasing the
sweetness of sugar. The best cut of meat, fresh fruit and vegetables, even
chocolate ice cream is enhanced by these exquisite sea salts. You only have to
try them once and you will never eat these foods without them again.
Flower of Salt - Fleur de Sel, Flor de Sel
The premier finish sea salt, this is a specific type of light fluffy finish salt
crystal that only forms on the surface of the water when the salinity of the
brine, the heat of the sun and the velocity of the wind are just right. These new
born crystals must be expertly harvested by raking them in as they form or they
will grow heavy and sink to the bottom of the polder. France, Italy, Portugal
and Indonesia have climates that favor the formation of Fleur de Sel crystals
and these hand crafted sea salts are widely considered the best in the world.
Flake Sea Salt
Flake sea salt is another great finish salt. It takes perfect environmental
conditions and formidable effort to create the true Fleur de Sel crystal. Some
enterprising salt makers in cooler climates invented processes using thermal
evaporation to emulate the light fluffy crystals of Fleur de Sel. These are called
Flake Sea Salts because the cooking process and pans used to evaporate the
brine creates flaky pyramid shaped crystals that are quite similar in texture and
feel to the Fleur de Sel crystal.
Hawaiian Sea Salt
This finish salt is well suited for special occasions because of its beautiful
presentation. Hawaiians have traditionally combined their natural sea salt with
red alaea clay or ground black lava and activated charcoal to create two
distinctive specialty salts. These amazing sea salts are used to flavor and
preserve food as well as being a vital part of traditional religious ceremonies.
Infused Sea Salt
These finish salts are typically created by traditional methods passed down
from generation to generation. Minerals and flavors will permeate the sea salt
crystals from the vessel used to contain the brine during the evaporation
process. Polders, the shallow clay pools commonly used in solar evaporation in
Brittany, will give their salt crystals a distinctive grey color and flavor because
of the type of clay used in the polder. Japanese salt artisans are known to infuse
bamboo or seaweed into their brine to give their sea salt its unique flavor.
Mined Salt
Halite, Himalayan Salt, Jurassic Salt, Rock Salt, Mineral Salt
Millions of years ago many salt water lakes and seas evaporated into thick
layers of halite or rock salt. Buried over time, some of these salt deposits have
been mined since the beginning of human civilization. In their natural state
some of these salts have strong earthy flavors of sodium and sulfur.
Organic Sea Salt
Salt is an edible mineral called Halite and like all minerals it is inorganic. Sea
Salt can be certified as organic in France, New Zealand and Wales. These
countries use strict criteria for the origin of the brine and the process by which
the salt crystals are formed to qualify these sea salt products as organic.
Grey Sea Salt
Sel Gris, Celtic Sea Salt
This infused coarse sea salt from Brittany gets much its color and flavor from
the grey clay polder it is evaporated in. When Fleur de Sel crystals sink to the
bottom of the polder, this is the crystal that is harvested. For centuries French
chefs have believed that this salt is superior to all others when creating their
cuisine.
Smoked Sea Salt
Everyone loves these hand crafted sea salts because they combine familiar
smoky flavors along with complex nuances to excite the taste buds. To create
these savory sea salts, salt artisans smoke sea salt crystals naturally over
smoldering hard woods such as mesquite, hickory, apple, alder, maple and oak.
Make your next barbeque an event to remember by using smoked sea salts on
your steaks, chicken or salmon. An ordinary bowl of nuts becomes gourmet
finger food with just few sprinkles of smoked sea salt.