# salt



## mpukas (Apr 26, 2012)

OK, guys, I'm gonna rant a little and fill you all in on one of my favorite things that I attribute my GooD FooD to - Celtic Sea Salt. 
The brand I use is f/ Selina Naturally. You can buy it most health food stores, Whole foods, etc. The website sells it cheapest, and in larger quantities, but they charge quite a bit for shipping. It can be found on Amazon w/ free shipping. 

What do I like about it? Well, besides the supposed health benefits, it just plain tastes good! I've been using some sort of sea salt for, like forever, as I can't stand Kosher salt. I know, I know, everyone raves about Kosher salt and how flaky it is, and blah blah blah. Can't stand it - it tastes acrid and sour to me, and that taste is imparted to food. Celtic Sea Salt has a pure, clean, almost sweet flavor, and it enhances the flavor of food dramatically without added any salty tones or other weird flavors - provided you don't use too much. 

One caveat - unless you spend the extra bucks for the fine ground stuff, it's really really coarse (and it's wet). Too coarse to be useful if I'm honest. So what then? I use a mortar and pestle and grind small batches to the size I want, and keep the ground salt in a covered sugar bowl nest to the pepper mill and olive oil bottles. 

About the only thing I use Kosher salt for is boiling water for pasta or brines, as the CSS is too expensive for my blood to wash down the drain. For everything else, it's only CSS. Can be used to sprinkle on a protein destined for a grill or pan, used as a seasoning in a sauté, or as a finishing salt on fruit such as melons or strawberries w/ balsamic syrup. Hope you find this useful and try it out for yourselves! Cheers! mpp


----------



## Crothcipt (Apr 26, 2012)

Sea salt is always better (in my book) than most other salt. The flavor profile is changed by regions. I have not tried this one myself, but it sounds good.

One thing I wouldn't switch from Kosher to sea would be margaritas. I can't stand Tequila so its not a problem.


----------



## GlassEye (Apr 26, 2012)

I have been using Celtic Sea Salt a fair amount recently, good stuff. I also like to use Japanese sea salt, Himalayan pink and some others. A good sea salt can definitely elevate a dish.


----------



## Eamon Burke (Apr 26, 2012)

Crothcipt said:


> One thing I wouldn't switch from Kosher to sea would be *margaritas*. I* can't stand Tequila* so its not a problem.



Can't decide if that deserves a :scratchhead: or a :bat:.


----------



## apicius9 (Apr 27, 2012)

I use alot of Hawaiian red salt  They also have a coarse white which I get mostly because it's local, good for pasta water, sauces etc. - just a little coarser than the standard kosher salt. Just ran out of fleur de sel recently. In Europe I was using a lot of a greyish, wet French sea salt, from the Bretagne IIRC. Oh, there was also an English flaky salt that I liked but haven't seen in a while - Maldon? (sp?). I also wanted to eventually make a few seasoned/scented salts like truffle salt etc. Any other ideas for such scented salts? (not sure what else to call them). 

Stefan


----------



## TB_London (Apr 27, 2012)

apicius9 said:


> In Europe I was using a lot of a greyish, wet French sea salt, from the Bretagne IIRC. Oh, there was also an English flaky salt that I liked but haven't seen in a while - Maldon? (sp?).
> Stefan



These are the 2 that I use for everything


----------



## Crothcipt (Apr 27, 2012)

BurkeCutlery said:


> Can't decide if that deserves a :scratchhead: or a :bat:.



Ok you asked, so here it goes. when I was about 25 I was seeing a stripper, that loved tequila. Long story short. 3 days of Tequila, and 3 days of being sick I still have a hard time even smelling it. Talk about having a hard time bar tending...


----------



## TB_London (Apr 27, 2012)

Haha everyone has a death drink, I still can't go near jd or pastis uke:


----------



## oivind_dahle (Apr 27, 2012)

I go for Whiskey, and I like it the way I like my girls.
18 years old and mixed with coke


----------



## Deckhand (Apr 27, 2012)

I want to get some fleur de sel salt to make some domino potatoes.


----------



## DeepCSweede (Apr 27, 2012)

Crothcipt said:


> Long story short. 3 days of Tequila, and 3 days of being sick I still have a hard time even smelling it.



Does the smell of strippers and the sight of glitter give you the same reaction?:O


----------



## bprescot (Apr 27, 2012)

I've tried some varieties, though strangely not the celtic sea salt. We use a Camargue sea salt usually.


----------



## DeepCSweede (Apr 27, 2012)

I have been eyeing up some Himalayan Pink lately, possibly a block for a new cutting block j/k. Has anyone used one for serving / cooking?


----------



## rahimlee54 (Apr 27, 2012)

Any tried to Portuguese flor da sal? I saw it at a spice shop last week and was intrigued.


----------



## Deckhand (Apr 27, 2012)

rahimlee54 said:


> Any tried to Portuguese flor da sal? I saw it at a spice shop last week and was intrigued.


I think it is the portuguese name for fleur de sel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleur_de_sel


----------



## Eamon Burke (Apr 28, 2012)

Fleur de Sel is great for finishing, but in my limited experience, if you are going to notice the subtle difference between it and any other high-quality sea salt, and difference between varieties is going to be a moot point, because the difference between BATCHES of the stuff is just as stark. Fleur De Sel from this one region this month is totally different from the month before. The good news is, it's all delicious. I just would be skeptical of someone swearing by one variety of Fleue De Sel over another, especially Portugal VS France.


----------



## Eamon Burke (Apr 28, 2012)

DeepCSweede said:


> I have been eyeing up some Himalayan Pink lately, possibly a block for a new cutting block j/k. Has anyone used one for serving / cooking?



Got one for my wife for Christmas. The coolest thing is cutting a Grapefruit and just throwing the fruit on there and sliding it right off into a bowl. Seasons perfectly.

We used it for Sushi too. Don't leave a cucumber on it--it will grow a pit!

Haven't seared on it yet, partially because when you do, it turns it whitish brown and it's just so pretty right now.


----------



## Crothcipt (Apr 29, 2012)

:yuck::sofa::couch:


DeepCSweede said:


> Does the smell of strippers and the sight of glitter give you the same reaction?:O


lol. It depends on the stripper.


----------



## mano (Apr 29, 2012)

Apparently, a valid study was done desolving different salts in some water and the result was no appreciable difference in taste. 

I think there's a difference so for years we've used Sel Marin Gris, which some salt expert on the radio said was his every day salt. He talked about all sorts of esoteric salts to pair with particular foods. My eyes glazed over. We have some pink Hawaiian salt that went unused until I put it in a fancy salt box on the counter. Used it on fish and added a pinch to aged balsamic and unfiltered EVOO and it was terrific!

We get course salt and put it in our Unicorn salt grinder.

That celtic salt is $24/lb!? No way!


----------



## Bulldogbacchus (Apr 29, 2012)

oivind_dahle said:


> I go for Whiskey, and I like it the way I like my girls.
> 18 years old and mixed with coke



+1


----------



## DwarvenChef (Apr 29, 2012)

Going to see if we have some at work, Always looking for upgrades to the pantry 

I switched from Mortons Koser salt to Diamond KS. While I liked the consistance of mortons I just can't get past the metalic taste (to me) Diamond KS doesn't have that so far. But as far as a finishing salt I'm always on the lookout for something interesting. Tried a smoked seasalt and I still need to work on ideas for it, kind of on the fence. Also picked up a coarse seasalt from work that has a higher mineral content but tastes nothing like the mortons so I have been experimenting with it as a water/marinade salt.

Hope to find this on the shealf as I'm making my list to go shopping right now


----------



## brainsausage (Apr 29, 2012)

oivind_dahle said:


> I go for Whiskey, and I like it the way I like my girls.
> 18 years old and mixed with coke



I like this


----------



## Mike9 (Jul 24, 2012)

I just got some Celtic Sea Salt and some Himalayan pink in today. The difference in taste from Kosher is dramatic. I'll use Kosher for salting water for pasta, etc. but the Celtic for seasoning and pink for finishing will be a nice upgrade.


----------



## Keith Neal (Jul 24, 2012)

No one has mentioned Maldon. Some folks rave about it. I'm not sure it is that much better than Fleur de Sel, but it is nice.


----------



## Tristan (Jul 25, 2012)

Maldon beats fluer de sel??? I've been using Maldon off the shelf from the supermarket, but just recently splurged on a bucket (much cheaper this way) of fluer de sel to find out what all the fuss was about. I hope this doesn't spoil it for me.


----------



## Dusty (Jul 25, 2012)

There are different grades of flour de sel, the best stuff tastes like limestone and is far nicer than maldon, which I also like. 

I use at home a Sicilian sea salt that is my go to for everything. 

Last year I had some smoked Celtic sea salt that was frankly awesome.


----------



## clayton (Jul 25, 2012)

Which fleur de sel would you recommend?

I am a big Maldon fan, although since they changed the box the crystals seem to have changed a little shape wise too.

Anyway if better than Maldon I would really like to try some of the good fleur de sel.


----------



## Keith Neal (Jul 25, 2012)

Fleur de Sel De Guerande is what I have, and it is marvelous, but I don't have a lot to compare it with. You can get it on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003CHQEG2/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


----------



## mhlee (Jul 25, 2012)

Maldon and Fleur de Sel are two different animals, IMHO. Maldon is light and consists of larger, thin flakes than this fleur de sel: 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002FGY9O/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 

This fleur de sel consists of crystals that are more squared off and noticeably crunchier and denser. I personally use Maldon because of its texture - the fine flakes of Maldon dissolve nicely and don't add a crunch that the fleur de sel can add. 

To me, Maldon has a more delicate and pure flavor, where as the fleur de sel has a noticeable mineral flavor. Also, the clean, pure flavor of Maldon matches with a larger variety of foods, whereas the fleur de sel seems to match best with seafood.


----------



## SameGuy (Jul 26, 2012)

Keith Neal said:


> Fleur de Sel De Guerande is what I have, and it is marvelous, but I don't have a lot to compare it with. You can get it on Amazon.
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003CHQEG2/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20



My everyday seasoning salt is La Baleine iodized sea salt from France (available in every supermarket here), while my heavy-duty (pasta water, etc.) is regular iodized small-crystal table salt (Sifto or Windsor/Morton brand). But my specialty salts of choice are Fleur de sel de Guérande and Flor de sal d'Es Trenc from Mallorca, Spain. That one is flavored with hibiscus and gives a unique twist to almost any fresh vegetable or fish plate.


----------



## SameGuy (Jul 26, 2012)

David Rocco's _Dolce Vita_ had an episode about Sicily and featured Sicilian salt harvesting. While I don't like Rocco (he's too Spiccoli for me, always giggling and mugging for the camera), it's an interesting series and episode. They showed how to make flavored or scented salts (lemon), and used it on "Sicilian Sashimi."


----------



## rahimlee54 (Jul 26, 2012)

Has anyone ever bought this stuff http://www.worldmarket.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11554712 they have a 2.5 lb bag for 
$5 bucks which is a really good price. I saw it yesterday in my local store.


----------



## foreleft (Jul 29, 2012)

This is where I usually buy from:

http://www.saltworks.us/sea-salt.asp

You get a pretty good deal on 5 pound bags, Baleine $12.75, sel gris $21.20, and Fleur de sel $80.20 shipping is free. 

I usually keep Diamond Crystal, Sel Gris, and Bali Pyramid (similar to Maldon) on hand at home. Was thinking about picking up a bag of Himalayan Pink or one of the black Hawaiian salts on my next order. They do a whole line of flavored salts too but I've never tried one.


----------



## ecchef (Jul 29, 2012)

Will be checking out this place this week: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izGYn7J99vY


----------



## Bulldogbacchus (Jul 29, 2012)

oivind_dahle said:


> I go for Whiskey, and I like it the way I like my girls.
> 18 years old and mixed with coke



Oivind, you crack me up. If you ever come to Texas, I'm buying the drinks until we can't drink anymore


----------



## [email protected] (Jul 29, 2012)

I love natural salt from Japan... they have a rich flavor to it...

I also want to visit salt evaporation ponds along with Shio no Michi (&#22633;&#12398;&#36947...

FYI: Shio no Michi was an old kaid&#333;, commonly used roads, in ancient Japan and was used to transport salt from the ocean to the inland portions of central Honsh&#363;. In the Middle Ages, salt was brought both from oceans to Shinano Province for processing. The road leading from the Sea of Japan to Shinano Province was called the Chikuni Kaid&#333; (&#21315;&#22269;&#34903;&#36947, whereas the road leading from the Pacific Ocean was called the Sansh&#363; Kaid&#333; (&#19977;&#24030;&#34903;&#36947 

The history of Shio no Michi is full of interesting stories and culturally very rich. 

Is there similar places/roads in the US? I'm very curious about it.


----------



## SameGuy (Jul 29, 2012)

Thanks for the Saltworks link. They seem to have a better selection among the bulk sizes, but I don't mind; Himalayan makes for the best yeast-baking salt.


----------



## obtuse (Jul 30, 2012)

Japanese hand harvested salt is excellent. I was gifted a bag brought back from japan by a friend. Korean sea salt is another excellent everyday salt and very affordable.


----------

