There's been a lot of talk about gourmet salts, and in fact we offer an excellent selection, but what's it all about?  What is so great about "gourmet" salt?

    Salt, used properly, does more than just make bland food taste better.  Steak, seasoned with coarse salt before AND after grilling, gives you delicious, juicy meat with a crunchy exterior.  Salad dressing, properly salted, gives your greens that popping fresh flavor.  Sprinkle flaky salt on top of a dark chocolate tart to bring out the intensity and richness. 

    There's a practical side of salt, also.  It inhibits the growth of bacteria, and pulls the moisture out of juicy vegetables like eggplant so they'll fry without getting soggy.  Salt, the right amount and kind, used properly, can transform your cooking.    Ultra fine salt gives an even coverage for sprinkling foods like popcorn.  Fine grain is suitable for all cooking.  Medium to coarse grain salts add sparkle and crunch to breads, meats, and fish.  Use your extra coarse salt for seasoning pasta water, creating beds for oysters on the half shell, brining, or for salt crusting cooking. 

    Many people are concerned about the effects of salt on high blood pressure and are therefore limited in the amount they may consume.  The American Medical Association and other health-advocacy groups have urged the FDA to limit the amount of sodium in processed foods. Of the 4,000 mg of sodium the average American adult consumes daily, about 75% is from processed foods.  Another 10% occurs naturally in fresh ingredients, and the balance is what we add in cooking and at the table.  

The USDA recommends that adults limit themselves to 2,300 mg of sodium a day, the amount in 1 tsp of salt.  Your doctor may recommend less depending on your age and health history.

    In general, use salt in moderation, eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, and maintain an active lifestyle. The fact is, we need a moderate amount of sodium in  our diet for good health. Follow your doctor's recommendations.  We should all be careful about our sodium intake, so you may as well use the good stuff and enjoy!
 

Here's a quick guide to some of the many different salts available today:

Table Salt:  The familiar, fine-grained salt we've all grown up with.  Anti-caking agents keep it flowing, and Iodine, an essential mineral for proper thyroid function and mental development, is often added.  Table salt is either mined from the earth or evaporated from seawater.  It's used for general, all around cooking, and preferred for baking because it measures uniformly and dissolves easily.

Flavored Salt:  The best contain naturally derived flavors and range from smokey to citrusy, to chili hot.  These add a nice hit of flavor to foods before serving.

Kosher Salt:  This is a coarse grained salt used for koshering meat (drawing the blood out) and often favored by many chefs for its clean taste and pinchable texture.  Use it in general cooking, salt crusting, brining, and rimming your margarita glasses.  To substitute kosher salt for regular table salt, use twice as much if using Diamond Crystal brand - it's pyramid shape adds volume, or just a little more if using flake-shaped Morton brand.

Flake Salt:  This salt has large, pretty crystals for a delicate crunch.  These crystals are thin, hollow pyramids which break easily into flakes and allows this salt to perch on food so you get a pop of saltiness when you take a bite.  Sprinkle this salt over a Caprese salad or dot it over a scoop of rich ice cream.

Sea Salt:  Made from evaporated seawater, comes in various forms.  Refined sea salt is generally the least expensive.  It has the dryness and uniform flavor of table salt without any additives.  Unrefined sea salts are moist, irregular shaped crystals that still retain trace elements, subtle flavors, and sometimes colors from the source.  French Fleur de Sel (flower of salt) is particularly prized by connoisseurs.  The delicate crystals form on top of evaporation ponds.  Also favored by gourmands is the coarser Sel Gris (grey salt), from the lower layers.  Sea salts are available in fine to coarse grains.  Use the fine textured salts for all-purpose cooking and seasoning.  Use the unrefined medium to coarse grained sea salts for stick-able toppings for dough, fish and meat.  Use the more expensive artisanal finishing salts at the table, where you can appreciate the flavor nuances.

adapted from Sunset Magazine, July 2008