Fancy Salts

For my birthday, my friend Kate gave me a whole bag full of fancy salts. My brain immediately thought “salted caramels” but I know I need to expand my repertoire. But that required a bit of research on the Salt Works website.

Here’s a bit about what I learned about the salts in my birthday bag…

Alaea: has a bit of Hawaiian red clay in it. Is used for roasting or grilling meat and in traditional Hawaiian dishes like Kalua Pig and Hawaiian jerky and poke.

Salish: alderwood smoked salt used by PNW native Americans to smoke salmon and other meats

Mediterranean: harvested in the south of Italy. Has a mild flavor and bright white color.

Murray River: comes from the Murray River in Australia. This flaky pink salt gets its color from carotene, a salt tolerant algae. Best as a finishing salt.

Fumee De Sel: this salt is smoked with wood from Chardonnay oak wine barrels. This salt has a unique flavor that can be used in many different ways.

Cyprus Flake: light and fluffy and used to garnish fish or vegetable dishes or in baking.

Himalayan Pink: one of the purest salts on earth mined deep in the Himalayan Mountains, this has both healing and nutritional properties. Use to rim drink glasses or rub into meats or vegetables for grilling or roasting.

Hiwa Kai: this dark black salt gets its color from activated charcoal. Evaporated in the sun, it has numerous health benefits. For finishing, salads, meats and seafood.

Sel Gris: also known as gray salt. This salt has a high moisture content and a gray color from the clay in the salt ponds. It is great for cooking or baking. Grind it fine to sprinkle on nuts or popcorn.

I promise to use them on more than just caramels… ;o)