Staples. Not talking about the big box store, but rather things that I reach for so often that I feel they are essential to my cooking life. I’m a spice hoarder. I have whole shelves of tiny jars and tins that I do nothing with. A waste of space, yet, somehow, I just cannot quite be rid of them. Ditto oils and vinegars. Hot sauces, unopened and waiting, proliferate in my pantry. And holy bats! Do not get me started about the quantity of salts. Mercy!
Or maybe do get me started.
Many salts? I know, it sounds nutty, but if you have ever been to the The Meadow in Portland, Oregon, you have seen firsthand the extent of nerdiness that is a passion for salts. Some are so similar that it almost feels like a joke to call them different things. Can you actually taste the difference between salts? I believe you can, or at least I really like the idea. (And I am such a sucker for packaging!) There are two excellent books on salt, both by Marks: “Salt” by Mark Kurlansky and “Salted” by Mark Bitterman (who is not the same person as Mark Bittman).
Salt is essential to life, it is required to conduct nerve impulses, contract muscles and maintain the fluid balance in and around your cells, as well as to make things delicious. It is found all over the world. Some of it is mined and some of it is dehydrated sea water that can be made by boiling or by scraping evaporated salt off the surface of a drying field. Some of it is finely ground. Some of it is left in blocks to be grated. Some of it is left coarse, some of it grows into flaky crystals. What really matters is that it is salt, by which I mean that after the word “ingredients,” the only other word is “salt.” Always check, because you do not need anticaking agents or extra iodine in your life.
My cooking salt is La Baleine fine sea salt, because I had a dear chef friend years ago who picked up my Morton and said, “I hate your shitty salt, use this” and gifted me with a tall, blue, paper container of the good stuff. Since then, it is the fine salt I cook with, when I sauté, in sauces and for baking, but not the one I finish with, or my kosher salt choice, because they all get used for different things.
There are a lot of alternatives to the container with the umbrella-wielding girl on it. For kosher, I reach for Diamond Crystal, but this also is not the only option in the category. (Again, just be sure the only ingredient is salt.) Kosher salt was initially developed in the United States and is used for rubbing meat to remove the blood, or koshering it. It is the salt you want to use when making your pasta water “salty like the ocean.” (Sidetracking: Do boil your pasta in salt water. It will boil harder and better. But watch out for oversalting the sauce, as there is a lot of saltiness that will carry over.) Any time the salt is to dissolve entirely is a time for kosher salt. If you do not have anything else to cook with, grind it up; at the end of the day, it is just chunky salt.
I am going not to dive into the vast and saline ocean that is finishing salts, but I will wave my tippy toe over it. The classic, British, pyramid-shaped crystal found all over the world is Maldon, a flaky version for sprinkling atop cooked food – hence a finishing salt. Referring to Maldon is a bit like referring to brie. If you are into salt, you know what kind of salt I am talking about, just like if you are into cheese you know what kind of cheese I am talking about, generally. There are a lot of different versions and makers of flaky sea salt, which is the best for finishing, rather than a chunky salt. Finishing salts are crystals, developed by dehydrating sea water, that melt away when you eat them. They should enhance a dish overall, including a nice look, but not present a heavy hit of salt flavor.
They are made all over the world, including in our backyard: The salt sheds of Cape Cod were vital to the economy of that area and are still legendary. (The New England Historical Society has a really excellent brief article about them.) You can find local salt in the tourist shops on Martha’s Vineyard. It is chunkier than most finishing salts and very … dare I say salty?
The salt that is made from scraping the tops of salt flats is called fleur de sel, or the “flower of the ocean.” There are many examples of this kind of finishing salt from many parts of Europe, especially France and Spain. This salt is less bitey than others. It is rich in minerals such as calcium and magnesium, with a lower sodium content.
Which brings me nicely back to all those tiny bottles, boxes and packets littering my shelves. Many, many of them are flavored salts. I adore salt mixes. My ride or die is something called Camp Mix from New Hampshire. The company makes an original and a lemon variation. I am loyal to the original of salt, pepper, garlic, onion, celery salt (which I love) and white pepper. I use it for cooking and finishing. If I am stuck on a desert island I really hope I have a jar.
Some people love truffle, some hate it. I love it and I often use truffle salt – which used to be a sort of luxury but now seems to be everywhere. I like the black truffle ones. I am guessing there are various levels of truffliness, and I have tried only a few, but I do know that once opened they lose their kick quickly, and that the truffliness does not hold up well for cooking. Use it only as a finishing salt, IMO.
While there are a lot of mixes out there, you can also whip up your own. A couple of sprigs of thyme or rosemary in a bottle of salt for a couple of weeks will render you will an herb salt as good as one you can get from a fancy shop, and I bet you can make up other wonderful blends to suit your taste.
Stay tuned for more about my pantry staples. Coming soon. For now, dash out and get a few salts to play with, and get ready to give up a lot of space, because salts are super fun.
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