Production of salt is just as much an art as that of cheese, olive oil and salami. It’s a delicate gift of the ocean, the sun, the wind and the ancient know-how of salt workers. Most of the world’s salt is harvested from salt mines or by evaporating seawater and other mineral-rich waters. Knowing the difference between types of salts and what they are used for can make a world of difference in the flavour of your dishes.
Gourmet du Village NEW Line of Salt Mixtures
Salt is chosen based on flavour burst, texture and color.
Impurities — including trace minerals — can affect both the color and taste of the salt.
The size of the grain also affects how the salty flavor bursts on your tongue. Salt with a larger grain size may have a larger flavour burst with shorter lingering taste than smaller grains.
However, if you allow the salt to dissolve in your dish, there shouldn’t be any major taste difference between plain refined salt and the other gourmet salts.
If you like to use your fingers to sprinkle salt on food, dry salts with a larger grain size are much easier to handle.
Kosher Salt
Jesse Tree’s Kosher Salt
Kosher salt dissolves fast and its flavor disperses quickly, so chefs recommend tossing it on everything from pork roast to popcorn. Chefs also find that kosher salt — due to its large flake size — is easier to pick up with their fingers and spread over food. Kosher Salt also is unlikely to have additives as do some table salts.
Kosher salt will have a different texture and flavor burst, but if you allow the salt to dissolve in the food, there really isn’t any difference compared to regular table salt.
Origin: Either the sea or the earth. Widely sold brands include Morton and Diamond Crystal, which are made using different methods.
Find Kosher Salt at Herma’s
Crystalline Sea Salt
Jesse Tree’s Dead Sea Salt
Use it for: Adding a pungent burst of flavor to just-cooked foods. These crystals will complement anything from a fresh salad to a salmon fillet.
Origin: Seas all over the world
Texture: Size of irregular crystals affects how fast the salt dissolves. It varies in color, depending on the minerals it contains (iron-rich red clay, for example, gives Hawaiian sea salt a reddish colour). These natural impurities can add a subtle briny, sweet, or even bitter flavor to the salts.
At Herma’s find…Atlantic Sea Salt, Red Hawaiian Salt, Oak Smoked Sea Salt, Mediterranean Sea Salt, Black Cyprus Flaked Sea Salt, Dead Sea Salt, Coarse Sea Salt from Guerande, France, Organic Hand-Harvested Guerande Sea Salt
24 K Coarse Sea Salt from Gurerande, France
24 K Coarse Sea Salt from Gurerande, France
Has a briny, slightly sweet flavour from its high mineral content and retains its natural grey hue.
Adds a fabulous taste and texture to grilled meats, poultry, fish or vegetables, tomatoes, melon or chocolates, especially atop homemade bread or baked in or as a fun treat in caramel syrup for banana splits.
Guérande salt has been harvested by hand in salt marshes of the Pays de la Loire for thousands of years.
Guérande coarse seasalt has been hand-harvested using traditional methods for over a thousand years and is well known for its culinary virtues. It is naturally gray, and it crystallizes on contact with the clay from which it takes its high trace element content.
Guérande Coarse Sea Salt for Court Bouillon
Flaked Sea Salt
The Original Maldon since 1882
Use it for: Bringing a complex flavor to steamed vegetables or shellfish. Take a pinch, crush the crystals between your fingertips and let them fall on freshly cooked food. This salt will add a hint of briny flavor.
Origin: England’s Essex coast is where the most popular brand, Maldon, is harvested.
Texture: Soft, sheer, pyramid-like flakes. This is the fastest-dissolving of all of the salt grains.
At Herma’s find Maldon and Maldon Smoked.
Fleur de Sel
Use it for: A special-occasion table salt. Spoon it into a salt cellar to be pinched, then sprinkled over food just before eating. Delicately flavored, it adds a perfect hint of saltiness to freshly sliced tomato or melon.
Origin: Coastal salt ponds in France. The caviar of sea salt, fleur de sel is hand harvested. Conditions have to be just right (lots of sun and wind) for it to “bloom” like a flower on the surface of the water.
Texture: Crystalline, which means that fleur de sel melts slowly in the mouth. Its earthy, pleasing flavor lingers on the tongue.
At Herma’s find Fleur Sea Salt.
Red Hawaiian Sea Salt
Red Hawaiian Sea Salt
This is an unrefined sea salt that has been mixed with an iron oxide rich volcanic clay, which gives the seasoning its characteristic brick red color . It is part of Native Hawaiian cuisine and is used in traditional dishes such as kalua pig, poke, and pipikaula (Hawaiian jerky). It was also traditionally used to cleanse, purify and bless tools.
Himalayan Pink Salt
Cape Herb & Spice Himalayan Pink Salt and Sriracha Salt
Himalayan Pink Salt is often times mined in Pakistan.
Mined from ancient salt deposits deep within the Himalayan mountains, this beautiful, naturally salmon-coloured salt is world renowned for its purity, colour and mineral content.
Many people prefer the flavor of Himalayan salt over other types. However, the main difference is simply the color, which can make any dish visually appealing.
Use Himalayan salt on soft pretzels, baked in sweets and sprinkled over steaks. Natural salt will absorb the meat juices while cooking, so your steak will retain its flavor. Once you try it once, you’ll never want to go back to an unsalted steak.
Sriracha Salt
Tangy Thai heat of sun-ripened chilies infused into all-natural flake sea salt. Use in soups, sauces, noodles & pizza.
Two NEW Collections of Salt Mixtures
1. Flor de Sal Deluxe Collection
This all-natural collection contains 5 amazing salt mixtures made of only organic ingredients, each designed to serve specific types of dishes.
Sri Lanka
Turmeric, coriander seeds, fenugreek, and cardamom give the salt an exotic note, while the addition of chili and black pepper provide spiciness.
Use with Asian dishes, rice, quinoa, grilled chicken…even chocolate desserts.
Rosa
The delicateness of Flor de Sal is combined with dried rose petals, lemon myrtle and black pepper.
Use withgrilled dishes, cream cheese and salads.
Olivas Negras
This salt contains roasted Kalamata olives that combine powerfully and intensively with the pure taste of Flor de Sal d’Es Trenc Natural. It compliments Mediterranean cuisine and refines dishes such as pasta, meat, fish, salads, tomato, mozzarella and crostini.
Mediterráneo
This salt consists of a variety of aromatic organic herbs such as rosemary, savoury, marjoram, thyme and oregano.
Try this Mediterranean salt mixture with salads, meat, pizza, pasta and cocktails.
Natural
This natural sea salt is characterized by its harmonious taste and its high content of minerals and magnesium – slightly sweet and crunchy.
This original Mallorcan Sea Salt enhances the flavour of any food.
2. Gourmet du Village
They offer a NEW line of salts which are housed in a small canister with mini wooden spoon. They are made of the finest quality, all natural, unrefined with no artificial flavors or chemicals, prepared with artisanal craftsmanship.
Black Hawiian (finishing salt on seafood, grilled Pork or the rim of your drink)
Ghost Pepper ( Asian, Indian or Mexican dishes, even for spicy Chocolate)
Roasted Garlic (finishing and topping, cooking or dry brining, rubs and marinades)
Lemon ( finishing touch for your fish and seafood dishes, salad, even try it as a rimmer with your cocktails)
Smoked Applewood (fish and veggie dishes but hearty enough for Pork or Poultry)
Spanish Rosemary (add to soups or sauces, to liven up nuts or popcorn for snacking, surprisingly good with desserts such as caramel or those featuring lemons)
