"Big Salt"?
A story in today's Washington Post introduced the concept of "Big Salt" -- ostensibly, the Salt Institute is a powerful political force in Washington (see earlier post). Later in the day, I had a chance to read another story that quotes another expert: "Salt is big."
What a difference between the stories.
Peggy Townsend's "Salt Rocks " story in the August 30 Santa Cruz Sentinel (yes, I'm a bit backed up because of travel) makes the point that gourmet salts are all the rage despite a few naysayers like Robert Wolke:
Chemistry professor and author of the book "What Einstein Told his Cook," Robert Wolke told the Associated Press that mineral concentrations in salt are so small they don't contribute any meaningful taste to food. No matter how "unprocessed" gourmet salt companies say their products are, the act of evaporation - whether by wind, sun or machine - purifies out most minerals. And while someone might be able to tell the difference between certain salts when tasted raw, the flavors fade to nothing when added to food.
A salt-using chef begs to differ:
Michael Rech, executive chef at the California Culinary Academy, says no one will taste the difference if you use fleur de sel in the water you are using to cook rice.
But use it in pate or foie gras "and you get this all-around flavor of salt which you don't get from an iodized salt," he says. And, when you want to set out salt for a dinner party, nothing is better than a small bowl of blushing pink Himalayan salt or stunning red Hawaiian salt crystals.
"All you need is a pinch of the gourmet salts," says Jennifer Jones, who owns Jones and Bones food and kitchen shop in Capitola. "It's like a good olive oil or a balsamic vinegar."
Jones, who carries 13 kinds of salts and offers free salt tastings, says customers have long sought out the fleur de sel but with the popularity of rubs and brining are now branching out even further to flavored salts like fennel salt and truffle salt to enhance their dishes.
People are dusting lavender salt on scrambled eggs and sprinkling truffle salt into mashed potatoes. They're brining fish in Hawaiian sea salt and rubbing salt seasoned with cranberry, rosemary and orange oil into turkey or chicken.
"Salt," says Jones, "is big."
That's the kind of "Big Salt" we like to talk about.
