Salt Information Guide

Natural Sea Salt

Each sea salt has a distinctive look, taste and texture due to the salinity in the water that produced the salt, its trace mineral content, crystal shape and size.  Some gourmet sea salts are best used as a finishing salt on foods that are already prepared or as a cooking salt to be applied before the cooking process. Gourmet sea salts are naturally produced and typically don't contain any chemicals like bleach or anti-caking agents like Ferro Cyanide.  Unlike most processed salts, naturally produced sea salts contain trace minerals that promote good health.

Natural sea salts have a stronger flavor and taste than is usually about 2 to 3 times stronger than processed salts and you subsequently need less sea salt to achieve your desired flavor profile.  Many food production companies use natural sea salt opposed to processed salt to create lower sodium food products.  Infused gourmet sea salts like truffle and Smoked Bacon Chipotle add dynamic flavor to gourmet food dishes and they are the craze from gourmet cooks to the top chefs in the World. 

Blended Sea Salts

Coarse Sea Salts

Coarse grain natural sea salt is the work horse of the gourmet sea salt trade. These larger, fully developed sea salt crystals are preferred for cooking and roasting, but they are also milled or ground into smaller size crystals for exceptional finish and table salts. Coarse sea salts are used in the finest gourmet blended and smoked sea salt products as well.

Cooking Salts

Many chefs and gourmet cooks prefer natural sea salt when preparing their favorite dishes. Broiling meat encased in a crust of sea salt is a healthy way to reduce its fat content because the sea salt draws out and absorbs the fat, while sealing in moisture and flavor. Coarse sea salt is well suited for cooking as it is easy to measure with your fingers, less is required for flavoring foods and they are relatively inexpensive and readily available in bulk. Try a blended sea salt for roasting or broiling meats and vegetables for an intriguing change of taste.

Finishing Salts

These are sea salts that are enjoyed best when added to food just before eating. They have a pleasing texture and will melt easily on the tongue. A high mineral content imbues them with subtle flavors and a milder salty taste. When used as a condiment it brightens food flavors and facilitates a balance between sweetness and acidity by decreasing the sourness of acid and increasing the sweetness of sugar. The best cut of meat, fresh fruit and vegetables, even chocolate ice cream is enhanced by these exquisite sea salts. You only have to try them once and you will never eat these foods without them again.

Flower Of Salt - Fleur De Sel, Flor De Sel

The premier finish sea salt, this is a specific type of light fluffy finish salt crystal that only forms on the surface of the water when the salinity of the brine, the heat of the sun and the velocity of the wind are just right. These new born crystals must be expertly harvested by raking them in as they form or they will grow heavy and sink to the bottom of the polder. France, Italy, Portugal and Indonesia have climates that favor the formation of Fleur de Sel crystals and these hand crafted sea salts are widely considered the best in the world.

Flake Sea Salt

Flake sea salt is another great finish salt. It takes perfect environmental conditions and formidable effort to create the true Fleur de Sel crystal. Some enterprising salt makers in cooler climates invented processes using thermal evaporation to emulate the light fluffy crystals of Fleur de Sel. These are called Flake Sea Salts because the cooking process and pans used to evaporate the brine creates flaky pyramid shaped crystals that are quite similar in texture and feel to the Fleur de Sel crystal.

Hawaiian Sea Salt

This finishing salt is well suited for special occasions because of its beautiful presentation. Hawaiians have traditionally combined their natural sea salt with red alaea clay or ground black lava and activated charcoal to create two distinctive specialty salts. These amazing sea salts are used to flavor and preserve food as well as being a vital part of traditional religious ceremonies.

Himalayan Salt

Millions of years ago many salt water lakes and seas evaporated into thick layers of halite or rock salt. Buried over time, some of these salt deposits have been mined since the beginning of human civilization. In their natural state some of these salts have strong earthy flavors of sodium and sulfur.

Himalayan Pink Salt is mined at the base of the Khewra mountain range.

Infused Sea Salt

These finishing salts are typically created by traditional methods passed down from generation to generation. Minerals and flavors will permeate the sea salt crystals from the vessel used to contain the brine during the evaporation process. Polders, the shallow clay pools commonly used in solar evaporation in Brittany, will give their salt crystals a distinctive grey color and flavor because of the type of clay used in the polder. Japanese salt craftsmen are known to infuse bamboo or seaweed into their brine to give their sea salt its unique flavor.

Mined Salt (Halite, Jurassic, Rock, Mineral)

Millions of years ago many salt water lakes and seas evaporated into thick layers of halite or rock salt. Buried over time, some of these salt deposits have been mined since the beginning of human civilization. In their natural state some of these salts have strong earthy flavors of sodium and sulfur.

Organic Sea Salt

Salt is an edible mineral called Halite and like all minerals it is inorganic. Sea Salt can be certified as organic in France, New Zealand and Wales. These countries use strict criteria for the origin of the brine and the process by which the salt crystals are formed to qualify these sea salt products as organic.

Grey Sea Salt (Sel Gris, Celtic)

This infused coarse sea salt from Brittany gets much its color and flavor from the grey clay polder it is evaporated in. When Fleur de Sel crystals sink to the bottom of the polder, this is the crystal that is harvested. For centuries French chefs have believed that this salt is superior to all others when creating their cuisine.

Smoked Sea Salt

Everyone loves these hand crafted sea salts because they combine familiar smoky flavors along with complex nuances to excite the taste buds. To create these savory sea salts, salt craftsmen smoke sea salt crystals naturally over smoldering hard woods such as mesquite, hickory, apple, alder, maple and oak. Make your next barbecue an event to remember by using smoked sea salts on your steaks, chicken or salmon. An ordinary bowl of nuts becomes gourmet finger food with just few sprinkles of smoked sea salt.