Artisanal Salts
Any home cook loves to discover a new herb or spice to use in their favorites recipes. Over the last few years artisan salts have become all the rage in gourmet cooking catalogs and magazines. Not only do they add different dimensions of flavor to a dish than regular salt, they are beautiful in presentation as a garnish, presented in salt cellars or decoratively sitting in one’s cooking area.
Pictured above, on the left, is a French salt purchased in Western France on a recent vacation. It is Sel de Guerande and is the finest Fleur de Sel, which is a hand-harvested sea salt. Believe it or not, the salt itself, although perhaps not packaged as beautifully, is available at Amazon.com for really reasonable prices.
On the right is a pink Himalayan salt. This salt actually gets its color from trace amounts of magnesium, calcium and copper from the beds where it is mined. This salt is so pretty, all practical purposes aside! It looks so lovely sprinkled on top of the butter for your table service. It has a smooth, mild flavor and makes a really nice stocking stuffer. The one pictured was purchased from Dean and Deluca for $16.50. They also have an assortment of other artisan salts such as Murray River Salt, Alaea, Fleur de Sel, and Fumee de Sel.
Last year I gave myself an early Christmas gift and purchased a Himalayan salt block. I thought I would cook Kobe Beef on it and make it a real conversation piece at my next party. Wrong. It sat sweating on my granite counter top in the summer and collecting dust this fall. So, these are great if you are looking for something pretty on your counter, but I wouldn’t recommend them.
Here are some other places that sell artisan salts, although we have never personally purchased anything from them:
Saltworks – They seem to have a nice selection.
Artisan Salt – Wow, I may be getting some early gifts from myself!!
Salt Traders – The packaging looks a little weak, but decide for yourself.
If you have any suggestions for terrific artisan salts not mentioned, please let us know!!!