A Pinch of Salt

I’ve seen a few mentions of Kosher salt recently, enough to provoke my curiosity about what it actually is. My understanding of the Kosher concept was from a religious perspective, so I wondered why a Jewish cook would need a special type of salt. After all, there’s nothing mortal about salt. There was also, until recently, much talk about Himalayan salt, which allegedly had curative properties, whether you sprinkled it on your food or used it as a lamp (no, I’d didn’t get that either). It seems that to some extent Himalayan salt has fallen out of favour. Like many types of salt, it is mined, and like all natural resources taken from the ground someone realised that sooner or later it was going to run out. A bit like the oil. Notwithstanding the damage to the environment caused by the mining.

Anyway, back to the Kosher salt. My first discovery was that Kosher salt has got nothing to do with Jewish dietary requirements. Those of the Jewish faith can eat any type of salt. It is simply a coarse grained sea salt that was used for the koshering process of meat. Enough said – this is an (aspiring) vegan blog. Have a look on Wiki if you need to know more. It’s just coarse salt; everything else is just hype.

Chemically, there is little difference between all the types of salt you see on the supermarket shelves, nicely packaged in the Bio shop, or advocated as essential in celebrity recipes. Fine salt, sea salt, fleur de sel or indeed kosher salt, they’re all sodium chloride – NaCl on the periodic table. The production method, however, may differ. Salt is either mined from salt deposits in the earth or produced by the evaporation of sea water in salt pans. The main difference is the size and shape of the grain; fine salt is just ground up, mechanically – or you can do it in a pestle mortar or spice blender. If you’re following a recipe the size of the grains will make a difference; a teaspoon of fine salt may contain more than a teaspoon of coarse salt because the grains take up less room. Another difference, of course, is the price – the more labour is required in the production, the more expensive the product. Bags of fine cooking salt are cheap because the production process can be mechanised, unlike the raking and sieving of the sea pan salts.

Ok, so I’ll accept that salt – in large quantities – is not good for your health. The celebrity chef, Rick Stein often used to joke about the ‘salt police’. I started to do a little tentative research on the matter, but as a someone who always bungs a bit of salt in a salad dressing or a dip it was a bit depressing. Have a look at the statistics if you’re feeling brave. But, I was heartened by the fact that in general they are referring to processed food, which is something we are trying hard to eliminate from our diet. Perhaps the odd pinch of salt isn’t so bad after all.

The Salt Police don’t seem to have arrived in France yet. There’s a whole floor to ceiling shelf dedicated to salt in most supermarkets and the country enjoys a reputation for some of the best salt in the world. Along with my favourites Halen Môn, a sea salt from Anglesey and Maldon Salt, neither of which I can get here, I do like the various French sea salts that are available everywhere, especially on a trip to the coast. The highest quality (and most expensive) is fleur de sel, so-called because of the flower like pattern of crystals. It is harvested by hand in the salt beds of Brittany and the Camargue. The varieties to look out for are Fleur de Sel de Guérande, Noirmoutier, Ile de Ré and the Camargue, although the latter is said to be inferior. They all taste good though, and I’ve just bought a large but inexpensive bag of Guérande from the supermarket, so I’ll do a taste test.

Despite it’s bad reputation, I do find that salt is a good way to pep up salad or a sauce and there’s nothing better than using a flavoured salt for this purpose. My two favourites are chilli salt and herby salt. So simple to make, just put some coarse sea salt in a glass jar, add  a teaspoon of chilli flakes for chilli salt, mix well and that’s it. It keeps for ages. I make herby salt the same way, you can add either fresh herbs (they will dry eventually) or dried herbs, a few black peppercorns, whatever are your favourite flavours. And if you’re worried about the salt police, just use sparingly.