The Power of Salt & Pepper

Salt and pepper are really simple seasonings and it hardly seems worth mentioning them. But they are so powerful it seems negligent not to mention them. So, let’s discuss.

Don’t be afraid to use salt and pepper.  Even if a recipe does not call for salt and pepper take a minute and consider if it will add to the dish (I am talking mainly about cooking here rather than baking). Take meat and poultry for example. I have not encountered a piece of meat or poultry that was not improved by sprinkling it with both salt and pepper. On both sides. Why both sides? Because you eat both sides! I learned that in a cooking class, no joke. Anyway, no matter what the recipe says, I always start by salting and peppering my meat and poultry. And don’t be stingy, sprinkle away! Vegetables too.  A little salt and pepper goes a long way here. And eggs! Eggs need salt and pepper.

 

Consider two easy upgrades for your salt and pepper that will bring benefits to your daily cooking:

·        If you don’t have one already, invest in a pepper grinder. I am partial to copper pepper grinders.

 

·        Toss your regular salt and use kosher salt.

 

Looking for more ideas for upgrading your salt & pepper?

·        Try a special salt such as Hawaiian salt, sea salt or grey salt. To learn more about gourmet salts go here and here.

·        Consider trying truffle salt the next time you grill meat.

·        Try Florida Pepper which is a citrusy pepper that is wonderful on vegetables.

·        Consider the fragrant long pepper next time you fill up your pepper mill.

 

Food Epiphany: Truffle Salt

Today I’d like to introduce you to what one my friends calls his “secret weapon” for grilled meat.  It’s truffle salt. What’s truffle salt you ask? It’s salt mixed with truffles (the mushroom kind, not the chocolate kind … although that would not be bad either).

Truffle salt is a great addition to the spice and salt line up in your kitchen. It’s great on roasted meats. It adds salt (of course) plus the taste of truffles. Truffles are a bit “meaty” to begin with, so they are an excellent match with grilled meats. It’s also really good on popcorn, along with some butter of course.

It’s not particularly cheap, but you don’t need to use a lot to get the flavor. It’s a perfect gift for any cook you know or a nice present for yourself. Try some the next time you grill a nice steak!

 

 

Salt on my counter 2.0

I wrote a few posts ago (and a few months ago - yes, I will try and be better about posts in 2010!) about the bowls of salt on my counter. Wow! That post got a lot of response. Due to the kindness of several readers, I ended up with a lot of great new salts to try. This necessitated the purchase of new, smaller salt bowls so that more will fit on the counter. I visited Calistoga Pottery and got one large bowl for kosher salt and eight small bowls. I actually need more like 10 bowls - believe it or not, all of the new salt is not out yet!

I started with a salt tasting. I got a baguette and some wonderful,unsalted European butter. I cut the bread into rounds, spread on some butter and sprinkled a round with each of the salts. And tasted ... butter. Hmmm, that did not work so well. So, I will be working through the salts with food. Which is how you use them anyway. Stay tuned.

Here is the line-up:
- Kosher salt (big bowl)
The rows of small bowls go from left to right:
- Cyprus flake salt
- Himalayan pink salt
- Pinot noir salt
- Murray River flake salt
- Several salts from France:
- A salt called 'sel fou' which translates to 'crazy salt.' It contains paprika, and some other herbs.
- A fennel salt
- A salt and five pepper combo
- A salt and herb combo

Salt on my Counter

I have six bowls of salt on my kitchen counter. They are organized by color, light to dark. I find that by keeping the bowls out, I use my fancy salts much more often.

My go-to-salt for pretty much everything except baking is Morton Kosher Salt. If you do only one thing as a result of reading this, consider upgrading from your regular, iodized salt to kosher salt. It's got a fresher, cleaner taste and is more chef-like.

Next up on the color wheel - as well as the usage scale - is Maldon Sea Salt. I use it as a finishing salt, meaning it is added once a dish is cooked not while cooking.

The next two salts are pink. Himalania from the Himalayas is a finely ground salt that is pink and white. Then a Hawaiian salt that actually has clay in it! It's a very pretty pink orange color. I like to fling it into sauteed spinach because it looks so pretty against the green.

At the end of the row there is a grey finishing salt that looks pretty on top of a baked potato with sour cream, and then a black salt. The black salt is a bit of a mystery. I think I got it at a store in the Ferry Building in San Francisco and I think it has Herbs de Provence in it. Not sure.

But that's not all! I have a few salts that I keep in my kitchen cabinet as they are too delicate to sit out on the counter. The first is a French fleur de sel which is flaky and can absorb moisture but makes a great finishing salt. The second is a truffle salt which has been called a "secret weapon" by one of our friends for its ability to transform an ordinary grilled steak into something spectacular. It's a great gift for the food lover who has everything.