Finishing Salts

Salt, the simplest of seasonings without it food would be dull, and preserving would be infinitely more difficult. Salt gets a lot of bad press of late, but with the right salts you can bring out complex flavours and add a visual pizzazz.

Reducing salt intake is a good idea, but cutting it out all together makes for bland food. Plain table salt works to a certain degree, but if you want to lessen your salt usage without sacrificing flavour then using specialty salts means you boost flavours while using less salt over all.

When you think about specialty salts Himalayan pink salt is probably what you think about. Its a classic salt that goes nice on pretty much everything. This salt can be bought large rocks or in more standard ground format.

Hawaiian black lava salt has a nice subtle smokey flavour. Very nice on beef. The rich dark colour comes from lava flows. The salt adds an interesting colour component to a dish with dark flakes of salt.

This salt is also from Hawaii, but this is a completely different flavour. Hearty and robust flavour. The bold red colour stands out on any plate. The colour comes from iron oxide infused into the salt. This one lacks the smoky flavour that the black has, but don't mistake that for less flavour, this salt packs just as much punch.

This is one of my personal favourites of all the imported salts. The light grey colour is from a mix of minerals found along the Atlantic coast in Britanny. This is one of the most flavourful salts I have ever used, and I highly recommend it.

Sometimes a nice salt isn't only in the colour but the size of the crystals. This Cyprus flake salt contains large crystals that appear as flakes, can mimic snow flakes and add a visual flare to your dish unlike anything else.

In addition to interesting imported salts you can also use unique salt blends, onion or garlic salt is a prime example of these. It doesn't need to end with those however, all sorts of interesting seasoned salts can be made or purchased pre-made. If you wish to make your own seasoned salts you can use one of the recipes below or simply mix your favourite flavours with salt and allow to sit infusing the flavours into the salt.

Chili Lime Salt has all the great Mexican flavours you'd expect from chili and lime. Make sure you let it sit for at least a month to the flavours really infuse into the salt.

If you like a little extra kick to your salt this will do it for you. The result is a lovely pink salt flecked with striking red flakes (depending on how well you grind the chili) and seeds.

Warning; the fumes kicked up while blending the chili is extraordinarily tough to handle.

This finishing salt is great on lamb or roast beef.

Finishing salts should be used exactly as you would expect, to finish a dish, as a garnish and specialty spice. It adds visual appeal and enhances flavours. One thing to remember when using finishing salts is to use less salt when cooking then you would normally use, then garnish generously with finishing salts. If you are looking for specific recipies, here are a few: