291042 Fri Nov 29 18:34:14 -0800 2002 18 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1582078 Wow, I didn't even know there was a general board. Duh. Anyway, I want to make some of the cookies in the December issue of Food & Wine, but they call for fleur de sel and make a big deal out of it. You know, the fleur de sel enhances the flavor of the cookie, blah blah. Well, some of us in podunkville don't have access to fleur de sel, and I don't really want to fork out shipping costs to order it. Are there any decent substitutes out there? Thanks! Fri Nov 29 18:34:14 -0800 2002 0 Mariko 1 1582081 just use kosher salt Fri Nov 29 18:55:43 -0800 2002 1582078 0 the rogue 2 1582083 Really. Sometimes, I think the staff at F&W should be drawn and quartered and tarred and feathered. Hmph. Fri Nov 29 19:05:40 -0800 2002 1582081 0 GG Mora 3 1582116 And then sprinkled with some fleur de sel. Sat Nov 30 09:23:45 -0800 2002 1582083 0 Pru 4 1582131 :) Sat Nov 30 14:04:04 -0800 2002 1582116 0 saucyknave 1 1582086 Fleur de sel is just big crystal salt. This makes a difference when the salt is applied as a garnish, but I cannot fathom how it could make ANY DIFFERECE AT ALL in baking. Fri Nov 29 19:20:45 -0800 2002 1582078 0 Paul H 1 1582089 I'm sorry to disagree with the other posters but if you were preparing a soup or meat, then kosher salt & fleur de sel would be pretty much interchangeable. However there is, imho, a subtle but definite difference when used in a dessert recipe. If you do a blind taste test I believe you will discover that the fleur de sel has a slightly "sweeter" taste underlying the saltiness. I think Food & Wine makes a "big deal" about using fleur de sel not to be trendy nor to make you fork over big bucks but because this is what the recipe requires (I read the recipe as well & we're not talking about a pinch here. The salt plays a BIG part). Either way you go, I'm curious to hear how it turns out. Fri Nov 29 19:36:19 -0800 2002 1582078 0 Phil R Upp 1 1582099 Fleur de sel's primary appeal is its delicate, crunchy texture. Because it's so flaky, it dissolves very quickly on the tongue and gives you an intense but brief hit of saltiness. I like it sprinkled on desserts--especially chocolate, or fruit. If the recipe you're using calls for the salt to be sprinkled at the end, then I think calling for fleur de sel is not so unreasonable. If it's mixed into the batter, where it would almost certainly dissolve, then it seems like a pretty silly idea. There's a fascinating essay on gourmet salts in Jeffrey Steingarten's new book "It Must've Been Something I Ate" in which he conducts a salt taste test, dissolving various 'boutique' salts (as well as kosher and table salts) in pure water to determine if, apart from texture, there is an appreciable difference among them. The results aren't clear cut, but are nonetheless surprising and thought-provoking. Link: http://meglioranza.com Fri Nov 29 23:27:07 -0800 2002 1582078 0 Tom Meg 2 1582138 Tom, I think you're absolutely spot-on. I was at a restaurant in August and got a 'hit' of salt in my dessert. But it wasn't overpowering, just added complexity. Upon enquiring, it was confirmed as fleur de sel. Since then have done my own experiments, and there is NO QUESTION in my mind that fleur de sel is indeed different in its effect as long as it's added at the end. Putting it in earlier during the cooking/baking process has not made any difference that I can detect. So, in summary, if added at the end it really is different from sea salt or kosher salt. However, in the cooking process, I can't tell the difference. Sat Nov 30 14:45:01 -0800 2002 1582099 0 estufarian 3 1582158 Okay, so I will look for fleur de sel at Williams Sonoma. If I can't find it, or if I decide to be rebellious and use kosher salt, would it be insane to use the full 2.5 teaspoons called for in the recipe? Sat Nov 30 17:29:39 -0800 2002 1582138 0 Mariko 2 1582142 Mariko is referring to the Chocolate Choclate Chip Cookies in the 12/02 issue of F&W. The fleur de sel is added early in the process with the sugars & butter & combined. Therefore the salt's texture is instantly lost. The recipe in question calls for a rather large 2 1/2 teaspoons of fleur de sel as compared to 2 2/3 cups of flour. This is not an inconsequential amount & I believe it is not pure foppery that the recipe specifically calls for fleur de sel. I agree with you that used as a topping fleur de sel's texture is specific. However in this particular recipe that quality of the salt is not what is called for. I stand by my original thesis that there is an underlying sweet quality to the salt & that is what makes the fleur de sel necessary to this particular recipe. Sat Nov 30 15:12:07 -0800 2002 1582099 0 Phil R Upp 1 1582113 Pretentious F&W piddle. I defy anyone to blind taste one salt over another in cookies. Makes the princess from "The Princess and the Pea" look coarse. Sat Nov 30 08:32:19 -0800 2002 1582078 0 StriperGuy 2 1582139 Not to quibble with your basic premise: it's worth pointing out to beginning cooks that one should pay attention to the kind of salt used because the kosher and other coarse salts are not as salty BY VOLUME as fine salt. Note that is because fine salt packs closer, not because it is inherently saltier. If you measure BY WEIGHT there should be no difference. Sat Nov 30 14:46:32 -0800 2002 1582113 0 saucyknave 1 1582126 What is the name of the cookie recipe? I pulled up the F&W website and found some recipes but didn't find one with fleur de sel - found one with fine sea salt though. Could you let me know? Thanks! Sat Nov 30 12:51:37 -0800 2002 1582078 0 Donna - MI 2 1582132 There were two cookie recipes that interested me--the chocolate chocolate chip cookies and the cinnamon ones. I am thinking about substituting kosher salt, but do I use the same amount that is called for? It's kind of a lot of salt. I'm worried that the cookies will turn out too salty and ruined, which would be doubly annoying considering all the ingredients that go into the chocolate chocolate chip cookies (that's a lot of butter and CHOCOLATE!). Link: http://www.foodandwine.com/invoke.cfm?ObjectID=B7C9DF31-F1B3-11D6-82BD0002B3309983 Sat Nov 30 14:09:37 -0800 2002 1582126 0 Mariko 3 1582137 Thanks! I was thinking of trying the cinnamon ones. Don't know the answer to your question, though. I have cooked - but not baked - with both kosher and sea salt. D. Sat Nov 30 14:37:33 -0800 2002 1582132 0 Donna - MI 3 1582249 I think that you would have to cut back for sure if you don't use the fleur de sel. You're at a disadvantage having never seen it before, but a very exaggerated example would be if a recipe called for a cup of snow and all you had was ice chips. I'd venture to say that regular salt would have at least twice as much weight by volume as fleur de sel does. Mon Dec 02 13:16:25 -0800 2002 1582132 0 EP 1 1582186 I was under the impression that these expensive sea salts were finishing salts- to be used at the table, not while cooking. I enjoy the texture which you would completely lose if you add it while cooking. Adding it to cookie dough just seems unnecessary, expensive and pretentious ( a frequent problem with Food and Wine, in my opinion). Sun Dec 01 10:18:38 -0800 2002 1582078 0 Janet 1 1582234 Cooks Illustrated did a salt taste-test a few months back, and as I recall, the tasters disliked fleur de sel in baked goods. Mon Dec 02 10:28:07 -0800 2002 1582078 0 kjhart