Show us your salt

[cooknKate]

Gourmet salts are wonderful, and they really escalate a standard chow into something really chowhound-worthy.

I have standard Fleur de Sel and I have a chardonnay smoked sea salt from Williams-Sonoma which is great on most everything.

[Leper]

CookInKate, I recently bought a tin of Italian Truffle Salt.
I can't believe this stuff is legal! Intense truffle flavor makes even the simplist dish--such as scrambled eggs--a gourmet delight. Find it, buy it, use it. Life is too short to deny this joy.

[cooknKate]

How about a heads up as to where you bought it?? Sounds wonderful, and I love your reference "Life is too short to deny this joy"

Sounds like something I would put in my food blog, d'ya mind if I do??

[Funwithfood]

I got this as a gift--always forget to use it--thanks for the reminder!
(They sell it at Dean & Deluca)

[Biggie]

Morton's Kosher Salt - I also make my own smoked salt - I just dump a box into a foil pan and toss it in my smoker while I'm making a brisket or pork shoulder, and let it soak in the flavor for 10-12 hours. It turns yellow and imparts an awesome smokiness to anythign you put it on. I love it in tuna salad or scrambled eggs, along with anything grilled.

[Mila]

Huge fan of Maldon Salt.
It flaky and crunchy and not too salty.

http://www.maldonsalt.co.uk/

[Amuse Bouches]

I second the rec for Maldon's.

[Snackish]

I love Hawaiian salt because it tastes like snorkeling in Hawaii.

Spanish salt tastes like nothing else - it is a little flaky and soft.

For everyday I use sea salt and Hawaiian salt. I have sel gris from Penzey's for finishing.

[ChinoWayne]

Thanks for the tutorial, appreciated.

[ChinoWayne]

I use Morton's Kosher salt for all my normal cooking. I just bought some Shallot salt from Penzey's, haven't tried it yet.

What's with "gray salt", Michael Chiarello seems in love with that stuff.

[Non Cognomina]

Gray salt, or "sel gris," is a natural French sea salt that comes from the Atlantic waters off the coast of France. Colored gray by the chemical deposits of the minerals in the salt beds, it is harvested primarily in the Brittany region of France as the water evaporates from moist basins leaving the crusty saline as residue. Harvested from waters below the surface that have passed through multiple clay basins, Sel Gris contains a higher concentration of minerals such as calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, manganese, and potassium, as well as the light grey mineral coloring.

Fleur de sel is a sea salt harvested from the surface of the waters of salt ponds situated along the coastal waters of France. When translated, "fleur de sel" means the "flower of salt," a name derived from crystals that blossom from evaporated water. Thin and having an appearance similar to snowflakes, the crystals of Fleur de Sel are removed from the surface of the still water ponds. It is very delicate with a bit of an earthy flavor.

Kosher salt is simply sodium chloride, NaCl, with no more than .1% of an anti-caking agent (like Morton's Kosher Salt). Diamond brand Kosher Salt is 100% NaCl. Kosher Salt has a "clean" salty taste.

Generic "sea salt" can have any variety of minerals, can be harvested from any salt water source, and generally has a "briney" salt taste.

There are probably hundreds of salts available for use worldwide, not counting all of the "flavored" salts (like Penzey's Shallot Salt).

[MMRuth]

My latest is a hisbiscus flavored salt from Spain - I have NO idea why I bought it or what to do with it, though I did sprinkle it over some goat cheese drizzled w/ olive oil and it was tasty. My usual salts are Kosher and some kind of sea salt.

[LisaN]

I have some of the hibiscus salt as well. I like it over some nice fresh lettuce with a little bit of good olive drizzled over it!

[Dommy]

I'm pretty boring...

I like Kosher Salt to Season/bake. I also love the texture on hard boiled eggs... CRISP! :)

Cheap Asian Sea Salt to boil. Nothing gets water saltier and I like the slight mineral taste and smell it has... :)

I do love red and grey sea salts in my chocolate tho! :)

--Dommy!