Salt & pepper Which ones should you stock up on? Feature ORLANDO MURRIN Photographs WILL HEAP
SALT has been prized as a preservative and seasoning for thousands of years – wars have been fought over it, and in Roman times it was worth its weight in gold. It comes from two sources: rock salt is mined from ancient underground deposits; sea salt comes from evaporated seawater. FLAVOURED SALTS
These are salts with added flavourings such as garlic, onion, celery or chilli. They are worth buying if you like to add a specific flavour to your food. Sometimes they are called for as an ingredient in their own right, such as celery salt in a Bloody Mary. Truffle salt is good with eggs or potatoes, a pinch of seaweed salt enhances fish, and smoked salt gives a charred punch to meat dishes.
TABLE & COOKING SALT
Best for: salting pans of water, seasoning sauces or stews There is little difference between these, except that grains of table salt tend to be more regular in size and less powdery. Both are mass-produced and contain anti-caking agents (such as calcium silicate). Too much salt in our diets is associated with high blood pressure – for more advice about salt and your health, visit bbcgoodfoodme.com.
ROCK & COARSE SALT
Best for: salt mills and curing gravadlax Chunks of rock salt are generally too large to use whole as a seasoning on finished dishes, but can be used to season before cooking and in baking – for instance, when a whole fish is encrusted in salt. Look for unprocessed pink Himalayan rock salt (pictured), which is high in minerals such as magnesium and calcium.
56 BBC Good Food Middle East May 2017
SEA SALT FLAKES
Best for: adding a salty crunch to finished dishes and bread Slightly crush over food after cooking to add texture, or before to simply season. Due to geography and traditional production, the UK boasts three world-class producers: Cornish sea salt (considered to be very clean and sweet in flavour), Maldon (very pure taste and no bitterness) and Halen Môn (from Anglesey, and the saltiest of the three).
FINISHING SALTS
Best for: adding a final finish to special dishes Exotic salts from across the world, such as Australian Murray River salt and Indian black salt, should be used to season cooked food rather than before cooking. They have subtly different flavours depending on the minerals they contain.