potassium and iodine, all within the bounds of good taste.
“Good salt has a tremendous impact on the flavors
of various foods,” explains Dave Joachim, author of The
Science of Good Food and founder of Chef Salts, a line of
premier seasoning blends. “It can intensify some flavors, in-
cluding sweet and savory, or umami, while diminishing oth-
ers, such as bitter and tart flavors. That’s why a salt rim on
an organic margarita glass works so well—salt suppresses
the tartness of the lime and brings out its subtle sweetness.”
With a mind-boggling variety of culinary salts available,
choosing just the right one can be a challenge. “Each type
of salt has unique qualities,” advises Joachim. “Differences
in color, flavor, and texture are created by the mineral and
moisture content of the salt, the size and shape of the crystals
and even the harvesting methods used.”
Each also stands in stark contrast to common table salt,
which is 99.7 percent sodium chloride that has been heat
blasted, stripped of other minerals and chemically treated
to re-infuse iodine content. Yes, iodine is essential for good
health; it is important for the production of thyroid hormones
and critical for pregnant women, observes Jim Roach, a
medical doctor and founder of Midway Center for Integra-
tive Medicine in Midway, Kentucky. He reports that as more
people shy away from their old salt standby, “Americans are
getting less iodine than 30 years ago.”
But another way to meet the body’s basic iodine needs
is with natural salt, as well as sea vegetables such as kelp,
wakame and nori, the seaweed used for making sushi. While
remaining mindful of our overall sodium intake, we can take
wide-ranging pleasure in experimenting with many varieties
of natural salt. water off the coast of Brittany, France; its unrefined crystals
are purple-grey in color and have a fresh, light flavor.
Salt Varieties
n Hawaiian black lava salt comprises a blend of sea salt
Following are seven favorites that turn up time and again. and volcanic charcoal, prized for its dramatic color and
smoky flavor.
n Black salt or kala namak is a pearly, pink-grey mineral
salt from India, characterized by a n Hawaiian red sea salt contains alaea, a volcanic clay that
strong, sulfurous taste. enriches the salt with iron oxide and gives it a distinctive
pink color and mellow flavor.
n Celtic sea salt, har-
vested from the salt flats n Himalayan salt, a full-flavored salt, has traces of iron that
of Northern France, is give its crystals a soft pink glow. Once a year, Nepali
marked by a mellow workers harvest this salt from an ancient fossilized seabed.
flavor with a hint of
sweetness; its crystals While savoring salt in sensible quantities, remember that,
may be white, pink or “We eat with our eyes, too,” says Joachim. “We can ap-
grey. preciate the beautiful crystal structures of the different kinds
of salts. They’re astonishingly varied—large flakes and tiny
n Fleur de sel, the grains; pyramids and delicate, flat chips. Like snowflakes,
“flower of salt,” is con- there’s an endless variety.”
sidered the premier qual-
ity grey sea salt, with fine Rallie McAllister is a medical doctor with master’s degrees in
crystals, a crisp texture and public health and environmental health. She publishes as an
a delicate flavor and aroma. author, syndicated columnist and co-founder of MommyM-
DGuides.com, a free website providing tips from integrative
n Grey salt, or sel gris, physicians who are also mothers.
comes from evaporated sea
March 2010 39
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