Over the last 10 years, sea salt has become a national obsession. Once the domain of fine dining restaurants, sea salt has become increasingly familiar as an ingredient in all kinds of foods, from savory to sweet. Chicago's Vanille Patisserie makes an all-American brownie with flakes of fleur de sel, hand-raked French sea salt. Sea Salt caramels have become the upscale alternative for consumers looking for bolder, more “adult” flavored caramels. I'm a big fan of Poco Dolce's salt caramel 'tiles' that are dipped in chocolate and topped with several large salt crystals. I also like the French fleur de sel caramels. At San Francisco's Campton Place, I had a caramel ice cream topped with Maldon Sea Salt. Last time I ate at Alinea the last course was 'dry' caramel with sea salt (although the menu just said 'salt').
Restaurants are placing specialty salt on tables where once lowly generic salt ruled. A friend and I ate at the over-the-top oddball nuevo tapas joint Del Toro the other week. On the table was Cypress pyramid salt -- the shape is a hollow, bottomless pyramid and it is very crunchy and thin. I did something that would horrify germophobes - I picked out perfect pyramids with my fingers and ate them, pyramid by salt pyramid. I really loved the texture.
Only a couple years ago specialty gourmet shops stocked one or two types. Now it is routine for a store to stock 6 or more types of sea salt, in many colors of the rainbow. But do they really taste different? For a number of reasons, including trace mineral content, shape, and sizes, sea salts do indeed taste different. Although in dilution with equal amounts of water, there is little difference in flavor ( in its ‘natural’ form, sea salt can lend an interesting salty flavor –and texture – to a product or dish. Jeffrey Steingarten wrote an interesting piece on sea salt and dilution in "It Must Have Been Something I Ate," essential reading for the food obsessed.
Slate also has an informative article.
To test out the question of "sea salt, flavor differences or not?" for yourself at home, you will need a cucumber and several types of sea salt, along with your usual table salt. Cut the cucumber into slices, and sprinkle one slice with the first sea salt and eat. What do you taste? What is the texture? Repeat again with the other sea salts. You should be able to notice the difference. To take this test up a notch, sauté a piece of steak or a piece of chicken breast. Cut into slices, and sprinkle each with the different types of salt. You will definitely notice a difference. Try to keep the meat as neutral as possible -- avoid other seasonings, and only salt the meat after it has been cooked.
If you cannot find a local source for sea salt, try www.saltworks.us.
