Spice up Your Meals With Homemade Flavored Salts
Plain sodium chloride is great, but I have a soft spot for aromatic salt, which is very easy to make and very tasty (if you choose tasty concoctions). If you use the right method, you can make flavored salt with herbs, sauces, and even wine.
My favorite is ginger. A small store next to me sold jars of ginger salt, which I loved so much that I ate it straight out of the jar, crystal by crystal. This upset my husband very much and my tongue started to hurt, but I have no regrets. The store that made ginger salt has closed, but my craving for ginger flavor continues to live on.
We’ll walk you through three different methods of making flavored salt and suggest a flavor for each. For all of these recipes, use flaky coarse salt such as Kosher (the cheapest), Maldon, or Fleur de Sel .
Dry method
The dry method of preparing salt with taste does not require cooking at all. By following The Kitchn’s basic flavor ratio of 1 teaspoon to every quarter cup salt, you can follow your imagination and experiment with any dry flavors you can think of. (If your salt is not flavorful enough, you can always increase the addition to two teaspoons.) For fresh herbs and citrus peels, simply dry them first in a low oven (about 200 ℉).
How to do it:
- Dehydrate any fresh ingredients and chop, chop or grind them into small pieces; you want them to be about the size of a grain of salt or slightly larger.
- Combine the flavors and salt in a small bowl using a fork, fingers, or other stirring tool of your choice. You can use a food processor if you like, just pulsate carefully to avoid crushing the sodium chloride crystals.
- Store in an airtight container and let everyone get to know each other for a day before using. Flavored salt will last for up to a year, but its intensity may decrease.
Taste Ideas:
Lemon ginger = ¼ cup salt + ½ teaspoon dried lemon zest + ½ teaspoon dried ginger root
Tomato basil = ¼ cup salt + ½ teaspoon dried basil + ½ teaspoon dried, chopped sun-dried tomatoes.
Ancho Chili and Lime = ¼ cup salt + ½ teaspoon dried lime zest + ½ teaspoon dried dried ancho peppers.
Wet method
The wet method adds a delicious flavor to salt using intense liquid flavors such as hot sauces, hot or sweet sauces, and other flavored liquids. This type of salt is great for sprinkling on chips or popcorn as it allows you to convey the flavor of your favorite sauce without making everything wet and runny. Start with a ratio of 1 tablespoon liquid to 1/2 cup salt and increase as needed.
How to do it ( in Sockmonkey slippers ):
- Combine the salt and sauce in a food processor and whisk until combined. (The salt will change to the color of the sauce and should be free of white spots.)
- Place on a baking sheet lined with silicone or parchment paper and oven dry for 2 hours at 170 ° F, stirring frequently.
- When the salt is completely dry, store it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a year (assuming you’ve dried it thoroughly).
Taste Ideas:
Curry ketchup salt, hot mustard salt, sriracha salt, hoisin salt, barbecue salt, Teriyaki salt, any damn sauce salt .
Reduction method
Let’s say you need salt to taste like Pinot Noir or Jägermeister, God help you. You can use the wet method above, but a tablespoon of rubbing alcohol won’t taste much, especially after most of it has evaporated in the oven. Instead, you will first need to reduce the amount of alcoholic liquid of your choice (three cups for one cup of salt). This intensifies the flavor before mixing it with salt. The increased viscosity of the resulting syrup also prevents the sodium chloride crystals from dissolving on contact, which is a nice added bonus.
How to do it ( in Sockmonkey slippers ):
- Add three cups of the desired liquid to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until syrup forms and the mixture is thick enough to cover the back of the spoon.
- Add salt immediately and stir until completely blended and white spots are visible.
- Place on a baking sheet lined with silicone or parchment paper and oven dry for 2 hours at 170 ° F, stirring frequently.
- When the salt is completely dry, store it in an airtight container at room temperature.
Taste Ideas:
Wine salt, strong salt, limoncello, Jägermeister salt (just kidding, it’s disgusting).
Now that you know the basic methods and proportions of making flavored salt, you can customize the piquancy crystal to suit your whims and dreams. Sprinkle these dreams with fried chicken, popcorn, even dark chocolate, and if you have a particularly tasty dream, be sure to share it in the comments below.