Gently Season Food With Sea Salt Spray

Giant salt flakes are the cool kids of food pop culture. It makes sense, they make great snack salt , but they’ve managed to draw attention away from other, more subtle forms of sodium chloride. You don’t always have to flaunt your cereal. Sometimes the big flakes are too aggressive, or a pinch of table salt doesn’t provide enough of the saline you need. When a finished meal needs a thin layer of salt essence, just grab a salt spray bottle.

Whatever you think of as salt spray, you’re right. It’s a salt water mist. Dissolve the salt in water, pour it into a food-safe spray bottle , and spray your food like a teenager discovering body spray. Food and wine suggest a ratio of one cup of hot water to one tablespoon of fine sea salt. Heat will dissolve the salt faster, but if you don’t plan to use it immediately, you can always add salt to a spray bottle, pour water directly into the bottle, and shake it before use. The salt will dissolve on its own after a few minutes. One cup of salt spray can be a lot to start with, especially if you have a four-ounce spray bottle. Cut in half and use 1/2 cup water and 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt.

Sea salt spray gives your food the equivalent of what salt roasting gives nuts, a clear, flavor-enhancing shell that makes it irresistible. Use your new salt spray as a subtle finish on delicate appetizers like steamed fish, shrimp cocktail or scallop crudo. Use it to give leafy salads a light flavor, instead of using salt crystals that bounce off vegetables and settle to the bottom of the bowl. Spray corn on the cob if you don’t like oil, or add complexity to freshly cut fruit by sprinkling it lightly with saline.

Salt spray is a great option for people trying to limit their salt intake (or if you’re cooking for someone). Prepare food without salt and give everyone a drink to their liking. You can even add a strip of citrus zest to a spray bottle, or add some juice to give the salty spray a hint of brightness. You won’t be using salt spray for cooking—only to finish—so keep the bottle on your dinner table until you need it.

While you can use iodized salt to make this mixture, I don’t recommend it. The taste can be unpleasant and metallic. Use salt that you like but not too expensive. Fine sea salt is fine, except for the colossal flakes of Maldon salt for the impressive chocolate chip cookie.