Since ancient times, people have treasured salt for its useful applications. Perhaps most notably, salt allowed people to preserve foods, eliminating their dependence on seasonal food growth and allowing for long voyages. But salt was a difficult-to-obtain commodity; wars were fought over it, and kingdoms were created and destroyed because of it. Salt was once so valuable, it was used as currency. Today, table salt is cheap and readily available, and it is used in many modern applications, from deicing driveways to putting out fires. Most people know salt best as a traditional cooking seasoning. But many people might not know that salt varieties extend well beyond the traditional grains in the everyday shaker.
Balinese Hollow Pyramid Sea Salt
William Bounds partners with Bali producer Big Tree Farms to provide coarse grain Balinese sea salt in a unique hollow pyramid shape. These curious crystals appear nowhere else in the world, as they are naturally produced by cool, windy days at the end of Bali’s monsoon season. Balinese Hollow Pyramid Sea Salt features a delicate salty flavor with a slight sweetness and a bright finish. This salt brings a fun visual accent to any dish.
Once again, William Bounds partners with Big Tree Farms to offer this Balinese version of fleur de sel, characterized by fluffy, snowflake-like crystals. This salt’s naturally high levels of magnesium produce a slightly sweet flavor, and low moisture content makes the crystals easy to pour. Fleur de sel has been prized since ancient times for its ability to intensify the flavor of foods.
Unlike traditional table salt, kosher salt typically contains no additives, like iodide, and it features a much larger, flatter grain. Kosher salt gets its name from its usefulness in “koshering” meats, or coating meats in a thin layer of salt to absorb surface blood. Many fine chefs substitute kosher salt for table salt in their cooking. To make the substitution, it’s most efficient to measure each salt in equal weights, because kosher salt has greater volume than table salt.
California Garlic Coarse Sea Salt
This fresh blend combines the crisp flavor of coarse sea salt with garlic from Gilroy, California, nicknamed “The Garlic Capital of the World.” This flavorful salt makes a great addition to salt-encrusted foods like baked potato skins.
This blend features light grey Celtic salt combined with minced onion. Unlike most salts, Celtic grey onion salt is not dried when harvested, so it retains moisture. Because of its moisture, this salt can be used as is or ground with a mortar and pestle set or a non-metallic spice mill; it should not be used in a conventional salt grinder unless it is dried first. If quick-dried in a frying pan, this savory salt produces a rich toasted flavor.