My Top 5 Salts for Maximizing Nutrition and Flavor.

Kitchen Voyeur: Episode IV

Salts Featured in This Video:

1. Himalayan Pink Sea Salt

Himalayan Pink Sea Salt is my starting point. Because it's not just salt (NaCl). Himalayan sea salt contains 84 other minerals like Calcium, Magnesium, and Phosphorus. And that's a good thing, since our food supply is not known to be grown in mineral rich soil anymore.

Also, plain table salt is highly processed; it's full of anti-caking agents like ferrocyanide and aliminosilicate. Sounds positively salubrious to me.

Probably the best thing about Himalayan Sea Salt is that it just tastes better. It has its own flavor—it's not merely salty.

Use Himalayan Sea Salt anywhere you would normally use table salt.

2. Alder-Smoked Sea Salt

This is my secret weapon for that hot-off-the-grill flavor, when I don’t have have time to fire up the grill. I use it on pan-seared or poached salmon. Just sprinkle a little on as a finishing salt. Your fish will suddenly taste like a righteous cedar-plank salmon, but with a fraction of the time and effort. (And a fraction of the acrylamides you might get from a grill).

Alder-Smoked Sea Salt goes great with veggies too, for all the same reasons it works on fish. The flavor of a grill without the hassle and health downsides of a grill.

I use Alaska Pure Alder-Smoked Sea Salt; I haven't tried any other brands.

3. Rosemary & Sage Sea Salt

This is my most-frequently-used specialty salt.

It's great on chicken, beef, broccoli, soups, sautés, pilafs, you name it.

My favorite brand, Vignalta Herbed Sea Salt is so pungent, it literally gives you fewer herbs to worry about when you're going for that time-honored trinity of Rosemary, Sage, and Thyme.

Must have.

4. White Truffle Sea Salt

If you’re vegan, or paleo, or just plain allergic to dairy, you’re in for a treat here. White Truffle Sea Salt is my secret to getting things to taste like they were made with real butter, when they were not.

Add a few sprinkles to your olive oil as you sauté and see how buttery it begins to taste.

I use Salinity Oregon White Truffle Artisan Finishing Salt. It's made in Grants Pass, Oregon, just a few hours from my home.

5. Gomasio

A subtle blend of sesame, sea salt, and sea veggies.

Gomasio is Japanese for “Salt & Pepper”, as in the pattern of light and dark flecks you see when hair turns grey. Gomasio is mild and nutty. I find it a wonderful finishing salt for sautéed greens, rice, or any Asian dish.

The sesame-to-salt ratio in Gomasio can vary from 5:1-15:1, so it can be a useful and flavorful choice for people on a salt-restricted diet.

I use Eden Organic Seaweed Gomasio in my kitchen.

Salt Better. Live Better.

Learning how to use these five simple salts will instantly take your cooking to a whole new level. Personally, I don’t know what I’d do without them. Give them a try and don’t forget to tell us what you think in the comments section.