The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea. Isak Dinesen
My first order of business in starting a blog, was deciding how I wanted to introduce myself and this little corner of the internet. A few things came to mind. Three things to be exact. Butter, eggs and salt. The three items that are always overstocked in my home kitchen. The three items for which, if the par falls below acceptable levels, or gasp, falls to empty I feel a startling stagnation building around the fridge and pantry; one that I cannot ignore and remedy as quickly as possible.
Of the three, salt is my most loyal and accommodating friend and the one of which I've never run out. You can find salt in my kitchen in various locations and containers. There are zip-top baggies in drawers, pinch bowls of different shapes and colors dotting numerous flat surfaces, course salt rocks in grinders, flaky delicate snowflake salt in the salt pig, smoked in tins, blackened in pouches, pink, flavored, truffled and rare in tubes and jars nestled between thyme and cayenne. The current count of different kinds of salt in my house, tips the scale at 11. In past centuries this would have made me rich or at the very least admired.
To say I love salt is a gross understatement. It's more of an obsession, bred from an absolutely undeniable addiction to the crystalline bite of natures foremost mineral flavor. Mined from the dark, warm depths of planet Earth or coaxed out of solution in a delicate brine, salt is a universal companion to cuisine, industry, and in my neck of the woods, anyone trying to get down their icy driveway in January.
My husband likes to tease me while I drop tiny pinches of crunchy salt on my tongue as an in-between snack and shakes his head when I ask for a bowl of ice cream with salt on top but one things for sure, I've had a longer relationship with NaCl than him so let's be clear where my loyalties lie.
I thought the best way to express my appreciation was a to write my first top ten list for you all so here goes.
The Palate's Prose Saline Top Ten
1. The Salt Pig: inexpensive, useful and a fun thing to say you own. A must-have for any halophile. (Mine's a pink one that actually looks like a pig -squee-)
2. Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky: If you love salt, read this book. History has never been so tasty.
3. Truffle Salt: the easiest way to elevate any dish to at least tasting like haute cuisine. No digging or breaking the bank involved.
4. Maldon: The premier flake salt
5. The beauty of salt mines
6. All the words that come from the root words for salt: sal and hal and some theories on the word salary
10. And just in case you need a reason to add more salt to your diet or at least not feel guilty about it...CDC Salt Guidelines Too Low
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