Ingredient guide: salt

Wars have been fought over it, taxes reaped from it, and it’s shaped the history of food. Salt is essential to our diets, but while most people get plenty, the least of the worry is the stuff that we add to our cooking - of real concern is the large, hidden amounts contained in junk and processed foods.

The following salts, many Australian have pleasing flavour nuances and a high mineral content. As these types don’t contain iodine they should be used in conjunction with iodized salt, which is fortified to a higher level than is found in foodstuffs where it naturally occurs, such as seafood and shellfish. Iodine is a mineral that needs to be consumed regularly throughout life to maintain a healthy thyroid and prevent birth disorders. Recent research suggests that some children are mildly iodine deficient. Processed foods do not contain iodine.

Maldon sea salt from England’s East coast, is a three generation-old family business with organic accreditation that hand-harvests. Chefs love the large, white hollow, pyramid-shaped crystals and pronounced sweet saltiness, so less is required. Use as a table salt or for last minute seasoning crumbling flakes over food. It is available from supermarkets and delicatessens.

Locally produced Pyramid flake salt from the Murray-Darling Basin makes a good substitute. The crystals are small, fine and flat.

Fine lake sea salt from Western Australia, is harvested from a pristine, ancient natural salt lake then simply filtered and kiln dried. The process retains the salt’s trace elements – calcium, magnesium, iron and potassium. Use for cooking and as a table salt. Available in both fine and coarse crystals from major supermarkets.

Smoked salt: Australian smoked salt from Pyramid salt is smoked over banksia wood to give it a truly unique flavour. The fine brownish/grey crystals have a pleasant pronounced smoked flavour. Scatter over steamed cobs of corn or potato with olive oil or meats, such as beef, lamb or chicken. Available from The Essential Ingredient.

Fleur de sel, literally meaning ‘flower of salt’ is hand-harvested during summer months near the village of Guerande in Brittany, France. Only the top or ‘younger’ crystals are collected. Considered a connoisseurs’ salt with its definite ocean smell and rich saline flavour. The moist, off-white/grey rounded crystals are best used as a condiment, rather than for cooking. Look for it in specialist food shops.  

Golden grinding salt and Murray River Salt Flakes are both mineral-rich salts harvested from underground saline waters from the Murray-Darling Basin, which have been untouched for thousands of years. Golden salt has large, hard demerrara sugar-sized crystals and should be used in a salt grinder or pestle and mortar, while the large, easily dissolved peach-coloured flakes, are gentle tasting and are best sprinkled on food at the end of cooking or placed on the table. All salts produced in the region help with inland salinity problems. Find in delicatessens and specialist food stores.

 

Words: Sophia Young. Photography: Scott Hawkins. Stylist: Jane Hann.