Fashion Forward: The New Salts

Remember when salt was just a seasoning in the round blue box—ever present, unchanging and as fine as sand?

Those were the simple days, but not necessarily the good old days. Supermarket table salt contains additives to keep it free flowing, an “improvement” that affects the taste, many say. Most good cooks now realize that table salt is okay for salting the pasta water, but too harsh for most culinary uses.

Fortunately, dozens of salts have emerged to fill the gap. For everyday cooking, most professional and serious amateur cooks now use either kosher salt or a plain sea salt. Kosher salt has a coarse flake preferred by cooks who season by hand, not with a measuring spoon. And it is additive free, like most sea salt.  

But for fun, and for dressing up dishes, many chefs and home cooks have their own salt collection. Yes, the salts are all sodium chloride, but they have different textures, colors and (in some cases) aromas, which can inspire some eye-catching dishes. When these fancy salts dissolve, their differences vanish, so use them as finishing salts, where they will have the most impact.

Fleur de sel crystallizes on the surface of France’s coastal saltwater-evaporating basins when weather conditions are just right. It is raked off the surface and is relatively white because the crystals never come in contact with the salt beds. Sprinkle on a steak after grilling, on boiled potatoes with butter and parsley, or on butter cookies just before baking.

Sel gris, or gray salt, also forms in sea water slowly evaporated by the heat of the sun, but these crystals sink to the floor of the salt basins, so they have minerals and clay clinging to them. The best sel gris is carefully raked off the beds by hand, not mechanically. Use as a finishing salt for cooked vegetables, fish and tomato salad.

Alaea salt is Hawaiian sea salt mixed with volcanic red clay. Sprinkle over grilled ahi tuna, ceviche, swordfish carpaccio or tuna tartare.

Smoked salt is a copper-colored sea salt smoked over a wood fire. Use wherever a smoky flavor is welcome, such as with beans, pork chops, ribs or chicken.

Flake salt is created by evaporating brine rapidly, which produces crystals like hollow pyramids, with delicate, flaky sides. England’s Maldon salt, Welsh Halen Mon and Australia’s Murray River salt are fine examples. Use anywhere the snowflake-like texture can be appreciated—on steamed asparagus or foie gras, for example.

Black lava salt from Hawaii is sea salt coated with lava. Use where its unexpected color will make an impression, such as sprinkled over prawns or egg dishes.

At the Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, good customers get the VIP treatment: the chef’s prized orange Bolivian rock salt grated over their rib-eye steaks tableside. Who knew salt could be the star of the show?