"salts" news and stories

• The incredible, edible egg.
• The simple and elegant onion tart.
• Boston has been turning Japanese since Dice K joined the Red Sox.
• Mmmmmm...bacon.
• Gabriel Bremer of Salts was named one of the best new chefs by Food & Wine mag.
• What are marathoners going to eat before the big race next Monday?
• This week's recipes: Spanish Potato Tortillas, Mediterranean Stuffed Eggs, Greek Stuffed Tomatoes and Peppers, and Salted Caramel Popcorn.

I have quite a collection of different salts in my spice cabinet due, in no small part, to the general popularity of flaked salts, sea salts and other, more exotic salts from all over the world. At first, I was just following the trend, but as I tried more salts I found that I bought them for their different textures, many of which still come through in a finished dish. I regularly use only a small portion of the salts: Maldon or a pink Australian salt for finishing dishes, kosher or sea salt for cooking and any more finely ground salt, including ordinary table salt, for baking.

The reason I don't use the rest of the salts is that they rarely differ significantly where flavor is concerned. If you're looking for flavor, I'd suggest opting for a salt that is has been purposely flavored. This set from NapaStyle has three different varieties: Sundried Tomato Garlic Gray Salt, Roasted Garlic Gray Salt and Citrus Rosemary Gray Salt. All will add a very impressive flavor-boost to a dish before serving, along with the look and texture of a coarser salt. The grey salt used as a base for the flavors is a sea salt from France that has a light purple-grey color and a slightly moistness to it, which many feel contributes to an increase of flavor during cooking.

Perhaps the best use for these salts, especially if you don't feel like cooking, is as a popcorn seasoning, turning a bag of plain microwave corn into a gourmet snack.

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