Table salt in colours

It seems that very soon those two jars with the label "coarse" and "fine" will no longer be enough for the wisest of all spices in the kitchen.

"How much are you prepared to pay for salt from the planet Mars?" recently appeared in the New York Times, after NASA research revealed that a large part of the Red Planet's southern hemisphere is covered in crystals which are nothing else than "table salt". Are you disappointed or thrilled?

It seems that very soon those two jars with the label "coarse" and "fine" will no longer be enough for the wisest of all spices in the kitchen. Shelves in large American stores and in a growing number of restaurants, they offer customers and clients a wide range of salts that differ in shape, colour and taste. The Hawaiian black volcanic and pink, pink Peruan, Himalayan, grey Breton, smoked Danish.

Very often fine nuances can be felt only when crystals melt in your mouth.

"Salt is the new olive oil", said Thomas Keller, chef of the French Laundry restaurant from Yountville, California.

Whether it is really about new types of salt or just a result of globalisation, the fact is that the "salty fashion" is also changing the way we cook. Many chefs are starting to doubt the usual rules and standard opinion, a part of the basic culinary doctrine that meat needs to be salted just before preparing. Experiments with salt as a spice and salting as a part of the preservation process are common among chefs today.

One of the highly regarded salts on the market comes from Hawaii. It really is special, and due to the unique geological and climate conditions, it comes in red, black and pink colours.

Pa'a kai in Hawaiian means red salt or in English "Alaea Hawaiian Sea Salt". Actually, it is sea salt mixed with red clay dust that surrounds volcanoes and is rich in iron oxide. Apart from colour it changes the taste of ordinary sea salt. Some describe it as full of bubbles and sparkling. It is used in ceremonies such as the blessing of boats and in Hawaiian traditional medicine.

Another famous salt is black Hawaiian salt "Hiwa Kai Hawaiian Sea Salt", obtained by evaporating seawater that contains active coal. Apart from the kitchen it can also be used for baths. There is no need for fear if the sink or bath tub turn black, a sponge and detergent will do the trick.

Just like wine, the taste of salt also carries features of where and how it was created. "Fumee de Sel" is the heaviest sea salt in crystals. The so-called "caviar among salts" comes from the French region Bretagne, mainly from the town Guerande. Salt dried in the sun is smoked in oak barrels which were previously used for keeping Chardonnay wine. The most famous smoked salts are Mexican and Danish which need to be used with caution as their taste is more complex than common and usual sea salts.

"Kala Namak" or black Indian salt has really a grey colour and a special sulphur taste.

The Peruan pink salt comes from the highest peaks of the Andes. Hot springs on their way towards the plains wash out rock salt.

There are salts to which particular spice herbs are later added. Those are mainly, either natural or artificial, i.e. whether in a natural manner or by the interference of man, added to meals at the moment of serving at the table. The fine nuances of taste can be felt only in the form of crystals that melt in your mouth.