Prepping a Salt Station
I decided one day to make a number of salts that I knew I would use in my cooking. So, per my Mise en place practice, I set up a “salt station.”
I gathered Kosher salt, herbs/spices/citrus, a zester, 1/4C and 1T measuring tools, knife, and small glass jars, labels and markers. What is great is that both the citrus and herbs are from my garden. The flavors diminish over time, but last well over a year if stored in the darkened pantry, in sealed glass jar. You can easily enough re-up the flavors by adding more spice/herbs.
Salt Mixtures
Pepper Lime Salt
1/4C kosher salt
1T red pepper flakes
1T lime zest
1/2t smoked paprika
Dry zest in oven 2 hour at 175F, so that the zest is dry before adding. Or leave the salt overnight on a plate to dry. Photo by PattyCooks.
Italian Herb Salt
1/4C kosher salt
1t ea chopped fresh rosemary + thyme
1t ea chopped fresh sage + oregano
1 bay leaf
1 peeled garlic (on toothpick)
I blended and made a light green powdered herb salt. Set on plate overnight to dry well. Shake every day, after 3 days remove garlic and after 1 month bay leaf. Keep in pantry in glass jar. Photo by PattyCooks.
Citrus Salt
1/4C kosher salt
Zest from 1 ea lemon, lime, orange
Peels from 1 ea lemon, lime, orange
Dry zest and peels in oven, using a parchment lined foil or baking sheet, at 175F for 2 hours before adding to salt. Photo by PattyCooks.
(Also made infused water (lime, lemon, blood orange) with leftovers).
Mushroom Sage Salt
1/4C kosher salt
1C dried and grind mushrooms (caps or stems)
Sage leaves
Although I already dried these mushrooms, I want them very dry. So cooked in oven at 200F for 1 hour, then 1 hour with oven off. Grind mushrooms to a powder and add to salt mixture. Add some fresh sage leaves. Keep in pantry in glass sealed jar. The salt should keep the sage from going bad, but remove after a month so it does not get too “sagey.” Photo by PattyCooks.
Veggie Salt
Tomato, bell peppers, and carrots are veggies that sometimes get peeled. Save those peels and combine in a bowl with salt (a 1:1 ratio) and dry in the oven (200F for 2 hours on a parchment lined baking sheet). Then put those peels and any salt on the baking sheet, into a processor to grind up. Then back into the oven for another ~30-45 minutes to make sure the mixture is dry. If you want it a finer grain salt, put back into the processor, otherwise it is ready to use as a veggie salt. Store in a tightly seeled glass jar in your pantry.
Red Wine Salt
1 good bottle red wine
1C coarse sea salt (additional 1/2C in reserve)
In a saucepan pour the wine and bring to boil. Reduce to a simmer and reduce; the wine will reduce its volume down to a few tablespoons and becomes a syrup (takes ~45min). Take off the heat and cool to room temperature. Mix in 1C of the salt making sure it gets all around to absorb the remaining wine syrup. If there is still liquid left after a good mixing, add up to 1/2C more salt. Once fully incorporated, pour the mixture onto a parchment lined baking sheet and spread it out. You can air dry, or dry in the oven at the lowest temperature setting you can (200F). While drying, rake the salt occasionally with a fork so it does not clump.
Sea Salt (finishing salt)
If you want a nice finishing salt that emulates sea salt, you can make your own using a slow cooker.
According to Skillet the ratio is one gram of kosher salt to four milliliters of water, place the mixture in your slow cooker and put the setting on low. Do not use a lid and do not disturb the process of growing crystals by mixing or bothering the process. After 1 hour crystals will start to show, after 3 hours you will have moist salt. Once the water is gone and you are left with moist salt at the bottom of the pan, remove the salt and set out on paper towels or a clean kitchen towel to dry.