The market · Seasonings and ferments · Northern and Central Europe
Flaky salt
Hollow pyramid crystals from evaporated seawater, for finishing rather than cooking.
crunchy
What to do with it
Classics built on it
CatalanPa amb tomàquetSlices of country bread, toasted or not, rubbed with a cut ripe tomato and sometimes garlic, then soaked with olive oil and salted.No one here has made it yetCatalanEscalivadaAubergines, red peppers and onions roasted whole in the embers until blackened and soft, then peeled, torn into strips and dressed with olive oil.No one here has made it yetAndalusianPescaíto fritoSmall fish, squid and pieces of dogfish tossed in flour and fried fast in hot olive oil, eaten crisp with salt and lemon.No one here has made it yetGalicianPulpo a la gallegaBoiled octopus cut into rounds with scissors, dressed with olive oil, pimentón and coarse salt, on a wooden plate.No one here has made it yetGalicianPimientos de PadrónSmall green peppers fried whole in olive oil until blistered, then salted — most of them mild, now and then one hot.No one here has made it yetAlsatianBretzelA knotted bread dipped in a lye bath before baking, so it comes out deep brown and shiny, scattered with coarse salt.No one here has made it yet Kinds
- Maldon
- English, crisp and clean.
- Fleur de sel
- French, damp and hand-raked.
- Smoked
- Flaky salt cold-smoked over wood.
Cooked with, here
buttersherry vinegar–8 hours ahead marinate the fishabout 30 g well-aged comtébutter plus a little neutral oilcaperchivechopped parsley Put with it only once, though they're used elsewhere here — where experiments start:
Knowing it
- Where to buy
- Supermarkets and delis.
- Worth knowing
- Crush it between your fingers as it goes on, and it lands as crunch rather than a salty spot.
More seasonings and ferments