cooking with salt

I had the privilege of working with a chef from Morgentser in Cape Town; his hobby is collecting salts from around the world, repacking, branding them and selling them. I never thought salt would be of any interest until I saw him heat up a slab of Himalayan rock salt to 250 degrees centigrade, pop a steak on it and serve it! He did not apply any seasoning; the steak just sizzled on the salt and drew in the natural flavours! He has salt that naturally forms itself into tiny white soft pearls and the sulphur salt that smells like off eggs, but they all impart their own distinct flavour and work with different dishes. May chefs and food critics alike are aware that salt tends to break down the flavour of wine and hence this is a rather touchy subject as food and wine are meant to be paired and without salt food would have no taste. But there are wines that work well with these salts – mainly the white whites. So give salt a try. A tip: My dad is hypertensive (has high blood pressure) and so it’s essential to cut down the salt in his diet. When you add flavourings such as herbs and spices you tend to use less salt, but I never remember to add all these things or I am always short on time. Go out buy yourself a packet of natural salt, some garlic flakes, a lemon, a lime and dill. Zest your lemon and lime and allow it to dry with your chopped dill (if it’s fresh) or pop it in the oven for 5 min on low. In a bottle mix in your salt, garlic flakes and dried lemon, lime zest and dill. That’s how you make a flavoured salt that you can use for any dish! Enjoy