Salt has always gotten a bad rap, only because we use way too much on everything! “Table” salt really has no nutritional value and we load up on enough sodium throughout the day in all the junk we eat, there’s no reason to salt your food anyway. But gourmet salts may be the way to go instead. Even though they are still high in sodium, using a little to cook with and then a pinch to flavor the meal may be beneficial to your health. Some beg to differ, but I can guarantee that they will flavor your foods, add minerals to your diet that you may other wise not be getting, and gourmet salts are a great way to season all your favorite dishes.
There are over 100’s of different kinds ranging in different textures and tastes. Salt is naturally formed in the earth and range in colors from pink, red, white, even black. They are high in mineral and iron content. Normal table salt usually has the iodine removed which we need for T3 and T4, which are your thyroid hormones. In turn your thyroid hormones effect every cell in your body! This includes giving your energy, stabilizing your body temperature, helps maintain a healthy body weight, brain development and function, emotional health, and keeps your hair, nail, and skin healthy! And because I am a foodie, you’ll never meet a chef that won’t praise a gourmet salt and how well they enhance their dishes or how much they truly love to cook with different kinds.
Here are some of my favorites along with some of the benefits of including gourmet salts into your cooking as well as your diets. Himalayan pink salts are the purest salt on earth. It is known to lower your blood pressure, (as long as you’re not eating it by the handful) improves circulation, and detoxes the body from heavy metals.
Hawaiian Algae Sea Salt- This salt is baked in Hawaiian clay and is red in color. The clay enriches the salt with iron oxide and is used the most in traditional Hawaiian dishes. My brother-in-law is the General Manager of Merriman’s in Waimea, on the big island and conveniently sent me pictures of all his tables stocked with Hawaiian sea salt to prove they use it as regular table salt or just to rub it in a little more that he lives in paradise. 🙂
Flake Sea Salt- This salt is evaporated sea water. Using sun and wind, it produces a brine, it’s then fed into an evaporating pan, when heated up, crystals of salt appear. This salt is great for fish and vegetable dishes!
Cyprus Black Lava Salt- From the island of Cyprus. A Mediterranean salt, mixed with activated charcoal gives its dark color. A natural detoxifier, the charcoal absorbs toxins in the body.
Smoked Sea Salt- This salt is smoked over wood fires and is great for roasts and grilling out. Giving your foods the great smokey flavoring. Perfect for summer!
The list is endless when it comes to the different tastes, colors, textures, and enhancements salt can bring to your cooking and dishes. I’ve had salts infused with black truffles from Italy and sea salts from the French coasts. I love them all and add them to my dishes daily. Just remember they are still high in sodium, so consuming large amounts of sodium can be detrimental to your health so choose some of your favorites and just add a pinch here and there. Enjoy and happy cooking and tasting! 😉
Related Articles:
- Himalasalt-The Purest Salt On Earth (www.himalasalt.com)
Wow, I never heard of black salt! This article was very informative and of course well done!
Thanks Sweets! Love my salt! 😉 Gourmet ones are so much more fun to play with and black salt is the coolest I think! 🙂
This encourages me, Kelly! I haven’t been too “into” salt for most of my life, but then I was given some of these beautiful salts at Christmas, and I can’t stop using them! LOL! They are wonderful. i’m glad to know a bit more about them. 🙂
🙂 Glad I can help. I think we’ve been told all the bad things about salt our entire lives, but they do have minerals and nutrients are body needs for thriving unless of course you’re using regular table salt. I think the thing is to use it wisely and not over do it, but as Americans we tend to over do everything so they tell us to stay away. I wish they would tell everyone to stay away from McDonalds. Maybe the health of this country would turn around 🙂 What kind of salts did you get? I have so many my cabinet is busting!
I’m working from memory here, but the salts were all in little grinders, so they were course and many called sea salts. One was a Pink Himalayan, and another was Hawaiian Sea Salt. I think there was a smoked sea salt, and maybe one or two more…the point for me is that I thought they were pretty, and fun, but I hadn’t considered any real mineral or nutritional value. I’m kind of excited to pay more attention now. And I so agree with you about McDonald’s. It really does concern me that there is so little consciousness about the longterm health problems of eating so poorly. I’m not a model of perfection by any stretch–although I don’t do fast food at this stage in my life–but I am always trying to learn more. And I’m now going to learn more about salt, so thank you! 🙂
Sounds fabulous! Hope you try them out and love them! Good to hear from you sweet Lady!
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Gourmet Salt is Really to Good for your recipes to make you Foo Dish yummy. Its Change the taste of Food as Delicious.
Gourmet Salts
Thanks for stopping by! I love my gourmet salts!! 😉