Salt News

My second book, Salt Block Cooking: 70 Recipes for Grilling, Chilling, Searing, and Serving on Himalayan Salt Blocks, will be released on May 28th everywhere books are sold! (if you want a signed copy, please buy from The Meadow’s online store here>>) I want to take a moment to introduce the book to you, and share a few of the recipes it includes. My publisher Andrews McMeel did an incredible job crafting the book itself. It’s a gorgeous hardback, 224 pages long and has over 100 full color photographs.

Salt Block Cooking is a comprehensive guide to the craft of cooking with Himalayan salt in its rough, primordial state–which is to say, as a rock. Salt blocks are boulders of 600 million year old rock salt that are cut into slabs or lathed into cups and bowls for use in the kitchen and at the table.

Cooking with salt blocks is emerging as a powerful but accessible technique, appearing everywhere from Iron Chef America competitions to ritzy Las Vegas steak houses to backyard family barbecues.  Everyone who sees it or tastes food made with it recognized the flavorful, flashy fun that salt blocks have to offer. But until now, the enormous potential has not been explored.  Cooking on salt blocks is indeed fun, but it is also a revolutionary cooking technique that promises serious benefits for cooks and eaters of every stripe.

‘Salt Block Cooking’  provides simple, modern recipes that illustrate the principles of preparing and serving food on Himalayan salt. Beginners will benefit from helpful information on shopping for a block, maintenance, heating, cooling, handling, serving, and cooking with their blocks. More adventurous salt block cooks will find an array of new tips, techniques and recipes (salt block curing a slice of watermelon into a savory prosciutto-like “ham”, anyone?).

My book is divided into seven sections, an introduction serving as an Owner’s Manual, and six cooking chapters, each providing information and recipes for mastering a core technique:

Introduction to Salt Blocks: Where are Himalayan salt blocks, where do they come from, and how are they used? The introduction will answer all your questions about how to select and use your Himalayan salt block.  Think of this as the user guide or owner’s manual.  It includes detailed instructions for warming, chilling, and cooking with your block, and how to clean up afterwards, with pictures to guide you every step of the way.

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Mark Bitterman :: May.03.2013 :: Recipes, Salt Blocks :: No Comments »

Saindhava lavana is name for Himalayan Pink rock salt. The word “Saindhava” refers to the ancient Sindhu Kingdom talked of in the Indian epic The Mahabharata. The Sindhu kingdom was located in the Indus river valley in modern day Pakistan. “Lavana” means “salt”. So Saindhava Lavana means salt that comes from the region of the Indus river valley. The famous Khewra Salt Mine, one of the primary sources of Saindhava Lavana, is located in the foothills at the head of the valley beside one of the tributaries of the Indus.

Saindhava lavana, which is mined in Pakistan, is sold widely in India as a culinary salt. Many Indians mistakenly believe the salt actually originates in India. Saindhava lavana is also the base salt that goes into making Kala Namak and Sajji salts. Saindhava Lavana is also sold in Europe and the United States as “Himalayan Pink” or “Himalayan Pink Sea Salt” (even though it is a rock salt). It is ground and used as a culinary salt, carved into salt lamps, and also carved into Himalayan salt blocks used for cooking and serving food. My new book, “Salt Block Cooking,” details how to use these blocks for grilling, chilling, and serving food.

Mark Bitterman :: Mar.06.2013 :: Gourmet Salt :: No Comments »

Cooking steak on a slab of pink Himalayan salt isn’t like cooking on steel. When you cook on a Himalayan salt block, the heat of the block sears and browns proteins of the steak and melts fat, while the salt subtly dehydrates the surface and seasons to perfection. Together the heat and salt work in harmony to produce a tremendously tender and salted steak slices.

Cooking on Himalayan salt is unlike anything else, so here’s a step-by-step guide for how to do it: How to Cook Steak on a Himalayan Salt Block. Every step is explained in detail, with pictures to show you how to do it:

1. Select the right block
2. Heat it slowly
3. Cut, apply, and cook the steak
4. Clean your salt block
5. Store for later use

We use steak as an example because its one of our favorite things to cook on Himalayan salt. But these principles can be applied to cooking on salt in general – from scallops to eggs, bell peppers to fiddleheads and duck breast.

Go read: How to Cook Steak on a Himalayan Salt Block

For more information, see: Our Guide to Pink Himalayan Salt Blocks and Meadow fan Deanna Dawson’s How to Cook a Hanger Steak on a Himalayan Salt Block guide.

Mark Bitterman :: Oct.17.2012 :: Gourmet Salt, Recipes, Salt Blocks :: No Comments »

Iceland may be the last place you’d expect to find a salt made from 100% renewable energy. But Icelandic Flake is just that – and one of the best flake salts around to boot. Here’s an excerpt from our new profile of Saltverk, the company that has revitalized Iceland’s geothermal salt making traditions:

In 2011, three self-described “foodies” and graduate students, Bjorn Steinar Jonsson, Yngvi Eiriksson, and Gardar, took the research that culminated in a pair of Master’s degrees (economics and engineering), and reestablished the 240-year-old tradition of salt making in Iceland. Gardar says that the company “embodies calmness reminiscent of the location of its tranquil production surroundings” and “contains the flavor and taste of the Nordic region, from which the raw materials are derived.”

“There is no turning back, simply because we love food,” says Gardar Stefansson. “We are utterly fascinated and passionate in crafting sustainable salt that fits every dish and tastes great.”

Their energy and passion have culminated in a superbly crunchy, mineral-fresh sea salt produced using only energy from geothermal hot springs – Icelandic Flake Sea Salt. It is a crackling-sparkling topping on hamburgers, hearty garden vegetable dishes, and grilled fish. Saltverk is located in the northwest corner of Iceland on a small peninsula called Reykjanes. “The word Reykjanes is based on two Icelandic words,” says Gardar. “One is ‘reykur,’ which translates into smoke. The other word is ‘nes,’ which translates as small peninsula. Literally, the name means ‘smoky peninsula’(the capital of Iceland, Reykjavík, means “smoky cove”. Reykjanes teaming with wildlife, whales, seals, and birds is located deep in the bay of Ísafjarðardjúp, separating two fjords, surrounded with high mountains.

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Mark Bitterman :: Sep.13.2012 :: Gourmet Salt :: No Comments »

 This recipe is adapted from the “Salt Block Gravlax” recipe in Salted: A Manifesto on the World’s Most Essential Mineral, with Recipes.

Serves 6

2 large Himalayan Salt Blocks (6x9x2) or The Meadow’s Gravlax Starter Set (two 4x8x2)
Bunch of fresh dill sprigs
2 teaspoons freshly ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon dry yellow mustard
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 pound salmon fillet, skin on, pin bones removed
Melba toast or crackers for serving

Cover one block with half of the dill sprigs. Mix the dry ingredients. Place the salmon on the dill-covered salt block, skin down. Coat the fleshy parts of the salmon, and cover with the remainder of the dill sprigs. Place the second salt block on top, wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap, and place in a fridge.

Leave in the fridge until the fish becomes resilient but not firm to the touch. The top surface should be dry, the sides moist, and the flesh will be slightly opaque. Allow one to three days. Thinner and wild salmon cure faster, while thicker and farm-raised salmon take longer.

When it is ready, unwrap the gravlax, rinse off the spices, and pat dry. Serve skin side down on melba toast or crackers.

Mark Bitterman :: Aug.30.2012 :: Gourmet Salt, Recipes, Salt Blocks :: 2 Comments »

The Meadow carries over a dozen different types of Japanese sea salts, more than from just about any other single country. Japan has a long tradition of making salt using their home-grown techniques that are unlike any found in the rest of the world.

We’re often asked how the Fukushima Dai-ichi reactor disaster in March of 2011 effects the salt products coming from Japan. We’ve written an extensive article about Radiation and Japanese Sea Salt to try and answer this question. The article covers the basics of how radiation works, where our salts are made in Japan relative to Fukushima, and if there is any impact on the quality of Japanese sea salt.

The Meadow is also still selling a set of three Japanese sea salts to benefit the victims of the tsunami. All net proceeds from the sale of this product will be donated to Mercy Corp.

Mark Bitterman :: Jul.30.2012 :: Gourmet Salt :: No Comments »