The Spice & Sauces Thread

I know, I know. What the heck is a “finishing salt?” Those of us who don’t get out much – preferring to stay at home and get very dirty in our gardens (so gorgeous this time of year!) – generally don’t have much experience with gourmet dining and all those snooty, exotic condiments that gourmands swear by. But a finishing salt is just a little shaker or mini-bowl of salt that is mixed with a flavoring spice, the many varieties specific to certain foods.

And since those of us who love puttering in the garden usually know something about both preserving our harvests and cooking up spectacular dishes (gourmet or just darned yummy) with what we’ve grown, finishing salts can be great fun and also can greatly impress your friends and families!

Not the least because if you actually go out and buy finishing salts, you’ll be spending a pretty penny on what’s way too easy to make for yourself! I found on the web a site called The Meadow that offers flavored salts. $18 for soy salt, $14 for saffron salt and truffle salt, $9.50 for vanilla salt… for a ‘taster’ of 1.2 ounces, nowhere close to a pound! Holy moley, Batman! Why, a mere 12 ounces of the soy salt goes for just under $165!!! Wow. I could sell pounds of finishing salt to my fresh herb restaurant customers for a bundle! Is this a new market item?


They mostly use a sea salt base, and while I usually use the good ol’ salt-in-a-box from the local grocery (with iodine), sea salt can be purchased at a health food or organic food store for about two dollars for the same 16 ounces you can get in the round box for about 35¢. Sea salt is a MUST for home made pretzels and other goodies, so I do keep a pound on hand. Now I’ll just have to buy another pound when I get to town, turn it into 5 or 6 different finishing salts. Or several pounds for finishing salts if the restaurant customers express interest. If not sea salt (which contains natural iodine), you can always use the Kosher salt you keep on hand for pickling, as it contains no additives.

From what I can find in the way of recipes for finishing salts, they aren’t hard to make. We who use herbs in our cooking and occasionally have shakers of ground herbs on the table, finishing salts are just a combo for the table, nothing more. A bit like those salt substitutes you buy in the spice aisle, but with actual salt. There’s your basic garlic salt, salt-pepper blends, parsley, celery and dill (made with fine ground seeds), citrus, saffron, tarragon, rosemary, mint, thyme, basil, chives… whatever herbs you grow and regularly use can be mixed with sea salt and turned into a gourmet finishing salt.

The Mixing ratio is about 1/4 cup salt to 1 tablespoon herb or 1 teaspoon spice. Depends of course on the strength of what you’re adding, and will be adjustable according to taste (yours and your family’s). Here are some of the blends I’ve found that will make excellent finishing salts -

• Tangerine Salt. Grind dried pieces of tangerine (can use orange, lemon and/or lime) peels. Great on roasted chicken, vegetable side dishes, light pastas, seafood and omelets.

• Smoked Pepper Salt. Smoked, finely powdered pepper (paprika or chiles, Thai hots, whatever peppers you like best with the most intense flavor). Use it whenever you want a powerful smoky flavor – potatoes, fried rice, grilled meats of all varieties.

• Szechuan Peppercorn Salt. Dried, finely ground Szechuan peppercorn, which is not really a peppercorn, but a berry. Very aromatic, you can dry-roast these yourself (and make your house smell great), get them from an Asian food store. Use on any dish that could use a spice kick, particularly good in stir-fry.

• Mushroom Salts. You could make truffle salt, but truffles are mighty expensive and don’t grow where I can easily find them. Some great mushrooms that could make a very good salt are Shiitakes or any other strongly-flavored variety. I love stuffed puffballs, adding the spores to salt would be very tasty, as would using the orange shelf fungus that grows here, very tasty but tough. Dry and grind, add to the salt. Great on eggs/omelets, red meat, and vegetable-rice dishes.

• Sassafras Salt. This one’s a bit harder to make, but is the bees’ knees on fresh seafood – particularly grilled trout and salmon. Red fall sassafras leaves are dried and ground to make the Cajun spice filé, which is a necessary ingredient in gumbos and jambalaya. It’s also well known as a meat tenderizer. The most flavorful part, however, is the inner bark of the roots (that’s why they used to call the beverage “root beer”). Since we’ve lots of little sassafras trees growing in the woods and along the paths here, it’s not hard to come by. Wash the roots thoroughly, peel off the outer dark bark carefully, and scrape the reddish inner bark. Dry thoroughly (you can slow-roast it), grind fine and add to salt. If you love grilled trout or other freshwater fish like I do, this finishing salt will be your best friend!

Of course you can mix and match, and green herbs can be added liberally to any kind of finishing salt. Tarragon with lemon/lime for seafood, basil with sun dried tomato for anything, parsley with the garlic salt (helps mask garlic breath), rosemary for any vegetable dish with sweet peppers, radish pods (hot!), etc., etc., etc. You’ll find your own favorites, the blends can become a regular gourmet addition to your meals!