The Miracle of Salt is one of the most interesting and useful books I've come across in some time. Salt of course is vital to life itself. You need salt for proper cellular and nerve function. But this book isn't really about that. Salt comes in dozens of different forms around the world - colors, flakes, crystals - and believe it or not, different salts have different flavors.
Over the years I've strayed very far away from the New England and Southern Appalachian cooking that I learned at my grandmas knees. You are far more likely to find Mexican. Southwestern, Chinese, Thai, North African and the various cuisines of Southern Europe on my table than you are black eyed peas and collard greens. And of course that greatly increases the number of "staples" in my pantry and spice cupboard. I also happen to live in a pretty rural area so some things you might easily find in New York or San Francisco simply are unobtainable unless I order them online at some outrageous price or make them myself.
For years I accommodated that lack with my annual trip to the UK. It has become a habit to pack the clothes in the small suitcase, the small suitcase in the large suitcase so I only have to check one bag and bring the larger bag back full of things that are obtainable only at a cost approaching that of gold here - spice mixes from India, jars of preserved lemons, more jars of salt preserved anchovies, golden syrup and on it goes.
You can, however, make many of those special things at home. Preserved lemons are dead easy, requiring only small lemons, salt and a jar with a lid that won't rust. Kimchi is a bit more complicated, but not by much. The whole first half of The Miracle of Salt is full of recipes and instructions for putting up dozens of things of that nature. You'll even find instructions for producing your very own corned beef, a real treat.
The rest of the book is chock-full of recipes that use these salty ingredients so full of umami. I was delighted to find a recipe for one of my favorites - Pasta Puttanesca. Salt's recipe, titled Spaghetti Al la Puttanesca, is almost identical to mine. This is literally a 10 minute meal, one that everyone thinks is so exotic, something you must have gone to a great deal of trouble over. (Mine makes a smaller amount, uses only half the tomato). If you can't find salt packed anchovies use the canned ones packed in olive oil. Don't waste that oil - use it for that called for in the recipe. By the way, the anchovies melt right into the sauce, nobody would ever know they are there. There is absolutely no need to cook this in front of picky husbands or children. Simply don't mention them.
One section I particularly loved is the Salads and Vegetables. The Mixed Greens with Preserved Lemons is delightful year round but I especially like this during harvest season when my CSA is full of various greens.
I could go on, but just thinking about some of these recipes is making me rather hungry so I'm off for a snack.
Grandma's $0.02 - Broaden your horizons. You'll find lots to love here. Recommended
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From the Publisher
A Note from the Author
“Salt is as familiar as the water and air we breathe and it’s just as essential to us….This book celebrates salt’s essential role in helping us make the best use of our food by persevering it and enhancing it, that it not only keeps well but also tastes delicious.”
—Naomi Duguid
BUILD YOUR SALT LARDER: Learn age-old techniques from around the world for making enticing blends of salt and spices, condiments, and preserves
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Red MisoMiso is an ancient fundamental of the Japanese kitchen. You’ll find the sweet-salty paste used in sauces, marinades, soups, and other dishes where umami is welcome. It is made by fermenting cooked beans or grains with koji, producing a salty, complex depth of flavor. |
Herb and Ginger SaltThe Indian state of Uttarakhand—just west of Nepal—has a tradition of making flavored salts called pisi loon. The resulting blend is a beautiful bright green, with an aromatic herbal heat from the combination of green chiles, mint, coriander leaves, and other herbs which adds delicious depth to a variety of dishes. |
Salt-Preserved LemonsA Moroccan staple, salt-preserved lemons are an incredibly versatile pantry essential. Lemons are commonly quartered and then rubbed with salt before being stuffed into jars. After a few months, the preserved lemons will be very soft and sweeter tasting, perfect for everything from sauces to roast chicken to cake. |
Brined TomatoesThe distinctive Easter European take on tomatoes is very simple to make and a refreshing accompaniment to any meal. Brined tomatoes, preserved by fermentation without vinegar, are a distinctive food, a great way to extend the summer. |
FROM LARDER TO TABLE: Utilize your salt pantry—homemade or store-bought—to elevate your everyday cooking at home, imparting delicious flavors from global cuisines
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Kimchi AioliThe spicy, umami flavors of kimchi make this spread a perfect accompaniment to beef or pork sandwiches, hamburgers, or freshly grilled vegetables—it’s especially delicious on corn on the cob, or as a condiment for grilled chicken or shellfish. |
Kebabs Marinated with Fish Sauce and Pomegranate MolassesA twist on a classic dish, these delicious skewers are marinated in Pomegranate Molasses and fish sauce. The fish sauce adds an umami saltiness to the usual tart-sweet flavor of traditional Persian-style kebabs. |
Spaghetti MentaikoThis fusion dish created in Japan uses salted fish roe to make a simple, buttery sauce. Strands of toasted nori provide additional salt and umami, in place of traditional grated cheese. |
Salted Almond Chocolate BrittleAn airy version of nut brittle, with surprising savory overtones from soy sauce, this treat is made of toasted almonds topped with a skim of dark chocolate, and an added flourish of flaky salt, if you like. |
SALT GEOGRAPHY & HARVESTING TECHNIQUES: Learn fascinating history behind salt production and harvesting in all corners of the world
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Noto Peninsula, Japan |
Maras, Peru |
Lac Rose, Senegal |
Burang, Nepal |
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Reviews with images
Very enjoyable book to read about my favorite food topic. Not so much a book to cook from
I love salt. I love making salted preserved foods such as pickles and sauerkraut and gravlax, and I love using these in making meals, so I was excited to get this book. It is divided into two main sections: The Salt Larder, on preserving foods with salt, and From Larder to Table, on using salt-preserved foods in cooking and meal preparation. After browsing the introduction and first section, I think I would be more inclined to use this as a book for reading rather than a book on preserving, at least as far as the basics are concerned. This book is very international in flavor, which makes it very interesting to read, but less useful for most people to cook from. And for many of the basics people of European descent will be most interested in, this book is a bit thin, and I think you can find better versions elsewhere. Plus, it tries to cover every type of cured product out there, involving all of the food groups. That's a lot to do in one cookbook!For example, there is only one recipe included for sauerkraut, which calls for directly salting green cabbage and then massaging it and putting it into jars. While this seems to be a popular current technique, I've had no luck with it, and haven't been pleased by the results. Traditionally, sauerkraut is made with white cabbage, which is softer and works far better for making sauerkraut than the hard green cabbage most American supermarkets stock. You can find white cabbage at Asian supermarkets, if you have any in your town. They sometimes call it Taiwanese cabbage. It is much paler, larger, and somewhat flatter and less round than green cabbage, although it is not, strictly speaking, white. It contains enough moisture that there’s no need to massage it. Simply shred and salt and let sit half an hour before packing into jars. Plenty of brine appears very quickly. If you must use standard hard round green cabbage, you're much better off slicing it as thinly as you can, putting it in a jar not too well-packed, and pouring over it a cool brine made from 1/2 tablespoon of fine salt per cup of water. Follow any standard sauerkraut instructions for fermenting it at a mildly-warm temperature, then let it finish curing somewhere very cool or cold, like a frigid basement or a refrigerator.Then there is the matter of cucumber pickles. There is only one recipe, and it's for a quick Japanese-style pickle that calls for vinegar in addition to salt, not a salt brine cured one. And then you add a soy sauce dressing at the end. That's very disappointing. Part of the reason for this may be the desire not to cover ground a lot of other cookbooks and blogs cover, but I personally prefer solid, traditional European-American recipes with some interesting variations instead of experimental, complicated, and/or international things. I do like to learn about foreign techniques and ingredients and try to incorporate ones that sound good into my own cooking, but I don't generally have an interest in making completely foreign dishes as-is, unless it's something very simple.She does have some very interesting recipes for Acadian / Quebecois salted herbs I might try, as well as some unique things from around the world, but I always find very foreign recipes to be iffy in terms of execution and outcome, not to mention buying all the ingredients and hoping the outcome is worth the effort. I will note that she has more recipes for Asian preserved vegetables such as Kimchi than for European-American ones. I was struck by that.And for many of the other preserved foods, there is more description and photo than recipe and instructions. Granted, some things are time-consuming, difficult, or not practical to make at home. She does have recipes for some cured meats, although many of these require a period of cool air-drying, which for most people will mean having an extra refrigerator on-hand to have the proper temperature, humidity, and space. Not practical for many of us, sadly.I haven't yet gotten to the second section concerning using salt-preserved foods in cooking and meal preparation, so I cannot comment on it, although a quick flip-through shows it is very international as well.All in all, this is a great book to browse and read and explore, to put on a coffee table, or to give as a gift. It is less, in my estimation, a book to cook from.
