For many of us, salt is this bottle of small white crystals placed in the middle of the table, at the restaurant or in the canteen 🧂. But at Quai Sud, salt is much more fun! 😎 Blue, pink, red... we see them in all colors and all over the world! Embark with us for a world tour of colored salts and discover the origin of their beautiful colors, their specificities and how to use them in the kitchen.
The different types of salt
Even if originally they all come from the sea 🌊, there are 3 types of salt:
- sea salt : extracted from sea water in salt marshes, it is a gray salt, sometimes naturally white like the flower of salt, or which turns white after refining, like our famous canteen salt. In its natural state, it retains its moisture and is rich in iodine and magnesium.
- The earth salt : also called Rock salt or extraction salt, earth salt is a mineral of marine origin. The sea that housed it retreated millions of years ago and it turned into a solid rock ⛏. It is a pure salt because preserved from pollution, rather dry, and very rich in trace elements. It is neither iodized nor refined. The best known rock salts are pink salt and blue salt, as well as bright white salt frost from Egypt, and peach-colored salt from Murray River (Australia).
- lake salt : as its name suggests, it comes from a salt lake or an enclosed sea. Under the action of the wind, the water evaporates, sometimes leaving a salty desert. They are therefore particularly salty salts with an intense flavor, whose color varies from pure white for the pearls of Lake Assal in Djibouti, to rosé for the mirror salt of Bolivia.
At Quai Sud, we don't have any lake salts, but one day, maybe... In the meantime, let's discover together the colored salts around the world.
Colored salts around the world
Among the places that give color salts, Hawaii is undoubtedly the most exceptional. No less than 3 colored salts come from the Pacific archipelago, more precisely from the island of Molokai. Hawaiian black salt owes its astonishing color to the black lava rocks present in the evaporation basins. From volcanoes 🌋, these rocks are loaded with activated charcoal with detoxifying properties.
Another surprising sea salt, hawaii red salt gets its color from volcanic clay (alaea in Hawaiian) with which it is dried in the sun. A little spicy and full of character, its delicate flavor is reminiscent of grilled hazelnut 😋. Finally, Hawaiian green salt is enriched with bamboo leaves. Its vegetable taste is close to green tea.
On the side of rock salts, Himalayan pink salt comes from mines in northeastern Pakistan. It is found in the form of large crystals or salt board. It is rich in iron, hence its beautiful pink color. Very rare, Persian blue salt comes from very fine veins from Iranian mines. It gets its deep blue highlights from sylvite, a potassium-rich mineral. Its spicy and tangy flavor is just… stunning!
In Europe, we are more soft color side! Pyramid black salt from Cyprus enriched with activated carbon, Fleur de sel of pure white harvested from the surface of the marshes of the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts, gray salt rich in mineral clay harvested at the bottom of the basin… We also produce smoked salt with brown beech wood, based on an old Viking recipe… Quite a program!
What color salt on your plate?
A world tour whets the appetite, so let's get to the kitchen! 🍽 Which salt to choose to spice up your dishes? 🤔 As for wine, salt goes well with local dishes. This is especially true for our Hawaiian salts which work wonders with Asian cuisine (green salt), a poke bowl or grilled pork (red salt).
In addition to their wow effect, the black salts from Hawaii and Cyprus bring their crunch as the final touch to raw vegetables, seafood or white fish. They add a nice flavor to eggs and potatoes by adding a decorative touch.
Quite universal in its use, pink salt reveals itself when used as a fleur de sel on red meat or fatty fish. It also subtly enhances chocolate desserts. As for blue salt, its spicy and lemony flavor sublimates scallops, poultry and foie gras. Finally, the smoked salt is unique with meats and divine with salmon…
To taste like your health, prefer unrefined salts, rich in trace elements and without additives. To consume with a lot of moderation (5g per day maximum) to protect your heart ❤…
Find all our colored salts in our discovery box, also available in bulk bags of 200g.
