I love salt. I try to have different types of salt on hand – fine sea salt, coarse salt, margarita salt – so I can experiment with textures when I cook and bake. I even consider myself a salt connoisseur. So when I received The Spice Lab’s “Salts of the World” collection, I was immediately inspired.
This beautiful collection of four salts – Himalayan Pink Salt, Fleur de Sel, coarse Hawaiian Red Salt, and Applewood Smoked Salt – is creatively packaged in test tubes with cork seals. I enjoy feeling like a mad scientist in the kitchen, and this approach appealed to me.
For my first experiment (I mean “meal”), I seasoned four ground Angus beef patties with tellicherry black pepper and the Hawaiian red salt and fried them on my electric grill. The resulting crust on top of the burger was packed with a hearty flavor and offered a delightful crunch. I topped our fries with the Fleur de Sel, which, in my opinion, is what salt should taste like: light, bright, and of the sea.
The next night, my husband and I made a family favorite: pork chops and roasted Brussels sprouts. My hubby took over Brussels sprouts duty, tossing the sprouts with olive oil, pepper, garlic, and the Himalayan salt. I tackled the pork chops, dipping them in a flour mixture with pepper and the Applewood salt, then frying them in a skillet with canola oil and butter. The Applewood salt seems to be made for pork. And we all lamented that we didn’t have more Brussels sprouts; the Himalayan salt added just the right amount of saltiness without overpowering the garlic and rich flavor of the sprout.
For my final test (and because I couldn’t get enough of the Applewood salt), I whipped up my breakfast specialty: sausage gravy. I use mild sausage because I like to create my own seasoning mix. And after indulging in this concoction, I can say with certainty that the Applewood salt is my new favorite staple. The deep, woody flavor of this salt brought a new depth to my gravy that I hope to duplicate every Sunday.
My new favorite breakfast is boiled eggs and toast, so I sprinkled the Hawaiian red salt and Applewood salt on top. Each salt added a delightful texture to their respective egg half and made my breakfast appear pretty fancy!
I also received a jar of cinnamon and two types of tea: Cardamom and Stress Relief. The cinnamon was delightfully aromatic but didn’t overpower my coffee when I sprinkled some in, and the loose-leaf stress relief tea helped me nurse myself through a cold.
A word of caution: The salt tubes are made of glass. When you remove the cork, be sure to pull up and not to the side. I broke two test tubes that way. That’s not the fault of The Spice Lab.
Wonderful gift ideas
I’ve never heard of some of these salts, but I do love salt. I like sea salt and use it a lot. My family loves salt too. It really does add flavor to a lot of dishes. This would be a nice gift, especially for someone who likes to cook. I had to pin this. It’s just my husband and I now so we can be experimenting with the different salts 🧂 on different meals. This should be fun! Thank you for sharing!!
I don’t use a lot of salt, but I have only tried regular salt, I do love the spice rack
I’m a salt fan too. I had no idea that there were so many varieties. Thank you for the information, and I will be looking to add some flavor to my favorite dishes.
Honestly I thought salt was salt. I had no idea there was such a variety of salts. I am definitely going to check out some different salt varieties! Thanks!
I am so hesitant about using spices but these salts seem like something I would actually like trying out
What a neat display rack! I think my favorite after a sample of it was the Smoked Sea Salt. The aroma alone made my mouth water. I began thinking of all the recipes I could add this flavorful salt to. Thanks for the review!
That is beautiful, I would love to have that in my kitchen!
The display case is beautiful but I bet whats inside it is the real prize!!
I love the look of the spice rack. I would love to try and incorporate the different salts in my cooking.
Really nice set! Love trying out different flavors of seasonings and salts, right up my alley.
This looks wonderful. We use a lot of sea salt and we would get a lot of use out of it.
That is a gorgeous rack and would make such a nice gift. Adding some new flavors would make dinners more interesting.
I love their little display case, and the flavors all sound delicious, especially the bacon one.
Oooh!! Such fun flavors!! I love freshly ground salt too! We will have to try this! A perfect gift idea as well!
Thank you for sharing. This sound like something that I would love to try.
I love specialty salts. It makes everything look prettier. Seems to taste better too.
I love trying out new spices. Spice Lab sounds like a pretty neat source. I’ll look into them.
I started using Pink Himalayan salt about a year ago. The difference it makes in taste is amazing~
These salts sound great. I would love to try the Applewood Salt.
excellent gift ideas for the holiday season
Nice stuff to give as a gift