Salted: A Manifesto on the World's Most Essential Mineral, with Recipes

by Mark Bitterman

James Beard Cookbook Award Winner.  IACP Cookbook Award Finalist in two categories.


Mark Bitterman is a man truly possessed by salt. As “selmelier” at The Meadow, the internationally recognized artisan-product boutique, Bitterman explains the promise and allure of salt to thousands of visitors from across the country who flock to his showstopping collection. “Salt can be a revelation,” he urges, “no food is more potent, more nutritionally essential, more universal, or more ancient. No other food displays salt’s crystalline beauty, is as varied, or as storied.”

In Salted, Bitterman traces the mineral’s history, from humankind’s first salty bite to its use in modern industry to the resurgent interest in artisan salts. Featuring more than 50 recipes that showcase this versatile and marvelous ingredient, Salted also includes a field guide to artisan salts profiling 80 varieties and exploring their dazzling characters, unique stories, production methods, and uses in cooking; plus a quick-reference guide covering over 150 salts. Salting is one of the more ingrained habits in cooking, and according to Bitterman, all habits need to be questioned. He challenges you to think creatively about salting, promising that by understanding and mastering the principles behind it—and becoming familiar with the primary types of artisanal salts available—you will be better equipped to get the best results for your individual cooking style and personal taste. Whether he’s detailing the glistening staccato crunch of fleur de sel harvested from millennia-old Celtic saltmaking settlements in France or the brooding sizzle of forgotten rock salts transported by the Tauregs across the Sahara, Bitterman’s mission is to encourage us to explore the dazzling world of salt beyond the iodized curtain.


Winner – 2011 James Beard Cookbook Award – Reference & Scholarship Category




From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction, Food and Drink, History, Culinary

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Leah Coffin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not finished, but I'm done. Here's what I've "learned" from this "book":

1. Food snobs can ruin anything, even salt.

2. The French make the best salt in the world. Everything else is only fit for killing weeds and icing roads.

3. If you invited the author of this book home to dinner, he wouldn't touch a thing you made if you dared to use salt that most people can actually, you know, AFFORD. Because ordinary table salt has no use, you hear me? No! Use!

4. It is okay to exoticize Japanese people by likening their salt to something made by samurais, despite the fact that there is no passage whatsoever in the code of Bushido having to do with saltmaking. (No, I'm not kidding. Mr. Bitterman actually Went There.)

5. The pretentiousness of ad copy for wine, or even beer, hasn't got a patch on the descriptions this book has of various "artisanal varietes" of salt. I swear I sprained muscles around my eyes from rolling them so hard.

It may be that the recipes in this book are very good; in retrospect, I should have skipped to them and ignored all the pretentious foodie "manifesto" posturing in the first, oh, two hundred pages or so.

Long story short: if you want to read a book that actually makes salt interesting, read Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky. If you want to read a book that shows you how to use a condiment to out-snob your boujie neighbors, this is the one for you.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it fascinating. I didn't realize South Africa made so many different kind of salts.

I loved his food quotes. He had some really great ones.

The five rules of strategic salting:
1. Eat all the salt you want, as long as you are the one doing the salting.
2. Skew the use of salt toward the end of food preparations.
3. Use only natural, unrefined salts.
4. Make salting a deliberate act.
5. Use the right salt at the right time.
He mostly says that if you quit eating all these prepared foods, your salt intake would drop dramatically and salting your own food is just fine. I've heard that a lot of the studies saying we need to reduce our salt intake do not have much medical evidence as to its effectiveness.

page 205, he suggests salting the soup by 1/2. Cooking it and then adding in the second half to make everything taste better. I will try that.

Yes, salt your boiling water when cooking eggs (253)

I wonder what this means? 2 Kings 2:21: And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters.

I would love to try some of these salts. Wish I could go to Seattle and load up. Would love to try the recipes as well. Cooking on a salt block? Sounds amazing.

[John G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here is the ultimate book on culinary salt.

It starts with an interesting survey of the history of salt in human culture, then an explanation of salt production followed by the chemistry and ecology of the mineral. Next an exhaustive treatment of artisanal salt, which is the focus of the book, wherein artisan salt making is described in detail accompanied by a comprehensive reference of salt types and individual producers taking up about a 1/3 of the book. The last 1/3 of the book is devoted to the optimum use of salts illustrated by dozens of recipes and rules or techniques.

The style is often conversational with frequent anecdotes which tempers the technical presentation and organized delivery of the information. It is a friendly and fun read. I highly recommend this book to foodies and those who wish to discover the world which exists beyond table salt.

If you won't read or buy this book, buy some flake salt, like Maladon, and use it as a condiment by adding it at the very last step before serving vegetables or meats. You will be surprised at how the form of a salt can alter its taste.

[Dakota · Rating 5 out of 5]

This superb book chronicles the history of salt as food and gives excellent recipes for cooking with rare salts and salt blocks that can be bought from Bitterman's store, The Meadow. The recommendations are revelatory -- of using salt as a selective flavor enhancer added in post, as large grains of pleasure in a soup (rather than salting the soup while cooking); sprinkled on top of buttered bread that was baked saltless; or as flavor granules in homemade chocolate bark. I am extremely thankful that I read this book.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard about this book from Lynn Rosetta Casper's "The Splendid Table" podcast. It is a very comprehensive compendium on salt, its history, and its uses. I had no idea that there are that many varieties of salt in the world. Mark Bitterman, a selmelier, owns an artisanal boutique that sells salt. The extensive reference guide in the center of the book tells you more than you will ever need to know about salt and its uses. A beautiful book, with illustrations and recipes. You will learn that salt - the correct type - is not bad for you, and can transform the food that you are eating.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much information. I guess I'm not enough of a foodie to enjoy this book. The food section of my local newspaper ran a feature article the pretty much summed up the book. That was the right length for me, not the hundred+ pages of this book. I am also left feeling that encouraging people to throw out their good old Morton's and buy specialty salt is pretentious and not realistic. Though the author's business would definitely profit by it.

[Peggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are more kinds of salt than you can imagine. And the ones most people use (table and Kosher) should be thrown out.

So I'll be switching to sel gris, flake and fleur de sel. I already know they taste better and many speciality salts have trace minerals because they are not over processed like commercial salts.

Interesting book.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book much more, but the writing was so over the top. I found myself flipping through it, looking to pull out useful or interesting information, but not finding anything to hold on to.

[Rob]

http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/...

[Icebox · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found it to be incredibly informative and most importantly
it helps one navigate the web site in which to buy some of these
salts.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating breakdown of salt, its history, origins and importance in flavoring our food, food preservation, and more. The recipes didn't interest me, but the history and types of salt did. I like the authors practical approach - he's definitely a "salt snob" - but he point blank states you don't have to have 12 different salts in your kitchen if you don't want to. I don't want to. The book did make me rethink how I am buying, using and storing my salt.

Recommended if you like cookbooks, cooking, and foodie related themes.

[Magila · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a popular book, you will find yourself scratching out your eyeballs. The book is dense, with tons of information on salt. It's not for reading in one sitting, it's a reference with all different kinds of salt. It is not like the book Salt, which is about the history and cultural significance of salt. This book features types of salt (chiefly artisanal salts) and their characteristics.

Let me tell you that after reading this book, I tried out a variety of new salts. Most people know table, sea, and kosher salt. Black, smoked, and Himalayan pinks are also getting better known. Well, this book will open your eyes to all kinds, and ultimately save you money by identifying which are "finishing" salts, i.e. you use a bit for a splash of flavor at the end of the cooking process to bring new life into your dish.

Your eyes will be opened and if you try different kinds of salt in your kitchen, your mind will be blown! Just start off with a little fleur de sel (from maybe le saunier de camargue) and some smoked sea sale (alder, hickory, apple, or the like) and go from there. You won't look back.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, as it has after all, been on my to-read list forever. I like the author and his cooking. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but this was And it is very apparent from this manifesto, that the man knows his salt and how to use it. I had no idea there were so many different kinds of salt (over 100) or so many ways to get it. It was a little bit too detailed and over the top for my needs, but for those wanting to know more about salt, this is a great reference guide. It seemed a bit like a plug for his store that he opened in Oregon, i.e. use fancy salt, which you can buy here. 2 stars.

[Jen Dent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great resource on all kinds of salt information, good solid inspiring recipes, fantastic pictures, perfect for determining what to try next. Kind of privileged story of how he came to salt that makes me equally grossed out and, I admit it, jealous. Think "Selmelier" is a bit much, but the man took his obsession with the subject seriously. Have to hand it to him for making such a solid guide, but maybe like the straight info much more than the philosophy quotes and meaning searching.

[BookBec · Rating 2 out of 5]

I learned some things about the salt-making process and how different types of salt react with food and your palate. That was the first quarter of the book. Fairly interesting.

The last three-quarters are hyperbolic descriptions of different salts and recipes, written with so many poetic flourishes and flights of fancy that one wonders if there were some mind-altering substances in with the salt the author was tasting.

[Nershwin G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I honestly did not read this from cover-to-cover. But it has inspired me to pay attention to salt and its relationship to food in a whole new way. So, that's interesting. We made alder smoked sea salt and yeast popcorn last night and it was so CHEESY because of the smoked salt.

The author cannot write. But the information is infectious.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gobsmacked!

I stayed up way past my bedtime (I'm 63) enthralled by this book. I found myself highlighting so many passages in the Kindle version that I had to order a hard copy. Painstakingly researched and thoroughly informative and entertaining. If you want to exponentially improve your cooking, this book is an invaluable start!

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't read the book front to back. There is too much information for that. It would make a wonderful reference or coffee table book. I was so inspired by the book that I found a salt merchant in NW Portland. I was blown away when I found out that it was one of three stores owned by the author!

[Emmalee · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you want to know everything about artisan salt and a bit of history, this is the book for you. There are a few recipes in the back, but it's mostly a book about salt, techniques that people use to get salt and the different kinds.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too little history, too much salty geekness... The beginning is very interesting, but then the book stars being very specific. I would not suggest this read to someone who is looking for something light and fun.

For the salt geeks and lovers out there, enjoy!

[Phil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book and I can't wait to visit the salt shop which is in my town!

[Kathleen Flinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. I learned so much about salt and developed a new appreciation for it.

[Maureencramer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it. It is another way to take your cooking to the next level of taste and experimentation.

[Nate Morse · Rating 2 out of 5]

Contains interesting information on the history and creation of salt. The book is a little short at it mostly contains a catalog of different types of salts found around the world and then recipes.

[Wendy Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best-written book, but lots of great information about salt, without which life would be impossible! :)

[Malcolm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically a picture and recipe book.

[Carmen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Much, much more than you've ever wanted to know about salt.

[Ray (user2637) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty repetitive. Some good looking recipes though.

[Roberta · Rating 2 out of 5]

So not what I thought it would be.

[Roman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not the kind of book you finish. Although I can admit that I did read it chronologically throughout from start to finish, including every the extensive descriptions of 150 salt varieties covered in the book, this book is a reference guide to the most important mineral on the earth.

I believe one must take Mr. Bitterman’s views with a « grain of salt » and, in the fascinating way he describes salts as some do wines and coffees, understand that everyone will have their own experience with the salt they taste.

A great book to deepen ones understanding of salt, and lead you on your way to more conscientious and better cooking.