Salt is no longer just plain salt. There are hundreds of different varieties available all over the world. Selection is down to personal preference, but each of these types of salt in quite distinctive.
Cyprus Black Sea Salt Flakes
This sea salt is black flaky salt with a crunchy texture. It contains powdered charcoal which has no taste but is effective in eliminating gases and toxins from the stomach. These fine salt flakes have no smell and come from the Black Sea.
San Marinho Tradicional
San Marinho Tradicional is a large grained sea salt harvested on the coast of Portugal. This is a clean, pure white salt that is still harvested in the traditional way that the Romans brought to the area. It is particularly suitable for use in cooking and is very high is natural minerals including iodine.
Celtic Sea Salt
Celtic salt is harvested off the Atlantic Sea coast of Brittany, France. This salt is naturally moist and slightly grey in colour. It is harvested using ancient methods which include raking with a wooden rake. No metal is allowed to touch the salt during collection.
Alaea Sea Salt
Alaea Sea Salt is traditional in Hawaii. The pink colouring in the salt crystals comes from the addition of volcanic baked clay (Alaea) which adds iron oxide to the salt. It has a milder, softer taste than ordinary sea salt, and is used in cooking and preserving.
Sonoma Flake
Sonoma Flake sea salt is a kind of Kosher sea salt . It is called Kosher because of it's use in the preparation of food according to strict Jewish guidelines. This is the kind of salt that is put on top of pretzels and bread (as in the picture) and around the rim of the glass when you drink a margarita.
Smoked Sea Salt
Smoked sea salt is a fairly new idea in U.S. The crystals are smoked over wood fires and add a special smoky taste to meats when roasting and grilling. It is also good with fish and salads.
There are many more brands and kinds of sea salt on the market, but most of them are simply a variation of those mentioned above. It is possible to buy garlic salt, mixed black and white salt crystals and "decorative salts" in pink, grey, blue and even green which are supposed to make the presentation of food dishes more attractive.
Next time you got out to buy salt it may not be quite as simple to decide which kind to buy.
