It's Escapes Month, and we're thinking about our favorite edible souvenirs. One of the foods we like to acquire on our travels (or have others bring home to us!) is salt. Not only is salt easy to pack and carry but, due to its lasting quality, it continues to remind us of beloved, faraway places long after we have returned home.
Edible Souvenirs: Salt
Here at The Kitchn, we have acquired pink rock salt in Japan, Maldon crystal salt and Cornish sea salt in England, and Fleur de Sel de Guérande in France. When we dream of places to travel, we also think of picking up bamboo-smoked salt in Korea, black salt in India, and salts flavored with regional herbs and spices. The different colors, textures, and tastes of these salts help us recreate dishes we had on our travels or, long after the vacation is over, give us something fun to experiment with in our kitchens.
Of course, nowadays you don't even have to travel to sample salts from around the world. Here are a few international salt purveyors. These sites are also good places to look if you're planning a trip and want to know about local salts to keep an eye out for.
• Artisan Salt Company
• SaltWorks
• Salt Traders
• The Meadow
Have you picked up any interesting salts on your travels or at specialty markets?
Related: Sea Salt. Kosher Salt. Crazy Expensive Salt: What's the Deal?
(Image: Emily Ho)
Comments (8)
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hmm seems like a good idea next time I travel out of the country.
view witchbaby's profile
this sounds like an excellent idea. I wonder what sorts of salt are common in Italy or Bali?
view cptmoll's profile
What a great idea! Okay, so it's no fleur de sel, but I picked up some of this when I was in Utah a couple of months ago: http://www.realsalt.com/
view violet222's profile
This is a *fantastic* idea!
view Graceless's profile
This is a pretty cool idea. I think I'd expand it a little and include spices that are local specialties or difficult to find at home.
view slowdown's profile
I just did that when I was on vacation three weeks ago. I went to a market and found a type of pink salt I never would at home. I also offer an extension of this and encourage people to take photos in grocery stores on vacation. It has become one of my favorite activities on vacation, and people comment that those are their favorite images to see when I return. For example, my photo of a bin of chicken feet in Brooklyn was a sure hit.
view InMadison's profile
I'm absolutely addicted to Guerande fleur de sel - it's simply amazing. I lived near Guerande for a while and got hooked. Now I know of a few gourmet & specialty markets that carry it along with Guerande sel gris, which I use a lot in cooking (I use the fleur de sel for dressings, finishing, etc.). I should definitely branch out and try some others next time I travel, though.
view longhornem's profile
I was just in Vermont for the weekend and brought back maple syrup and caramel sauce. I've found it's important to actually look on the label to make sure you're buying something locally-made, a little store in VT was selling honey from FRANCE! If you want to see what I got (and the links to buy the stuff online), check out my blog post here: http://achefsdaughter.com/2009/07/foodie-goes-to-vermont/
view achefsdaughter's profile