Saltverk Salt Gift Set

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnytC63WlOk

By Martin Peyruc

Reckless Gastronome, Life News Today

Góðan daginn, friends and readers. Don’t worry, you didn’t click the wrong translation for the article (unless you did), this is “good day” in Icelandic. Don’t worry, my spell check threatened to quit if I used any words with umlauts, so we are mostly going to stick to one language going forward. Before we go any further, I want to come clean and say that I received this product for free and completely unbidden. They just sent it to me; I guess I’m popular. A better man would then say that they aren’t going to be swayed by free stuff, but I’m not a better man, and I am completely swayed. Now would be a good time to mention that I will put my meager talents to also reviewing luxury vacations, fancy cars, and other swanky stuff if I don’t have to pay for (I’m joking of course, I’ll take bribes in cash as well.) Still, I want to prove that I’m worth my salt (gird your loins, there will be more salt puns coming), so I’ll continue as normal.

Salt is a basic requirement of life, I recently wrote about that in my Liquid I.V. article (note to editor this would be a good place to put a hyperlink), so lets talk about how salt is made and what Saltverk is doing differently. Most of the salt we eat is mined from underground in the form of halite, which is also called rock salt. Salt of the earth, really does mean the most common. The second most common way is by dehydrating sea water. Sea water or brine is pumped into a shallow pond and then hopefully dries out with the sun and the wind. This process, depending on where it’s done, can take weeks or even years, since it’s dependent on the local weather. This process also has the added benefit of preserving more of the minerals, possibly due to its crystalline structure. There are those that claim that these minerals have added health benefits, but it is disputed if they are present in large enough quantities to truly make a difference.

Saltverk (don’t let the font on the box fool you, it’s a stylized “v” not a “w”) does things a little different. Since they are in Iceland the weather is a lot less accommodating, so instead of getting salty about it (I’m ashamed of that one), they decided to harness something they had that is even more reliable and that’s geothermal energy. Actually, to be fair they didn’t come up with the idea, it was originally done in the 18^th century (yes, geothermal energy has been utilized for quite a while) at the behest of the Danish king (as in the king of Denmark, not the Danish King, the weirdo who is far too invested in breakfast pastries.) Not to rub salt in the wound, but Iceland didn’t gain independence from Denmark until the early 20^th century. This production only lasted for a few decades, so it had to start from scratch when Saltverk was founded in 2011. Sea water is piped in from the pristine Westfjords (maybe the parrot was pining for the fjords) and then heated to just under boiling until the salinity goes from the sea standard of 3.5 to 3.7 percent to around 20 to 25 percent. It then gets moved to a salt pan and cooked down to 28 percent when salt flakes start to form on the surface. As the flakes get bigger, they then fall to the bottom. At this point it is harvested, dried, flavored, and then finally packaged, all by hand. This process allows them to be completely sustainable and carbon neutral. Carbon neutrality is all well and good but if the end result isn’t fine (not fine as in fine salt, but fine as in fine) no one is going to care. To give everything a fair assessment in situ (I lied about sticking to one language, but what’s a bit of Latin between friends?) I decided the best showcase would be on fried eggs. For those of you worried about my cholesterol (eggs are still considered bad, right?) I limited myself to one egg a day. I’m not a Disney character after all i.e. Joanna the Goanna, Grogu, and of course the egg eating champion, Gaston.

First up we have the unflavored Flaky Sea Salt. The flakes are medium-to-large in size, which is good for finishing salt. For those who don’t know finishing salt is added after the primary cooking. It is added not just for flavor (still a big part of it though) but to add texture and visual appeal. It has an excellent mineral taste (sorry, my palate isn’t trained enough to identify individual minerals, I don’t lick enough rocks, just enough to get my spouse’s rocks off). More importantly it avoids the fishy taste that some cheaper sea salts have. It tastes clean and crisp, so that it elevates, not hides the food beneath it. A good universalist, it can be used in almost any dish as long as it isn’t too wet (it’ll just dissolve.)

Second, we have Arctic Thyme Salt. Arctic thyme isn’t just a marketing term (like Arctic Blast Gatorade) but rather a distinct subspecies of thyme (Thymus praecox arcticus). A traditional herb in Icelandic cooking it adds a strong herbal dimension, with a floral and slightly peppery finish. The flakes are large (it occurs to me that they probably all started out large, and simply settled during shipping, but these held their shape better.) Whilst very good on an egg, it shines even more on red meat, and although I didn’t get a chance to try it, I believe it would be sublime on game.

Next up we have the Birch Smoked Salt. As I’ve said in other articles, I’m a big fan of smoking foods, so this is the salt I was most excited for. Personally, I’ve not tried smoking with birch and haven’t seen it for sale, so it’s likely more popular in other countries. I’d wager for most Americans the only exposure to birch in food would be the soft-drink Birch Beer. It’s hard to tell in my terrible photos, but it is slightly more yellow than the pure sea salt and the flakes seem to be mostly small with a few medium sized ones. The smokey flavor is clear, but relatively mild compared to other smoked salts. I also feel like I can detect a slight sweetness to the aftertaste. Not sugary, but more like the sweetness you find in mint or other herbs. I would suggest using it on red meat, fruits (like apple), or anything you want to add a touch of smoke to.

Finally, we have Lava Salt. Featuring activated charcoal from the local volcanic stones of the area it is a striking black color (yes, I know technically black isn’t a color.) The flakes are mostly a uniform medium size, like from whatever the process for production is. It’s a little difficult to explain the taste, mostly because I don’t really think it “tastes” different. Instead let me say that it reacts differently on the tongue. With most salts you get a sharp hit of flavor and then a salivary flood at the end. With the lava salt, it’s more mellow at the beginning and then it just fades away. Dramatic appearance, but the mildest in use. I would recommend it on delicate foods like fish or the rim of cocktails, or for anything you want to be a visual stunner. I would be remiss in my duties if I didn’t point out that while activated charcoal is used to detoxify and can settle stomachs, it also can reduce the absorption of medications so it’s best to research before adding too much to your diet.

Hopefully I didn’t shill too much for Saltverks (just enough so they send me more free stuff), but I think I stayed mostly fair. My biggest surprise was how much I enjoyed the Arctic Thyme, while probably not the most versatile, it holds up best to the sort of strong flavors I enjoy. The unflavored Flaky Sea Salt and the Birch Smoked are probably the ones I will use most often (I’ve got four 3.17oz jars of salt to use, so I’m going to be using a lot.) The Lava Salt is the one I’m least sure about, but I’ll sort something out. Saltverk also offer a Seaweed Salt and a Licorice Salt that I’m curious to try (but I won’t be reviewing them, there’s only so much I can say about salt after all.) Feel free to take this with a pinch of salt, but if you are looking for a gourmet salt give them a try.

Sent to me directly from Saltverk, but everyone else can buy directly from their website or on Amazon.com.Amazon.com.