Salted_ A Manifesto on the World's Most Essential Mineral, With Recipes - Mark Bitterman [57]
Sal Marinho Tradicional de Aveiro
ALTERNATE NAME(S): sal de Aveiro MAKER(S): independent TYPE: sel gris, or traditional salt and sel gris hybrid CRYSTAL: medium coarse; crunched blocks COLOR: lifting fog FLAVOR: sublimated mineral; faintly sweet; the smell of a Popsicle MOISTURE: high ORIGIN: Portugal SUBSTITUTE(S): any Portuguese sel gris BEST WITH: thick beef steaks; saucy fish dishes; heavy stews; roasted beets; fruit salad; goat cheese
Angular, more irregularly sized and shaped crystals, and a translucent whiteness distinguish Aveiro’s sel gris from those of northern France. In fact, the salt is barely gray at all, and the Portuguese refer to it by the no-nonsense name of sal grosso, coarse salt.
Sprinkled over fried bream with finely chopped herbs, the luscious crystals of this salt add crunchy mineral and herbaceous flavors to the moist, flaking flesh of the fish. Sal grosso de Aveiro is a great salt for all-around cooking, and also for finishing any dish where a strong, bold expression is desired. If you ever take an interest in curing, there is no better salt for salt-cured cod (bacalhau) or beef.
Two major environmental differences between Portugal and France relevant to salt making are the level of heat and the makeup of the soil. The regional salts reflect both of these differences, though in ways you might not expect. As in many southern European countries, heat shapes the work day in Portugal. The intense heat makes salt crystals form fast and furiously throughout the day and into the night. As a result, by the time the salt workers set out in the morning with their rapãos do sal (salt rakes) in hand, the salt crystals are considerably larger than those one would find up north in Brittany. The salt crystals of sal grosso de Aveiro tend to be large and ungainly, yet each is supple, yielding between your teeth with a satisfying crunch.
The weather and soil composition also influence the flavors of the salt crystals. Aveiro salt tends toward slightly more bitter flavors than those found in French salts. This is a characteristic of many Portuguese salts—likely the result of the rapid rate at which salt crystals form under a hot sun. If the salt is of good quality, this bitterness is not too pronounced and can actually provide penetrating complexity on heartier foods.
The salt made in Aveiro can range from an unappealing, dirty coarse salt to a lusciously whitish-gray crystal, depending on the producer. Aveiro’s salt fields are formed in marshes thick with black sediments. Raking off the salt from the bottom of the pans too aggressively or too frequently stirs up the mud, which then contaminates the salt. While this has little effect on the healthiness of the salt, the excessive amount of insolubles can give it a gritty texture. More conscientious salt makers, by contrast, allow the salt to form a protective barrier on the bottom of the pan and then rake off only the top crystals.
Sal Rosa de Maras
ALTERNATE NAME(S): Peruvian pink; Peruvian warm spring, Inca salt MAKER(S): n/a TYPE: sel gris CRYSTAL: clunky, irregular chunks and medium-fine cubes COLOR: paper-thin tourmaline; cream FLAVOR: tart boldness; mild sweetness; light funk of clay MOISTURE: moderate ORIGIN: Peru SUBSTITUTE(S): Sugpo Asin or other coarse fleur de sel BEST WITH: Burgundy-marinated grilled venison; ceviche tostadas; pan-fried trout
Below the ancient sacred city of Machu Picchu, deep in the Peruvian Andes, lies the town of Maras, founded on salt centuries before the arrival of the Incas. From a hot spring issuing from the western flank of Qaqawiñay Mountain, a tributary to the Urubamba River flows water with far higher salinity than the sea. The water is diverted