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Maine Sea Salt

ALTERNATE NAME(S): Maine Coast MAKER(S): Maine Sea Salt Company TYPE: traditional CRYSTAL: medium to superfine crunched bits COLOR: grated radish FLAVOR: mineral bite; bracing; massive MOISTURE: moderate ORIGIN: United States SUBSTITUTE(S): French sel gris; sal marinho tradicional de Alcochete BEST WITH: lobster salad; grilled swordfish; bluefish with lemon and fennel; atop or in clam chowder; the best salt in the world for crabcakes

Salt making used to be a major independent enterprise in the United States, practiced by hundreds of small saltworks along the east and south coasts and at inland salt springs across the country. Maine, a logistical hub for the fishing industry, was no exception. But with short summers, dark winters, and generally cold, damp weather, making salt there has never been easy. Saltworks to the south and west and overseas put an end to most salt making in Maine two centuries ago.

This is a pity, because the sea in the Gulf of Maine has some interesting stories to tell. The Gulf Stream, a massive warm current from the equatorial Atlantic Ocean, sweeps up the Atlantic seaboard, spinning off the hip of North Carolina and heading out to sea. Icy waters from the Arctic fill the gap, chilling the Gulf of Maine 20° to 40°F cooler than waters just a few hundred miles to the south and east. In addition, the ocean’s temperature decreases with depth, and drops abruptly across a layer called the thermocline. The thermocline in the Gulf of Maine is very shallow, often less than 150 feet deep. Circulated by powerful tides and currents, cold water from the thermocline introduces enormous organic fertility and mineral richness to the Gulf of Maine’s pure Arctic waters.

Stephen Cook, who runs the Maine Sea Salt Company with his wife, Sharon, makes a bold, vigorous traditional salt. Water from the Gulf of Maine is drawn into greenhouses (salt houses), where sun and wind evaporate the seawater to the point of crystallization. The salt is harvested with no other processing.

Maine salt’s bracing, intense crystals strike beautiful, flinty sparks of flavor on creamy crab and other seafood bisques. Cook’s favorite use for his salt is gravlax, which he makes for special occasions—an operetta of Maine’s nautical ties sung in sugar, salmon, and salt.

More on Maine: Another Maine saltworks, Quoddy Mist, wrestles with reverse osmosis and vacuum evaporators to make a wild and unruly tasting sea salt that introduces gale winds and the lash of frayed rigging to your mouth.

Moroccan Atlantic

ALTERNATE NAME(S): Moroccan sea salt MAKER(S): n/a TYPE: traditional CRYSTAL: rubble of microfine bits to huge chunks COLOR: cloudy; a faint blush FLAVOR: hot; sharp MOISTURE: low ORIGIN: Morocco SUBSTITUTE(S): coarse traditional salt BEST WITH: spicy lamb stew; braised shortribs with harissa and yogurt; grilled seabass with cumin, caraway, and cilantro

Some salt is made with love; some is born of economic necessity. Once in a while, a salt comes along that has been made without thought for so long that its reasons for being are difficult to divine. Moroccans have been making salt for thousands of years. Why no longer matters. It just is. Hot, bold, untamed, and terminally uncouth, Moroccan Atlantic has all the charm of a cobra attached to the hollow of your ankle.

Most of the salt made along Morocco’s 1,500 miles of arid coastline are ground into fine grains before they reach the consumer, but the raw, wild crystals that come from the traditional salt fields are the most interesting, if only because they leave you with the honor of hammering them into usable form yourself. Even pummelled a few times in your mortar and pestle, the salt will barely be able to restrain itself. It slants its viper eyes and says, “touch me,” then leaves it to you to decide whether or not it’s worth the risk.

Exercise a healthy viciousness yourself when cooking anything you intend to subject to this salt; or at least hold nothing back. My favorite is the inspired dish