Salted_ A Manifesto on the World's Most Essential Mineral, With Recipes - Mark Bitterman [90]
Technically, such salts are called koshering salt, as all natural salt is inherently kosher, provided it conforms to the proper standards, such as having any brine shrimp (crustaceans) removed. Kosher certification attests to the salt’s conformity to the laws written down in the Torah. It is unconcerned with the crystalline form of the salt, and, contrary to what many people believe, it has nothing to do with the naturalness or relative wholesomeness of the salt. Muslims also have their own dietary laws as part of Islamic law, or Sharia. Most rules relate to meat—the species of animal and the method of their slaughter. Food that is permissible as defined in the sacred text of the Qur’an is called halal. All natural salts are halal. Fortunately, a host of excellent salts are kosher certified. A more natural—and equally or more effective—salt for kosher salt users is Trapani or other hand-harvested and ground traditional sea salt.
Prague Powder #1
ALTERNATE NAME(S): pink curing salt; Insta Cure No. 1; sel rose; fast cure; speed cure; quick cure MAKER(S): various TYPE: industrial CRYSTAL: gritty cubes COLOR: sun-bleached coral FLAVOR: n/a MOISTURE: none ORIGIN: various SUBSTITUTE(S): none BEST WITH: large variety of cured meats, except most dry cures
The somewhat plastic-fume chemical aroma of Prague powder #1 should warn you to stay away from the stuff in its raw state, even if its irrationally delicious-looking cotton candy-pink crystals do not second the warning. Prague powder #1 is tinted with a small amount of red dye specifically to alert us to the potential hazards of the salt. What a strange idea: sort of like putting excessive amounts of gladiatorial armor on children, giving them lots of pointy objects, and warning them to be careful.
Prague powder #1 is an extraordinarily valuable salt—the key ingredient for many wonderful cured meats. It contains 6.25 percent sodium nitrite and about 92 percent sodium chloride. Other ingredients vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, but it generally contains a very small amount of FD&C Red No. 3 and a fairly high proportion of anticaking chemical agents. Some brands contain no more than 1 percent sodium carbonate as an anticaking agent, while others use as much as 2 percent sodium silicoaluminate and propylene glycol. Note that there is no visible difference between Prague powder #1 and Prague powder #2 (see below), so be sure to read the label of your curing salt carefully. Half an ounce of Prague powder #1, with the additional amount of regular salt called for in the recipe, will cure fifteen pounds of meat.
Prague Powder #2
ALTERNATE NAME(S): Insta Cure No. 2; Slow Cure MAKER(S): various TYPE: industrial CRYSTAL: gritty cubes COLOR: sun-bleached coral FLAVOR: n/a MOISTURE: very low ORIGIN: various SUBSTITUTE(S): sel rose BEST WITH: dry-cured meats
Throwing myself at the mercy of the salt gods, I once tasted this salt on its own (never do this, as even a slight overdose of its active ingredient, sodium nitrate, can prove fatal). A first burst of harsh sodium chloride tugged briefly at the base of my eyeballs before vanishing; it was followed by a sharp tang of steel ground in bearing grease, which was replaced quickly by a final long, sharp thrust of intense salinity. Risking death for such a tasting is a rather hollow gesture—in fact, it’s completely pointless.
The sodium nitrate contained in Prague powder #2 is a time-release version of the sodium nitrite contained in Prague powder #1. It is essential for dry-cures because it works deep into a meat to kill botulism. But, as it cures, nitrate breaks down into nitrite. By the time the cured meat is eaten, the nitrate is gone; hypothetically, it is never actually