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By Root 910 0

consumed. So now that we have dispensed with the danger, let me add that the nitrates used to cure meats are one of the most miraculous poisons ever contrived by man, a chemical sleeper cell that slowly works its way into the very heart of enemy territory where it sets to work disabling harmful bacteria that could turn a translucent sliver of luscious prosciutto into a lethal weapon.

In the modern kitchen, Prague powder #2 replaces the antiquated use of saltpeter, which is pure potassium nitrate. Prague powder #2 contains 6.25 percent sodium nitrite, 4 percent sodium nitrate, and 89.75 percent of the salt is refined sodium chloride. Half an ounce of Prague powder #2, with the amount of regular salt called for in a recipe, will cure fifteen pounds of meat. (See Curing for more information.) Use Prague powder #2 to make hard salamis, prosciutto hams, and dried farmers sausages that do not require cooking, smoking, or refrigeration. Note that there is no visible difference between Prague powder #1 and Prague powder #2, so be sure to read the label of your curing salt carefully.

PICKLING SALT

Additives in salt can react badly during prolonged interaction with foods. In particular, the iodine in iodized free-flowing salts will discolor and add bitterness to salt-preserved foods. In addition, anticaking agents can provoke a cascade of chemical reactions with unpredictable results. Pickling (preserving with salt and an acid such as vinegar) and salt preserving (where only salt is used) require salts with no additives. Some industrial manufacturers market salts specifically as “pickling salt,” but the term really just refers to any salt without artificial additives. Sel gris or finely ground traditional salts such as Trapani are trusty standbys.

Saltpeter

ALTERNATE NAME(S): saltpetre MAKER(S): various TYPE: industrial CRYSTAL: fine-grained globs COLOR: innocuous white FLAVOR: tannic steel MOISTURE: none ORIGIN: various SUBSTITUTE(S): Prague powder #2 BEST WITH: dry-cured meats

Saltpeter is one of the more versatile and impressive culinary chemicals. It is an ancient medicine, considered among other things to be an anaphrodisiac, reducing sex drive, which seems odd given the carnal urges it inspires in dishes like fresh figs baked in prosciutto. Mixed with sulfur and charcoal, it is the primary oxidizing agent in gunpowder. The first written instructions for making saltpeter are found in The Book of Military Horsemanship and Ingenious War Devices, written in the thirteenth century by the Syrian chemist and engineer Hasan al-Rammah. But the Chinese were making gunpowder at least four centuries before that, and they had been using saltpeter for medicinal and culinary purposes at least since the first century CE. A fifth-century Chinese document observes that it burns with a purple flame—a phenomenon I have not succeeded at replicating. I have, however, used it to cheat death, giving months of delicious life to two dried sausages.

Saltpeter is potassium nitrate, which goes by the chemical formula KNO3. The name derives from the Medieval Latin sal petrae, or “stone salt,” probably from the fact that it forms in plumelike “brushes” on the stone walls of caves and basements, especially in proximity to urine from bats or livestock.

Since saltpeter is pure potassium nitrate, most curing experts and probably every sensible person will tell you to use Prague powder #2 instead of saltpeter, to water down the potential toxicity. If you are fixated on using saltpeter’s potassium nitrate rather than Prague powder #2’s sodium nitrate, you can opt for sel rose rather than saltpeter. But if you are a curing expert, or just naturally predisposed to taking risks with your life and the lives of your dinner guests in pursuit of the ultimate salted meat snack, saltpeter combined with a good sea salt can be used in accordance with traditional charcuterie recipes.

Sea Salt

ALTERNATE NAME(S): California Sea Salt; sel de mer; industrial sea salt; chemical feedstock salt MAKER(S): various TYPE: industrial CRYSTAL: coffee ground COLOR: