Making your own herbal salt is a wonderful way to incorporate healthy and tasty herbs into every meal with a dash or a sprinkle. Make salt "simples" (one herb) or blends easily at home.
INGREDIENTS
All you really need to get started is a good local sea salt (there are several made in BC) and your favourite herbs. Of course, any coarse salt will do, but there's something special about using salt gathered from the land you live on.
METHOD
Step One:Gather your herbs. You can use fresh herbs or dried ones you've purchased at your favourite local grocery store :)Step Two:Finely chop your fresh herbs with a sharp knife. If you're using dried herbs, you can crumble them or give a whir in a coffee grinder. It really depends on what kind of texture you like. Powdered herbs work fine.Step Three:Now it's time to figure out how much salt you need. Measure the total amount of chopped or powdered herbs you have and divide that amount by half. This is how much salt you need. So, if you have 1 cup of herbs, you'll need about 1/2 cup of salt. Of course, you can play with the ratio to suit your taste.Step Four:Mix the salt with the herbs. You can use a mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder—or even just a knife to blend your creation. Again, this depends on what kind of texture you're after. If you'd like a finer salt, say for dusting the rim of a caesar, go for the coffee grinder method. If you want your salt to remain coarse, go easy on your mixing method—use a knife to chop it in and give it a good stir.Step 5:Store your herbal salt. If you've used a fresh herbs, you'll need to dry it overnight. You can spread it out on a plate or a cookie sheet until its dry. Dried salts can be stored in a jar or shaker indefinitely. Feel free to experiment. Rosemary, thyme and sage make for a wonderful poultry rub. Add colourful peppercorns, dried seaweeds and even edible flowers to create truly beautiful salts you'll want to display in your kitchen. Handmade herbal salts also make great gifts. Happy concocting!
