KEY POINTS:
A couple of centuries ago, if you were the proud owner of several bags of salt you could have bought yourself a pretty good time.
Back further, during the Roman Empire your salt would have purchased several good-looking slaves to do the housework.
At other times, possessing a lot of salt would have had people thinking you were a doctor or a wizard - salt has been considered both medical and magical.
However, if you wander around with various bags of salt at the ready these days, all you'll be mistaken for is someone with a mineral deficiency.
Or maybe someone who's heading off to the Viva-organised salt-tasting.
Yes, that's right, salt-tasting. Forget wine and cheese, let's just taste salt - and not just your average kitchen container of Cerebos, thanks.
It may sound like the height of Cuisine Pretentiousness, but there are literally dozens of kinds of salt, up to an estimated 30 different varieties in New Zealand alone - probably more.
They come in several different categories, they're all made differently and are recommended for different types of cooking. Most even look very different - flaky, crystal, pink, grey, black or fine-grained - depending on how they're made and which trace minerals they've retained.
All of which is why some culinary experts are now describing salt in the same poetic terms usually reserved for wine.
In order to mine this new vein of foodie flavour more thoroughly, Viva assembled an expert panel for what might best be described as a good, old-fashioned salt-off: Geoff Scott, chef and owner of one of the city's best restaurants, Vinnie's, which would also be the venue for the salty showdown; Jacqui Dixon, owner of gourmet foodstore Sabato; and Frankie Walker, bartender extraordinaire and luxury spirits ambassador for Lion Nathan who's on a mission to find the perfect salt with which to rim his margarita glasses.
Being in the business, all our panelists are already well aware of the differences an unusual salt can make. They know that hand-harvested, sun-dried sea salt tends to be more natural than the mass-manufactured sort. Often it tastes better too: sweet and pure, spicy or mineral rich.
They also know that most trendy households now require at least two sorts of salt in their kitchens, one for cooking with and another for finishing with (that is, you use it "almost like a garnish, just before you serve the meal", Scott explains).
So read on, salt lovers. Because even though, unfortunately, you can no longer pay for someone to do the housework with a bag of salt, you can certainly impress with your newly detailed knowledge of this humble seasoning.
MALDON
250g for $10.80
This is the gourmet salt almost every foodie has heard of. Scott says this is because it was one of the first fancy salts to make a comeback in kitchens after what culinary historians call the industrialisation of salt manufacturing. It comes from England and is made from seawater, collected from an estuary, which is then dried out in steel pans until it forms the giant salt crystals most cooks know and love.
The panel says: Light but firm. This has quite a strong flavour, quite a fresh, seawater taste and it really sits on the palate. Heaps of flavour but it doesn't overpower any other taste.
Best for: It's the go-to salt for chefs everywhere, says Scott, the finishing salt of choice for many. Partially that's because the crystal shape means it sticks to most food and dissolves easily in the mouth.
Salt-off winner: Dixon is picking Maldon as her finishing salt of choice but Scott is torn between the Maldon and the Marlborough. And Walker reckons Maldon would work really well with Bloody Marys, Sangritas and maybe even some Cuervo Reserve de Familia tequila. "The taste is salty but not too much of the sea. It will go really well with tomato juice," he says.
MARLBOROUGH FLAKY SEA SALT
100g for $6.99
More flaky salt, this time from New Zealand's very own Lake Grassmere in Marlborough. The salt comes from Pacific Ocean sea water that is, again, slowly heated so the salt evaporates and forms the crystals. Interestingly various experts both here and overseas are saying the Marlborough Salt is one of the strongest competitors for the much better known Maldon. The tension mounts - it's Britain versus little old New Zealand. But what will our experts conclude? The panel says: This tastes more like the sea. It's like the taste you get when you're swimming in the sea and you get a mouthful of water.
Best for: "I'd want this on my fish and chips," Walker says. Although it would taste great with a margarita, it wouldn't be any good because it wouldn't stick to the glass.
Salt-off winner: For a finishing salt, it's a toss-up between this and the Maldon, says Scott. This has a very New Zealand flavour, very Pacific and it's lovely to get that taste of the raw sea on meat and fish.
SOSALT
1kg for $5.50
Powdery salt made from sea salt around the coast of Sicily, Italy.
The panel says: This almost tastes spicy. It's nice and zingy and there's a sharpness to it. It's different to the flaky ones, not as pure tasting.
Best for: This would be delicious on roast kumara, Scott suggests. "This is definitely a contender for my margarita glass," Walker says.
IBLEA SEA SALT
750G FOR $6.30
Another powdery salt that's come all all the way from Sicily.
The panel says: The taste really fills the mouth and it has quite a long aftertaste. We're not sure but we think that this salt and the Sosalt come from the same saltworks, or a similar area anyway. Yet the two taste quite different, which is interesting.
Best for: "This is a really good cooking salt," says Dixon. "I use this at home for general cooking and it's really good if you're bringing something to a rolling boil."
Salt-off winner: This is Dixon's pick for the best cooking salt. It's a nicely flavoured salt but has quite a clean taste too, she explains. Scott agrees, adding that you can also get this salt with iodine in it, which is important for good health.
MASSERIE DI SANT'ERAMO SALE IODATO
250g for $5.99
An iodised, powdered sea salt from Italy.
The panel says: Not a big favourite, a bit seaweedy, a bit vegetal. It almost tastes better at the end. It tastes a little bit dirty.
Best for: Something like obi or sushi, Scott suggests.
LOTUS MACROBIOTIC COARSE SEA SALT
500g FOR $10.71
Unrefined, hand-harvested and therefore a nice choice for the health freaks out there. This salt is sun-dried and free of any processing other than salt farmers gathering it with "wooden tools".
The panel says: You have to chew on this for a while before you really get the flavour. It's got a neat, chunky texture. And the fact that it has been gathered with wooden tools is interesting too - it's funny how becoming aware of the back story can make a difference, it's like knowing a winemaker has been singing to his vines. It makes it more poetic somehow!
Best for: This would be great with some rosemary and thyme-roasted vegetables, chunky onions and wild herbs, says Scott.
HIMALAYAN CRYSTAL SALT - MEDIUM GRADE
300g for $5.95
Apparently this light pink-coloured salt is hand-harvested from salty rock crystals formed hundreds of years ago by an inland sea in the Himalayan mountain range. Rather fascinating. There's a plethora of further information floating around about Himalayan salt. And we do mean floating - maybe it's the mountain-dwelling hippie connection but the magical, health-giving properties of this salt are much discussed on all sorts of alternative health sites. And hey, you don't just eat this stuff, you can also take healthy spa baths in it!
The panel says: Nice, clean, straight salt taste. The taste doesn't hang around in your mouth long, it just sits there a second then it's gone - especially with the finer salt. And the texture is interesting as well. It's got a lovely feel to it.
Best for: A nice finishing salt for raw seafood. Or maybe just a nice fresh scallop, Scott enthuses, served in thin slices with some extra virgin olive oil. Simple but lovely with the taste of the seafood and the delicate flavour of the salt.
Salt-off winner: Our top chef Scott tells us later he's been surprisingly inspired by this rosy Himalayan salt. He'd use it as a finishing salt and is actually keen to start experimenting with it.
MURRAY RIVER GOURMET SALT FLAKE
150G FOR $7.99
Also pink in colour, this salt comes from a dormant underground river in the states of Victoria and New South Wales.
The river has been there for thousands of years, the salt contains natural minerals and the manufacturers add that "by using this salt you're assisting with a serious inland salinity problem".
The panel says: They're not big fans. It's intense and very distinctive. It tastes a bit like the flavour of blood _ maybe that's the underground water coming through? It's not salty and it's not sweet.
Best for: Could be nice on kingfish or for marinade, Scott says. But maybe not when you've got all those other choices.
JARDIN DES OCEANS SEL GRIS DE GUERANDE
250g for $8.10
Grey salt from the Guerande salt fields in Brittany, France. Originally sea salt from the Atlantic that made it to the French marshes, it's still harvested in a similar way to the one developed hundreds of years ago with wooden rakes. Crikey.
The panel says: Nice. A good old, simple, salty salt. A little bit of sweetness, but mellow in the middle of the mouth with a nice finish and no harshness.
Best for: Cooking, and in the bar too. Because as Walker says, this could be a contender for best margarita salt as it won't overpower the drink but it is nice and salty. Dixon thinks the crystals are pretty too.
Salt-off winner: Walker isn't completely sure about the look of this salt but he thinks it would work really well with his best margarita. "There's an intensity of flavour but its subtle enough not to overpower the drink," he explains.
SALT OF THE EARTH COARSE CELTIC SEA SALT
650G FOR $8.65
More salt from the northwest of France, via an Australian company. Harvested in a similar way to the first salt - pure and unadulterated salt crystals.
The panel says: It's like eating rocks - this is the crunchiest of the lot. Although unfortunately it seems to lack the finesse of some of the other chunkier salts.
Best for: Because of that lack of subtlety it's more of a cooking salt than a finishing one. You'd cook with this, say Dixon and Scott. Perfect for baking fish or chicken with a salt crust.
STOCKISTS
IE Produce (09) 488 0211
New World Victoria Park (09) 307 8400
Nosh (09) 360 5557
Sabato (09) 630 8751
Vinotica.co.nz (09) 415 5942
