Salted: A Manifesto on the World’s Most Essential Mineral
October 13, 2010 If you want to learn everything there is to know about artisan salt, Mark Bitterman's book, Salted: A Manifesto on the World’s Most Essential Mineral, With Recipes, should do the trick. His encyclopedic book features the world's rarest and most exotic sea salts and provides enough info to satisfy any food geek. I'm truly amazed at all the research he did because it really shows in his passionate prose for the planet's most popular mineral.
The photos of the beautiful salt resemble sparkly precious gemstones. Along with cool images of saltworks from around the world, Bitterman shares a lot of fascinating scientific facts and historical anecdotes about salt. For example, I didn't know that China was making salt 6,000 years before Christ was born, or that the Ghana and Mali empires relied heavily on the salt trade.
In any case, if you're super particular about the types of salt you use in your cooking, I highly recommend getting this book. There's a handy quick-reference guide that profiles over 150 salts and it also features 50+ inspiring recipes on how, why, and when to use certain salts. Below is an easy recipe for preserved lemons, which will serve you well in the kitchen.
Preserved Lemons
Makes about 1 quart
8 large lemons, scrubbed clean
About 3 cups sel gris
8 juniper berries (optional)
Fresh lemon juice, as needed
Cut the tips off the ends of the lemons. Cut each lemon into quarters lengthwise, leaving them attached at one end. Pack the lemons with as much salt as they will hold. Insert one juniper berry into each lemon.
Put the lemons in a sterilized wide-mouth quart-size jar, packing them in as tightly as possible. As you push the lemons into the jar, some juice will be squeezed from them. When the jar is full, the juice should cover the lemons; if it doesn’t, add some fresh lemon juice.
Seal the jar and set aside for 3 to 4 weeks, until the lemon rinds become soft, shaking the jar every day to keep the salt well distributed. The lemons should be covered with juice at all times; add more as needed. Rinse the lemons before using.
Recipe reprinted with permission from Salted: A Manifesto on the World’s Most Essential Mineral, with Recipes by Mark Bitterman, copyright © 2010. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc. Photo credit: Jennifer Martiné © 2010
Available at www.amazon.com and TenSpeed.com.
For editorial consideration, a review book copy was provided for this post.
Reader Comments (4)
Interesting tip, thanks! :)
I hope you'll enjoy the recipe! Thanks for visiting :)
I love preserved lemons. I make my own once a year, and almost always have a jar in the back of the fridge. So handy for adding that extra oomph to so many dishes.
Carolyn - I'm beginning to really fall in love with it. I had the best Moroccan style brick chicken recently and it had a lot of preserved lemon in it. Must learn to make it soon!