Since subscribing to weekly meal subscription services like Home Chef and HelloFresh, I’ve learned a number of valuable culinary skills that have helped elevate every dish I cook.

One of the most important lessons I learned is how to properly use salt in all aspects of my cooking. Growing up, salt was considered “bad for you” (which it still is, if used in excess) and was to be used sparingly, if at all. I was wholly unaware of the frequency or amount used while cooking, or how important it was to enhance flavor in a dish. To put it bluntly, salt and I didn’t have a relationship at all.

Fast forward to the present, and I have learned to salt each ingredient separately while cooking and then the dish as a whole at the end, if needed. When I first started with the meal services, I was surprised that every other step was to “salt and pepper as needed”. It seemed excessive and unnecessary. Until you start to realize how transformative it is to your food. Now I sprinkle salt liberally and often, but with careful regard to how it affects the flavor of the dish I’m making.

In the same regard, I’ve experimented with different flavors and styles of salt to achieve different outcomes as well. From smoked salts like Yakima Applewood Smoked sea salt  and spicy versions like Hellfire habanero sea salt, to Cyprus Flake sea salt - finishing salts add flavor and also alter the appearance of dishes, elevating the experience you’ll have with food.

Owning this spice business has, yet again, opened me up to a different world as far as the types and flavors of salt that are available. In my younger years, I had heard of table salt and road salt. That was the extent of my knowledge of salt. Then I learned about Pink Himalayan salt, which was all the rage and still is touted for its additional health benefits from the minerals it has as opposed to table salt. Nowadays, I could go on talking for hours about the many different varieties of salt, their textures, flavors, how they affect dishes, etc.

I’d guess that most of you probably have a similar attitude to salt as I did. I’m hoping through education and understanding of the variations of salt, you too, will be able to take your cooking to the next level. Hopefully you’ll realize just how vital salt is to both your indoor and outdoor kitchens.

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Leave us a comment with how you were raised with salt. If you want to try some of the different kinds of sea salt, click here to shop now. We also recommend you check out our blog post on the different kinds of salt and how to use them.