ChefScotty
Cook
Some reminded me today of my fascination for stocks at one point. I always have one on the go and a couple of years ago it was different salts. I went insane with about 30 of them for a good period of time. It's heirloom tomato time and they seem to be everywhere now and maybe a few people might find this interesting and I've noticed a lot of salts I had to special order appearing in the better supermarkets. I'd do these as a special and go and explain the plate to the customer and we couldn't make them fast enough. It's about how different salts affect the flavor profile of a tomato. I love making people happy. This made people happy.
I like to lightly crisp up some French bread slices, halve them and put barely 1/4" pieces of tomato on it. Try the first without salt. It'll maybe take you a few shots initially to get the right amount of salt onto the tomato without it being salty but different salts do very different things and you'll get it down real fast.
Australian Murray river pops and instantly pulls the full flavor out of the greener, yellow varieties.
Peruvian Pink is awesome, certainly in the top three for tomatoes.
Maldon does a nice job, a sudden crunch, brief saltiness for about a second or two and then intensely heightened tomato flavor and a touch of tartness at the end.
For me, smoked salts are awesome. Halen Mon doesn't really work, it's timing is all wrong and it's too thick, but the small round granules of Danish smoked salt are amazing. About four does it, the smell is intense and when the flavor kicks in, it is just amazing.
Fleur de Sel makes the flavor totally pop, in a lighter but longer way than the Murray river.
Cyprus black isn't very special but you can use a lot, and it looks terribly pretty
Alae is interesting, a little more minerally than Peruvian Pink but doesn't change the profile as much.
I'd sometimes use Nazuna which did more for some than others. It's amazing with fish by the way. This salt smells like you're at the seaside.
Anyway, I'll stop rambling. If you love tomatoes, find a few salts and give this a shot. And watch that French bread disappear real fast. It's totally addictive, he says, heading for the kitchen to get stuck in about a large pile of lovely heirlooms and some French bread he bought on the way home tonight.
I like to lightly crisp up some French bread slices, halve them and put barely 1/4" pieces of tomato on it. Try the first without salt. It'll maybe take you a few shots initially to get the right amount of salt onto the tomato without it being salty but different salts do very different things and you'll get it down real fast.
Australian Murray river pops and instantly pulls the full flavor out of the greener, yellow varieties.
Peruvian Pink is awesome, certainly in the top three for tomatoes.
Maldon does a nice job, a sudden crunch, brief saltiness for about a second or two and then intensely heightened tomato flavor and a touch of tartness at the end.
For me, smoked salts are awesome. Halen Mon doesn't really work, it's timing is all wrong and it's too thick, but the small round granules of Danish smoked salt are amazing. About four does it, the smell is intense and when the flavor kicks in, it is just amazing.
Fleur de Sel makes the flavor totally pop, in a lighter but longer way than the Murray river.
Cyprus black isn't very special but you can use a lot, and it looks terribly pretty
Alae is interesting, a little more minerally than Peruvian Pink but doesn't change the profile as much.
I'd sometimes use Nazuna which did more for some than others. It's amazing with fish by the way. This salt smells like you're at the seaside.
Anyway, I'll stop rambling. If you love tomatoes, find a few salts and give this a shot. And watch that French bread disappear real fast. It's totally addictive, he says, heading for the kitchen to get stuck in about a large pile of lovely heirlooms and some French bread he bought on the way home tonight.
