Is expensive sea salt worth its salt?

I've often wondered about the eye-popping prices for things like Himalayan sea salt (for one thing, there's no sea in those mountains) and hand-gathered fleur de sel from France. I've never been energetic enough to buy some and taste-test it -- besides, I'm too cheap. Finally, <a href="http://www.curiouscook.com/site/2011/04/in-salts-a-pinch-of-bali-or-a-dash-of-spain.html#more">an article by Harold McGee</a> a couple of weeks ago reported on this topic offering to sort out the "whirlwind of obfuscatory hype" that surrounds the labeling and use of fancy salts.<br /><br />Here is the bottom line: "different salts do indeed have different tastes, even when the solutions had the same concentration of sodium." That said, "the differences themselves were generally small. ... Tasters significantly preferred chicken broth and bratwurst made with an inexpensive white sea salt over the ones made with kosher salt. Batches of those two foods made with gray sea salt, or sel gris, and fleur de sel fell in between."<br /><br />Although altogether the reported studies showed that the result of using various types of salt isn't highly significant, McGee still suggests that adventurous or curious cooks might enjoy experimenting. I appreciate his point of view, though I might still be too cheap to pay the eye-popping prices for the most hyped salts.

Is expensive sea salt worth its salt?

I've often wondered about the eye-popping prices for things like Himalayan sea salt (for one thing, there's no sea in those mountain...

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Wineries

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5697424865/" title="fess-parker6127 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="fess-parker6127" height="640" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5185/5697424865_cfbc4e8052_z.jpg" width="480" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5697425023/" title="fess-parker6145 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="fess-parker6145" height="640" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5025/5697425023_69611fb2df_z.jpg" width="480" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5697424735/" title="fess-parker6140 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="fess-parker6140" height="480" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2314/5697424735_0df251c5f6_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5697425189/" title="zaca6146 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="zaca6146" height="480" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5106/5697425189_552461807c_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5697999334/" title="zaca6151 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="zaca6151" height="640" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5141/5697999334_d586d84010_z.jpg" width="477" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5697425129/" title="foxen6154 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="foxen6154" height="640" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3541/5697425129_7c6d68675c_z.jpg" width="480" /></a>

Wineries

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Sweet Prawns of Santa Barbara

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5697999438/" title="opal6123 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="opal6123" height="480" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2523/5697999438_3eb217a74f_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br />Fresh local prawns here are very sweet and delicious. We remember buying them from the fish market on the docks years ago. Last night at Opal Restaurant, where I ate this salad with Santa Barbara prawns, the host said that he did not think they had found any for the menu in the ten years he had been working there. So apparently, they are now quite rare, like many desirable foods from the sea, alas. The rest of our meal was also extremely well prepared -- basil-flavored pasta, grilled opah from Hawaii, and chocolate creme brulee.<br /><br />On a previous visit to Santa Barbara, we also ate at <a href="http://regional-food.blogspot.com/2009/02/opal.html">Opal.<br /></a>

Sweet Prawns of Santa Barbara

Fresh local prawns here are very sweet and delicious. We remember buying them from the fish market on the docks years ago. Last night at Opa...

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Temporary Kitchen in Santa Barbara

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizNjr4jAMF-ijACsJsmCEoYnSojZWl_z1JLRQJABg0hABcuRyOKYA_OEIztKbG99HosB0BPceh8oc9RpHsUWbAezOOMFVdzA3DmXNwi-9VhkN-B50elRHC_NR9FnaM6ACt7FRfFkz2igs/s1600/house6113.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603709865404049778" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizNjr4jAMF-ijACsJsmCEoYnSojZWl_z1JLRQJABg0hABcuRyOKYA_OEIztKbG99HosB0BPceh8oc9RpHsUWbAezOOMFVdzA3DmXNwi-9VhkN-B50elRHC_NR9FnaM6ACt7FRfFkz2igs/s400/house6113.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a>Our temporary house has a functional though not luxurious kitchen. The owner is opposed to using microwaves because she says microwaves destroy nutrients and Kirilian photos show that vegetables cooked in a microwave oven are "dead." About this I checked Wikipedia which a few minutes ago stated:<br /><blockquote><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">"An experiment in evidence of energy fields generated by living entities involves taking Kirlian contact photographs of a picked leaf at set periods, its gradual withering corresponding with a decline in the strength of the </span><i style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">aura</i><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">. In some experiments, if a section of a leaf was torn away after the first photograph, a faint image of the missing section would remain when a second photograph was taken. ...</span><sup class="noprint Inline-Template" title="The text preceeding this tag needs specification from October 2008" style="white-space: nowrap; color: rgb(51, 204, 0);"></sup><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);"> James Randi has suggested that this effect was due to contamination of the glass plates, which were reused for both the 'before' and 'after' photographs."</span><br /></blockquote>I may retrieve the microwave oven from the studio that is part of this house, but at the moment I'm experimenting with no-microwave cooking. I actually have read that the shorter microwave cooking times for steamed vegetables preserve the vitamins better than conventional steaming. So far we've been eating salads anyway.

Temporary Kitchen in Santa Barbara

Our temporary house has a functional though not luxurious kitchen. The owner is opposed to using microwaves because she says microwaves dest...

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Meyer Lemons

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkExxFthJVeGL5iC2QnnqvUKFyMHZxVO39VM6MTYR7e0l4eh8YrD11MPHRDIfrSI6YogwjYvJZoDHnsBTmod0wwUED_69k1_ahyFEtOsiFH-kKHJOiBsU6FFm2SMYtuZfHg4Mra8UEk8Y/s1600/house6119.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603709866431311378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkExxFthJVeGL5iC2QnnqvUKFyMHZxVO39VM6MTYR7e0l4eh8YrD11MPHRDIfrSI6YogwjYvJZoDHnsBTmod0wwUED_69k1_ahyFEtOsiFH-kKHJOiBsU6FFm2SMYtuZfHg4Mra8UEk8Y/s400/house6119.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 286px; height: 400px;" /></a>Our temporary house in Santa Barbara includes a beautiful Meyer lemon tree with the biggest, juciest Meyer lemons I have ever seen. On the tree hang many ripe and unripe fruits as well as a few fragrant blossoms. Beautiful!<br /><br />I love the taste of Meyer lemons: like an unusually sour Clementine. I have already squeezed some juice into a couple of salads and a sauteed pork dish, and will surely continue to cook with them -- and eat them -- throughout our stay.

Meyer Lemons

Our temporary house in Santa Barbara includes a beautiful Meyer lemon tree with the biggest, juciest Meyer lemons I have ever seen. On the t...

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As it's meant to be...

<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Toasted Ravioli</span><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5667715898/" title="pastahouse5925 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="pastahouse5925" height="480" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5144/5667715898_5622b94130_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">St.Louis Food:</span> toasted ravioli at Pasta House in University City, Mo. Until this dish was copied by Olive Garden, it was a specialty of St.Louis only. I remember eating it at a restaurant called Rinaldi's that went out of business ages ago. We ate there Tuesday night with a number of relatives.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5667715970/" title="pastahouse5930 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="pastahouse5930" height="480" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5184/5667715970_bd677a54a9_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Chips and Salsa</span><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5667716064/" title="albuquerq5957 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="albuquerq5957" height="480" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5110/5667716064_9678608957_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br />Southwestern Food: real chips and salsa in Albuquerque Old Town. I haven't had such perfectly flavored chips and salsa that was exactly the right heat for a long time! We ate inside the building, one of the oldest in the city, made from adobe of a type from the early 19th century. The tamales, chili rellenos, and other things we ate were all good too. For more about our day: <a href="http://maetravels.blogspot.com/2011/04/oklahoma-from-moving-car.html">Oklahoma from a moving car</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5667145287/" title="albuquerq5972 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="albuquerq5972" height="640" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5222/5667145287_4e836bd452_z.jpg" width="480" /></a>

As it's meant to be...

Toasted Ravioli St.Louis Food: toasted ravioli at Pasta House in University City, Mo. Until this dish was copied by Olive Garden, it was a ...

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Chinese food for Easter

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJIu0NAxJL9AvLS7raPqallbdGWa33oe0G73C-iEvUaRfi8L47Rz2HLRTTKhveTndses5RiH7ID31LQkE_uwBAVTT9rTLrVWQna3cSY8u3DmsRvk3rrfREjxhlNCFrm0XgosgdlQ0-aEfR/s1600/szech-garden5764.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599311857848514898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJIu0NAxJL9AvLS7raPqallbdGWa33oe0G73C-iEvUaRfi8L47Rz2HLRTTKhveTndses5RiH7ID31LQkE_uwBAVTT9rTLrVWQna3cSY8u3DmsRvk3rrfREjxhlNCFrm0XgosgdlQ0-aEfR/s400/szech-garden5764.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 278px;" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5zmH9kRj17RccQ5iUFMybt0AJuANxv38XqqZMMcqFcfNW_IslUpfSQqEnjHCs_PAZBNpjFLwLPnVijSgO31y6xZK-6G22EjZckLcU8-FdzjRqXLu86B0IgZb6-vLZ8qz3eLPgRDl1t6Pl/s1600/szech5770.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599311851710951970" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5zmH9kRj17RccQ5iUFMybt0AJuANxv38XqqZMMcqFcfNW_IslUpfSQqEnjHCs_PAZBNpjFLwLPnVijSgO31y6xZK-6G22EjZckLcU8-FdzjRqXLu86B0IgZb6-vLZ8qz3eLPgRDl1t6Pl/s400/szech5770.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a>... Szechuan Garden, West Lafayette, Indiana.

Chinese food for Easter

... Szechuan Garden, West Lafayette, Indiana.

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