Specialty Food Magazine

NOV-DEC 2012

Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.

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Taylor, founder of Victoria Gourmet, Woburn, Mass., greater appreciation of taste differences—derived from mouthfeel and trace minerals—and openness to explore variety. "It is commonplace for people today to have more than one salt in their cabinet," she says. "Customers all over are embracing top-quality finishing salts." In 2003, Victoria Gourmet won an NASFT Product Award (now the sofi Gold) for Outstanding Food Gift with the Culinary Salts of the World Gift Box, a recognition that put the company on the map for gourmet finishing salts. Familiarity has made artisanal salts more accessible and, in turn, more common- place to consumers. "We have gone from a sense of awe over the amazing variety of artisan salts' characteristics to mainstream usage that includes not only the home cook but also chefs and manufacturers," says Naomi Novotny, president of Saltworks, Woodinville, Wash. From left: SaltWorks Artisan Salt Co. Fleur de Sel; Maldon Sea Salt Flakes; Salt Traders Himalayan Salt. Fleur de sel, Maldon flake salt and pink Himalayan were three of the first salts on consumers' culinary radar. Beginnings of a Trend A trio of salts, unrelated in size, texture or color, sparked the culinary curiosity that is now evolving into a deeper appreciation of this time-honored mineral. "Finishing salts like fleur de sel and flake salt like Maldon along with pink Himalayan were three of the first salts on people's culinary radar," Bitterman explains. "These salts spoke differently to different cultures and culinary mindsets. People were amazed by their textures, non- homogenization of their crystals, their col- ors and nutritional properties." These three salts, he says, were a precursor to the cur- rent constellation of salts that are available to create and enhance flavors in countless culinary applications. "Himalayan pink sea salt has helped transform the salt industry altogether, and there's still a way to go," says Melissa Kushi, president and CEO of Sustainable Sourcing, LLC, Makers of HimalaSalt, an ethically sourced pink Himalayan sea salt that is certified kosher, gluten-free, non- GMO and Green-e certified (made by 100 percent renewable wind and solar energy). Himalayan Pink was a bit of a novelty at first, due to its pristine nature and 250 mil- lion year history, explains Kushi. "Foodies and first adopters were open to it because of its beauty and delightful taste. But, 10 years ago, it was not widely known and raised a few eyebrows as a passing fad." In recent years, the artisanal salt cat- egory overall has since seen, says Victoria 50 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE ❘ specialtyfood.com Domestic Salts on the Rise Like terroir, a term used to describe wines, cheeses and other earth-influenced foods, some saltmakers are adopting the term mer- roir, or influence of the sea. Originally coined to highlight how the chemical and biological composition of water in a particular region can create varying flavors in oysters, merroir plays an equally important role in salts. And the United States has its own swath of salty merroirs to be had. According to Bitterman, France's fleur de sel has played a large role in the rise of awareness of quality salt in America. But others say that Hawaiian alaea (red clay) salt was one of the first domestic salts to gain popularity in the U.S. "Its color and purport- ed health benefits from the trace minerals was the initial appeal over traditional white table salt," says Brett Cramer, owner of The Spice Lab, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Over the past couple of years, Cramer has seen a growing interest in some Hawaiian salts like Guava Wood Smoked and Black Lava from Kilauea. The Spice

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