It seems to be everywhere. Flaked. Sea. Salt.
Once only a favorite with cutting edge chefs and foodies, flaked sea salt is now mainstream… and not just as the finishing touch on savory dishes. It is now the darling of desserts.
I swear I had not realized this as I was developing this weeks’ recipe, which was actually much earlier this year. I literally just found out. Duh!
So, here’s the skinny on how this weeks’ post came to be.
Several weeks ago, a local Orlando supermarket was closing a location and had marked everything 20 to 30% off. As I was browsing for items I did not have in my pantry, I found Maldon’s Flaked Sea Salt... and just had to have it. I immediately knew it would be absolutely killer on a blondie recipe I had been developing.
Flash forward to today… and once, again, I am back in California, checking in on my brother, Steve. As a regular habit I pick up a couple or three food magazines to pass my time on the plane and to also have as bedtime reading while I am away from home.
Moments before I started writing this post, I was browsing through Bon Appetit’s special edition issue, “Baking” and I found page after page of “flakey” sea salt topped sweets. Wow! What a coincidence!
Flaked sea salt must be in the air! Or at least on everyone’s mind these days.
Although it seems new, flaked sea salt is not a new novelty in cooking. Maldon Sea Salt Flakes have been produced since 1882 and the company has grown from an extremely small producer of a superb product to the darling of fine dining. It was a slow but steady climb for this small company, whose exceptional quality and purity of their sea salt flakes is undisputed.
According to their website, cookbook author Delia Smith recommended Maldon in the year 2000 and there was an immediate run on Maldon salt products. It is a fascinating read and a visit to the company’s website is a must if you want to know more about this rockstar salt:
But to truly know it, you have to taste it.
In my opinion it tastes saltier than any salt I’ve ever tried and I’ve tried a lot of popular salts. Pink Himalayan, Black Hawaiian, Fleur de Sel, and all kinds of smoked and flavored salts have all been in my pantry and in dishes I’ve made. But none of them compare to Maldon Sea Salt Flakes. It has this nice crunch and a quick punch of salty flavor that dissolves and melts away quickly on the tongue.
Swoon!
A salt like this elevates a dish. I love using it on food as a finishing salt. That extra crunch can make a huge difference in the taste.
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