A Short Guide to Using Hawaiian Black Salt In Your Cooking

If you’re finding that your afternoon scrambled eggs are lacking something you can’t quite put your finger on, it’s likely time to consider an extra ingredient. One that people often use is Hawaiian black salt, something that offers an unmistakable smoky tang and a piquant ‘kick’ that leaves the mouth with a warm feeling afterwards.

Not tried it before? Then this blog is for you, as we offer a brief guide on what it is, where it comes from and what it can do for your cooking. So, let’s begin.

What Is Hawaiian Black Salt?

As the name suggests, this type of rock salt is harvested from evaporated seawater, just off the island of Molokai in Hawaii. Due to being an area of high volcanic activity, Hawaiian black salt is packed with minerals, offering a wonderful spicy, nutty flavor to the cooking it’s added to.

Interestingly, in nature, the salt is not black. Its black coloring is due to the fact that it’s mixed together with activated charcoal. When compared to regular table salt, it offers a number of health benefits because it’s much less processed and retains its nutrients.

Not to Be Confused With Other Black Salts

It has a very different taste from other types of rock salt, such as Himalayan black salt and Kala Namak, which have a pungent egg-like flavor. This is largely due to being from different geographical locations that have different geological constitutions.

The carbon-rich area of the Pacific Ocean around Hawaii comes from the black lava that spews out from the ocean floor on a regular basis, so active is the region.

How Do You Use the Salt in Cooking?

The great thing about Hawaiian black salt is that it’s a versatile ingredient that can add an extra dimension to any dish that it’s added to. Let’s take a closer look at some of the delicious dishes that benefit from its addition.

• Roast chicken boosting - this is a delicious treat on it its own, but with the addition of some lava salt, you get a whole new depth of flavor that will have you reaching for seconds!

• Fruit salad complementing - yes, that’s right, fruit salad! This salt is a cooking essential for a reason, as it’s able to bring out the innate natural flavors - even in fruit.

• Pizza transforming - who doesn’t love pizza, right? Well, even more people would love it if they added some Hawaiian black salt, as once again, it’s able to transform the taste experience you get from both the dough and all your toppings!

• Making cobb salad tantalizing - want to take your cobb salad to the next level? Then this amazing salt can offer a woody, earthy flavor that perfectly augments the greens, eggs and succulent fried chicken breast.

• Slow-cooked rib enhancing - another amazing dish that you’ll want to enhance with black salt is slow-cooked ribs that benefit greatly from its smoky qualities. Think you’ve had the best ribs there is? Perhaps not if you've not tried them in this way!

It’s important to note that prior to using your black salt, it helps to grind it into a fine powder. Some brands are best used in a grinder for this reason, allowing it to more easily pervade through the other ingredients in whatever dish you’re creating.

Just Another of the Amazing Herbs & Spices We Offer

Hawaiian black salt is undoubtedly an ingredient that everyone should have in their spice rack, as there are so many ways in which it can be used to unlock the natural flavors of food. Until you’ve tried it, it’s quite difficult to describe exactly what it offers - other than saying it has a smoky quality - but it really does add a different dimension to everything it touches.

Getting some for your kitchen cabinet is super easy, as all it involves is a quick visit to the Little Istanbul Gifts shop and a few taps of your mouse or smartphone screen. There you’ll also find many other amazing spices and herbs from around the world that enhance your food in so many ways.

That’s it again from us. Join us again soon to avoid missing out on our next installment where we bring you more from the home of authentic handmade Turkish goods.