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13 Pro Tips For Making Flavored Salts At Home

Fusion cuisine is more popular than ever, largely thanks to the availability of an increasingly vast number of herbs, spices, and dried goods. People can try their hand at making dishes using flavors from around the world. Salt may seem like a tame addition to a meal, but it's one of the most important ingredients found in kitchens around the world and was once even worth its weight in gold. Regardless, amateur and professional chefs alike are always looking for ways to punch it up.

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Though interesting and unique salts, such as pink Himalayan salt or black sea salt, have been trendy additions for years, nothing has caught on quite like flavored salts. Infused with ingredients that can vary from umami-forward mushrooms to sweet, caramelized crystals, flavored salt brings more to the table than a pinch of luck — for a price. Infused salts cost much more than standard iodized salt or even coarse kosher sea salt. However, that doesn't mean they're some premium ingredient only available to true gourmands. 

Home cooks are realizing that they can make their own flavored salts, and some of these recipes promise to elevate even everyday dishes. Before you get started though, there are some key tips to preparing and creating such a customizable seasoning that you should keep in mind.

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Consider the intended use before grinding your salt

Different types of salt come in different levels of coarseness, with each being better suited to specific types of dishes. For instance, finely ground salt, such as basic table salt, is ideal for baking, since you can be very precise while measuring it. Meanwhile, coarser salts, like flaky sea salt, are best as a finishing touch, topping fresh food with visually appealing bursts of flavor. 

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What you intend to use your flavored salt on matters a lot when deciding on the type of salt to begin with. Will you be making a dry rub marinade with it, or will you be adding this special ingredient to your favorite cookie recipe? The final desired coarseness will almost certainly affect the entire process of making a flavored salt.

The best tip for getting the ideal coarseness for your infused salt is to start with very coarse salt. By doing so, you can always grind the minerals down to a finer texture to meet the needs of your chosen recipe. This also makes it easy to create multiple flavored salts, as you can infuse coarser grains with ingredients more suited to topping a dish, or pulverize flavors into a fine dusting perfect for getting lost in the sauce.

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Some added ingredients look better than others

Avid hosts will be happy to hear that there are some tricks to making flavored salts that will impress guests. Infused salt is an affordable and adorable wedding favor that's gaining popularity, especially among foodies. At the same time, dinner parties usually call for a small bowl of salt ready to be sprinkled on a plate. The simple fact is that some ingredients are really pretty, especially when mixed alongside glittering salt crystals. So, if the salt is meant for an event or a gift, choosing a flavor to add also means thinking about how the final product will look.

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Adding things like edible flowers or dried citrus brings a pop of color that looks great on just about anything. Pink, purple, and even blue can make a simple jar of salt look like a treasure trove. Plus, such flavored salts go well with sweet treats, as the ingredients that cause bright colors are typically packed with natural sugar, despite being fairly healthy for you. 

Alternatively, darker ingredients such as truffles or saffron offer a striking contrast that can create a picturesque pairing on top of fresh breads and seared meats. Combining different colored sea salt can also create a more dynamic and eye-catching mixture, regardless of the other ingredients' aesthetics.

Food processors are perfect for making flavored salts

There are many kitchen tools that will be helpful when making flavored salts. You can use a blender, a simple mortar and pestle, or even just a handheld herb grinder. However, if you want to create infused salts more often than once, or are looking to add dried ingredients such as mushrooms or chilis, a food processor makes it quick and easy to mix salt with just about anything.

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Food processors allow for a higher level of control over the coarseness of a mix than many other appliances. Blenders are ideal for large batches of flavored salt but can turn it into a slurry if you aren't careful. At the same time, mortar and pestle mixtures are far more coarse than fine salt, unless you really put some muscle into it. A food processor gives you the power to create infused salts across the texture spectrum. 

Even KitchenAid says that food processors are best for dry mixtures. Plus, food processors tend to have a wide top, making it easy to fit in chunky dried foods. The pulse function is a little less harsh than blenders, too, as the blades are designed for slicing and chopping. Despite this, if you run the processor just a few times, the infused salt will become extremely fine, without turning into a liquid. This is especially great news for anyone looking to flavor their salt with ingredients that have a high moisture count.

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You don't need a dehydrator to make dried foods

Adding dried goods to a salt mixture will greatly enhance the flavor, which is exactly why these types of infused salts are so sought after. Using dried foods typically means dealing with a higher price tag, unless you make the ingredient at home. Even then, depending on what you're looking to dehydrate, it may cost a pretty penny to pick up, but you'll undoubtedly save money compared to buying a specialty salt that includes your chosen mix-in. 

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Although some home chefs swear by their dehydrator, you don't actually need one to make dried food. If you want to try infusing salt with some dried orange peel, mushrooms, or anything else, you don't necessarily need to spend money on a new appliance or splurge at the grocery store. It's quite easy to dry food in the oven, and adding dried food to salt may actually provide some nutritional value to your new seasoning. Salts can be infused with just about anything, so the next time you have a great idea for a salt flavored with fresh produce, try testing out a dried food recipe using just your standard oven.

Sweet salts are just as good as savory ones

It wasn't too long ago that we all started to become obsessed with sweet and salty desserts. From salted caramel bites to luxury sea salt cacao bars, it's a well-established fact that salt can completely transform traditionally sweet dishes. Although a lot of attention is given to savory infused salts, such as truffle salt and rosemary salt, adding crushed caramel or cinnamon can seriously elevate desserts like brownies or even ice cream.

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According to Barb Stuckey's "Taste: Surprising Stories and Science about Why Food Tastes Good," there's an evolutionary reason behind the deliciousness of salt and sugar combos. While sugar indicates high-energy food, salt is a natural craving that helps balance our hydration, two factors that were vital to hunter-gatherer diets. Although salts infused with sweet ingredients may not qualify for the Paleo diet, they do hit a part of our brain that allowed even our oldest ancestors to enjoy tasty food. Don't be too quick to write off sweet-flavored salts, especially if you're a baker. Adding sweet seasonings is also one of the easiest ways to enhance salt, since there are many options that don't involve much work.

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Reduce liquids to infuse their flavor

There are few limits to what kinds of ingredients can be used to flavor specialty salt, even when making it at home. You may be surprised to hear that there are wine-infused salts available, which have a beautiful, magenta color. While less surprising, malt vinegar is another popular addition to salt, as it's perfect for fries and chips. Even broths can be infused into salt, creating unique flavors like fish dashi or hearty venison stock.

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It may sound a bit challenging to accomplish, but creating liquid-flavored salt is much easier said than done. All you have to do is reduce your liquid of choice in a pan. Once reduced, let it cool and dry before adding it to a food processor along with the salt. The salt will wick away any remaining liquid, but you'll still need to be careful to avoid turning your infused salt into a sluice.

The only downside to adding liquid to your salt is that you likely won't get the pretty scattering of flavor shards. In most cases, the dried liquid will get all over the salt, creating more consistent coloration. You can still end up with striking flavored salts though, especially if you pick bold ingredients.

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Smoke salt alongside BBQ for year-round umami

Liquid smoke is more popular than ever, but it's fair to say that the ingredient has had its day in the sun. Still, plenty of people continue to look for a way to get that barbeque taste in the dead of winter. Grillmasters everywhere can turn to salt to end their winter flavor woes, as smoking salts is easy to do, particularly if you have a smoker for those summer nights. Smoke-flavored salt lets you add that deep BBQ flavor to dishes long after the warmer months end.

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Liquid smoke ultimately doesn't work well due to its bitterness — even if it's added to salt as a kind of shortcut to smoke-infused seasoning, as it often ends up making the salt taste bitter. Smoking the salt yourself can take just four hours to complete, and you can customize the taste even further by using various wood types. For example, cherrywood smoke-flavored salt would be good for a bit of a sweet kick, while hickory-smoked salt will add the irresistible taste of bacon to basically anything.

Since even a large amount of salt doesn't take up much room, you can simply smoke salt alongside your regular barbecue fare this year, possibly making smoked salt the easiest to make. Even if you don't have a smoker around, you can always get a stovetop one to make both smoked salt and some BBQ snacks year-round for around $30-60.

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Some flavors don't need to stay in the salt

Some recipes are easier than others, and when it comes to flavored salts, it can seem like the more complicated it is to make, the better it is. However, there are definitely easy, low-effort infused salt recipes out there. After all, some ingredients have a strong enough flavor that simply placing them in a jar with salt for a few days will infuse the salt. 

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Things like fresh garlic can change a jar of salt forever, without even doing much mixing. When using such strong ingredients, it's enough to arrange them on a skewer and steep them in a container of salt. While this method is effortless, it does take a lot longer than other infusions. It could take an entire week to get the salt to fully absorb the flavors on the skewer, and you'll want to shake it up a few times throughout the week to ensure most of the salt grains make contact with the kebab. 

Adding dried versions of these foods is an acceptable alternative, especially since this method tends to work best with members of the onion family, but there are some benefits to the skewer method. The low effort required, in a world filled with family and work obligations, can be a real savior. Additionally, the flavor of the additive is less noticeable, both visually and taste-wise, which is ideal for picky eaters and the few people on Earth who don't worship garlic-flavored food.

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Let infused salt sit out overnight

It's not uncommon to leave food out overnight as part of a recipe, but it makes even more sense when the advice is pointed towards something we're all used to seeing on a countertop. Normally, we'd want to see salt covered in an airtight container if it's left out, but when you're making a flavored salt, the entire point is to let it air out. It doesn't hurt to throw a breathable cloth over it to deter pets and pests alike, though there's little need to worry about other threats. Salt is naturally antibacterial, so there's not much chance of foodborne illnesses developing while your back is turned.

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Most recipes call for leaving infused salt out for at least 12 hours. This just makes it so that any last bits of moisture evaporate before the mixture goes into storage, which is extremely important when making salt infused with reduced liquids, as they'll have much more hidden moisture than other flavored salts. 

You can leave the salt out for even longer if you're feeling patient or if your mixture has more moisture than you'd like. But as long as you leave the salt out for at least a night, you won't have to fret over wet salt.

Wait one week before using your flavored salt

Making infused salt can be a pretty quick process, but this tip is one home chefs hear all the time: be patient. Although the flavors will be detectable immediately after you make the salt, if you wait a week after sealing, it will taste even better. This waiting period gives the various flavors a chance to steep and integrate much more thoroughly than if the container is being constantly opened and closed right from the get-go. Shaking it up daily during this time can also help with the process, though it isn't necessary.

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Infused salts that sit undisturbed for at least a week after being mixed not only provide you with a stronger flavor but should also keep their flavor for longer than salts that are used as soon as they've been combined. While some flavored salts are mixed on the fly for small gatherings, if you're planning on hosting an event or giving infused salts away as gifts, making them ahead of time and letting them steep will make a world of difference to the overall taste.

Mushroom salts should be stored in the dark

Salt's antibacterial properties make it a popular countertop seasoning, especially considering how often it's called for in recipes. Paired with the fact that it's fun and chic to have a glass, wooden, or marble dish of flavored salt next to you while cooking, there are few reasons not to indulge in the practice. However, those who enjoy salt flavored with mushrooms will have to miss out a bit on the fun. 

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As mushroom lovers may already have guessed, mushroom salts need to be stored in a cool, dark place, or else they will lose their unique flavor and may even spoil. When making flavored salts that contain chopped or shredded dried mushrooms, plan on keeping the mix in your pantry rather than out in the open. As with any mushroom product, direct sunlight will ruin it for sure, but even indirect heat from a window or stovetop might cause some unsavory issues. 

Other types of infused salts can be left out as normal, so if you make a lot of different flavored salts, don't forget to give the mushroom mixes a bit more attention by keeping them properly stored. Most dried mushrooms come with instructions for specific acceptable temperatures, and those instructions should suffice for storing mushroom-flavored salt.

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Adjust the ratios according to personal preference

One of the best things about making your own flavored salt is that you get to decide exactly how you want the salt to taste, look, and even feel when you take a bite of your favorite foods. Instead of relying on reviews and vague, corporate flavor meters while perusing flavored salt options, your infused salt can be as weak or strong and as mild or spicy as you like. Not all ingredients are created equally though, meaning you may need to adjust even the recipes you follow to make flavored salt.

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Variety sure is the spice of life, and some of those spices are way more powerful than others. Some herbs, such as rosemary, bring strong flavors regardless of whether they're fresh or dry. In such a case, less of the added ingredient can be used for an infusion without losing out on the extra flavor. Alternatively, adding more salt can dampen flavors, while still functioning primarily as salt for most dishes. 

The opposite is equally true, with mega fans of flavors like garlic or chili peppers able to up the amount called for in a recipe. Likewise, reducing the amount of salt increases the efficacy of the other flavors without leaving out salt altogether. No matter what your preference, homemade flavored salt can be the perfect addition to your spice rack.

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Infused salts lose their flavor eventually

Salt is one of those ingredients that most people buy in bulk and never think about again, at least until their box runs low. However, flavored salts are a little different. Although infused salts don't really ever go bad, they do start losing their flavor after about six months. Stronger flavors can last over a year, but even these will stop having the same kick after that, slowly diminishing over the course of about three years. 

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Luckily, salt is used often, and homemade flavored salts can be made in much smaller batches than what you buy at the store. Additionally, most infused salts will be safe to eat for years. Still, a key tip to successfully enjoying your flavored salts is to only make them in batches that will last three to six months. Not only does this ensure that the flavor will be ever-present, but it also makes it easier to store alongside other small spice jars.

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