Spiceburst Infused Sea Salts
At Spiceburst Gourmet Spices, we understand spices and we want to share that information with you. We're always looking for unique seasonings to make that we can use in our own kitchen and on our grill. This lens is meant to keep you informed about the hard-to-find spices we consider for our line of infused sea salts. Sometimes we use them and sometimes we don't, but we always learn something along the way...
Spiceburst Gourmet Spices has a complete line of Portuguese sea salts infused with fresh ingredients like roasted garlic, fresh lime juice, orange zest, roasted jalapenos, and fresh ground coffee. Visit our online store at spiceburst.com if you're interested in purchasing our products!
Spiceburst Gourmet Spices has a complete line of Portuguese sea salts infused with fresh ingredients like roasted garlic, fresh lime juice, orange zest, roasted jalapenos, and fresh ground coffee. Visit our online store at spiceburst.com if you're interested in purchasing our products!
Infused sea salts by Spiceburst
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Spiceburst Gourmet Spices
At Spiceburst Gourmet Spices, we infuse Portuguese sea salt with fresh-roasted garlic, fresh lime, roasted jalapenos, and orange zest to create our truly unique spices. Check us out at www.spiceburst.com!
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Why use sea salt?
The difference between sea salt and table salt
The ocean from which sea salt originates has a definite effect on the flavor that results from it. Sea salt is typically 98% sodium chloride and 2% minerals, such as magnesium, potassium, iron, calcium, etc. Every ocean has a different mineral composition, which is what causes the different flavors between one sea salt and another. For example, a sea salt that is harvested out of the Atlantic Ocean may have more potassium than a sea salt harvested from the Pacific Ocean.Flavor is also affected by the method used to process the sea salt once it is removed from an ocean or cave. Natural, unrefined, hand-harvested sea salt still has the same flavor it had when it was first removed from the ocean. This is what creates the complexity of flavors in sea salt.
Unlike table salt, which is chemically cleaned, bleached, and treated with anti-caking agents, sea salt is natural, processed with very little mechanization, no heating, and unrefined. More and more people are becoming concerned with the chemicals they are putting in their bodies and using unrefined, high-quality sea salt is part of a more conscientious lifestyle.
One thing to keep in mind is that even though the label on a jar of salt says 'Sea Salt', it may still be highly processed and contain chemicals. Consider the place/person you're buying it from, look for words like 'unrefined', 'unprocessed', or 'natural' on the label, and the price. With sea salt, you get what you pay for...
Types of salt
Like most things we eat, it comes from all over the world, is made by people from all walks of life, using many different production methods. Although we use hand-harvested sea salt from Portugal to make our products, we think it is important to understand the different types of salt so that we can appreciate ours even more. All salt is produced using one of the following methods, but its what people do with it afterwards that makes the end-product unique.
- Table Salt is a typical evaporated salt product. Evaporated salt is made by boiling saturated brine (obtained from rock or solar salt, not directly from sea water) under a partial vacuum with steam heat, in enclosed vessels called vacuum pans. The brine is solution mined from underground rock salt deposits or it can also be made by dissolving rock salt or solar salt. The brine is purified and fed to large evaporators where salt crystallizes into granulated salt.
Table salt can also be produced via solution mining. Solution Mining occurs when fresh and recycled water is injected through a well(s) drilled into an underground salt bed or dome, usually between 150-1,500 meters deep. Dissolution of the salt forms a void or cavern in the salt deposit. Salt brine is withdrawn from the cavern and transported by pipeline to an onsite evaporating plant to make dry salt or to a chemical processing plant for chlor-alkali or other chemical production. - Rock Salt is mined underground using 20 ft-wide shafts, which are drilled into a salt deposit that is 500 to 2,000 feet deep. The salt is mined by undercutting, drilling and blasting or with mining machines that use large cutting heads. The mined salt is crushed and screened to the desired size and hoisted to the surface in 20-ton skips. The salt is then packaged and shipped in bulk to the customer.
- Solar/Sea Salt is produced using wind and natural sunlight to evaporate sea water that has been captured in large open ponds.
How to use sea salt
Making the most of the texture and flavors of different salts
I think it is fairly safe to say we are all familiar with how to use table salt. But when it comes to using the many different sea salts on the market, a lot of us are stymied. I don't know about you, but we've got alder-smoked salt, Maldon, Morton's kosher salt, herb-infused sea salt, bamboo-smoked salt, Real Salt, Jane's Krazy Mixed Up Seasoning Salt, Hawaiian lava salt, Himalania pink salt, and our own infused sea salts all in our kitchen right now. Before we got started in the salt business, we had no idea that a salt's origin, the way it is produced, and its texture could affect how you use it on your food. Much like some of you, we thought "salt is salt". But that is not true...Let's look at how to use sea salt according to each particular cooking method.
Boiling
Anytime you boil potatoes or pasta, you should add about a quarter teaspoon of table or kosher salt for every four cups of water to bring out the natural flavor. Some of the salt will be absorbed, but most of it will evaporate into the air, which is why you don't want to use an expensive artisan sea salt in this case.
To brine chicken or turkey, mix a quarter cup of kosher salt and half a cup of sugar for every quart of water that you use. Immerse the meat in the brine (we use plastic bags) for one hour per pound, but not less than 30 minutes or more than eight hours. For crispier skin, let the chicken or turkey dry before cooking it. Overnight in the fridge is best.
Sauteing
When sauteing vegetables, you should sprinkle a very small amount of kosher or artisan sea salt on the veggies before they start cooking. These salts can be coarse ground because by the time the food is done, they will have dissolved. If you want to give your vegetables a nice smoky flavor, add a small amount of smoked salt just before serving. You don't want to add it too early or the flavor will evaporate into the air.
When sauteing chicken breasts or other meat, you should brine it using kosher salt and, as you do with vegetables, add your artisan sea salt five minutes before it is done. This way, the inside of the chicken is seasoned by the brine and the outside is flavored by the salt's ingredients.
Steaming
If you're going to use kosher or table salt on steamed food, use the finely ground versions. Otherwise, the salt won't get into the nooks and crannies of your food. If you have a nice smoked salt that you want to try, use it on steamed vegetable dishes. We've found that the smokiness in smoked salts comes across best when the salt is used on raw or slightly cooked foods. Tuna steak, tomatoes, asparagus, green beans. Foods that are best eaten when still slightly crisp or even raw. If you grill with these salts, the smokiness of the grill overpowers the smokiness in the salt, which is kind of a waste. Although, you could always grill the food with kosher salt first and add the smoked salt just before serving.
Baking
As a general rule, if you merely want to bring out the flavor of the food you're cooking, use kosher salt when baking. If you want to add an extra flavor dimension to the food you're baking, use an artisan salt. If you're baking fish and you want it to have a nice smoky flavor, try using a smoked salt on it before you put it in the oven. No matter what you're baking, salt it before you put it in the oven so that the flavor of the salt can absorb into the food. You can always add more salt later.
Roasting
Roasting is when you bake foods at high temperatures for a short period of time. You can always use kosher salt when roasting meat, but we wouldn't recommend smoked salt because the smoky flavor will be lost somewhere in the oven or it could burn off. A good rule of thumb when roasting meats is to season it with kosher salt before putting it in the oven and then adding an artisan salt in the last 30 minutes of cooking so that ITS flavor is what lands on the tongue first.
Grilling
Grilling is mostly done at high temperatures in short amounts of time, especially when you like a little charring on the outside of the meat and moist tenderness inside. You should use kosher or artisan sea salt just before you put the meat (or vegetables) on the grill. Smoked salt would be a waste since you're already getting the smoky flavor from the grill. If you're grilling vegetables, spray them with a little olive oil to help your salt and seasonings stick better.
People go back and forth on whether you should salt your meat before grilling. Some say it will dry out the meat and some say it will make it more juicy. We are of the second opinion. But there's a catch. You should salt the meat no more than an hour before you put it on the grill. NEVER salt the meat overnight. It will end up gray and tough.
Smoking
Meats are usually smoked at very low temperatures for long periods of time. Salt should always be added in the beginning and sometimes even during the cooking process. Although, typically people brush marinade onto the meat every few hours that it is cooking. Maybe to retain moisture that is being drawn out of the food by the length of time it is on the fire. Kosher salt is probably your best option here, since the flavor from infused or smoked salts would either burn off or be swallowed up by the flavor added by the smoke.
Using Spiceburst Infused Sea Salts
The hard and fast rule with our infused sea salts is to be conservative at first and remember you can always add more later. Due to the naturalness of our ingredients, the end-result can be potent and its very easy to over-salt your food. Although the granules may seem large, by the time our salts infuse into your food, all you'll get is great taste. Whether you're sauteing, steaming, baking or grilling, sprinkle a very small amount of our infused sea salt before the food starts cooking, making sure each piece of food gets 3-4 granules. Adding the salt in the beginning of the process allows the ingredients in the salt to season the inside of the food. If you need more salt, you can always add it just before serving to give food a nice crunchy texture or to highlight the flavors in the salt.
Recommended Salt Cellars
Back in the Middle Ages, important dinner guests had small bowls of salt set in front of their place at the table. These small bowls were called salt cellars. Today, they add a touch of interest to the dinner table.
Accacia Wood Salt Cellar
Amazon Price: $24.44 (as of 07/10/2009) 
Ceramic colorful Salt server with spoon special salt server for gourmet salt, Lightblueandbrown
Amazon Price: $9.55 (as of 07/10/2009)
English Hobnail Open Salt Cellar - Bonnie Blue
Amazon Price: (as of 07/10/2009)
Zak Designs Savannah Green 5-piece Salt & Pepper Cellar Set
Amazon Price: $10.99 (as of 07/10/2009)
Ironwood Gourmet Acacia Wood Spice Tray
Amazon Price: $10.99 (as of 07/10/2009)
Our Products
A list of our infused sea salts
- Garlic Saltburst
- We created our Garlic Saltburst because we found ourselves needing (okay, wanting...) roasted garlic when cooking dinner, but every product contained dried garlic or garlic powder. Never the real thing.
Garlic Saltburst is a combination of roasted garlic, Portuguese sea salt, fresh-squeezed lemon, and Persian sumac. If you cook every meal with garlic, you'll love this seasoning. It has the warm and inviting aroma of roasted garlic that can make the cheapest cut of meat taste like its been aged in garlic. If you sprinkle a few granules in mashed potatoes just as you're mashing them, you'll get tiny bursts of fresh-roasted garlic salt in every other bite. Or, for your next dinner party, add it to olive oil and use it as a dip with your favorite bread. We love it on steak and ribs! But honestly, its great on everything... Buy now! - Chipotle Saltburst
- We like the complexity of chipotle (roasted jalapeno) peppers and how the flavor starts off smoky and slowly intensifies. Also, we were looking for a seasoning to use instead of regular salt and pepper. Our Chipotle Saltburst contains Portuguese sea salt, roasted jalapenos (chipotles), fresh-squeezed lemon, vinegar, cilantro, and paprika.
Our chipotle salt enhances salmon, scrambled eggs, fresh-sliced tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, chicken breasts, and potato salad. When we have a party, we have our guests sprinkle it on their corn-on-the-cob, but we also use it to grill pork tenderloins and beef ribeyes or to roast a turkey. Buy now! - Chile Lime Saltburst
- For our Chile Lime Saltburst, we wanted something to put on the lip of our Tecate beer, but it had to be spicy, salty and sour. So we threw together Portuguese sea salt, Arbol peppers, fresh-squeezed lime juice, and Turbinado sugar. When Chile Lime Saltburst first hits your tongue, it's tangy and slightly sweet, but then an intense fire kicks in and gets you moving.
We rub this seasoning on pork ribs, grilled shrimp, corn-on-the-cob, jicama, pineapple, and we've even started putting it on our grilled avocados. At your next party, try some Chile Lime Saltburst on the rim of a bloody mary or a michelada. It also makes a great Chile Lime Butter to drizzle over fish or steak! Buy now! - Orange Saltburst
- We developed Orange Saltburst because we felt that the light and sunny flavor of citrus fruit livens up a majority of the vegetables we eat. This seasoning contains Portuguese sea salt, orange oil, fresh-squeezed lemon, rosemary, orange zest, and paprika.
Orange Saltburst is surprisingly versatile because you can use it in the kitchen AND the bar. Not only do we use it on acorn squash, halibut, roasted chicken, and steamed broccoli, but its also great on the rim of a margarita. Of course, we also use it to spruce up the 'ole Lemon Chicken recipe. Buy now! - Za'atar Saltburst
- We made our Za'atar Saltburst in homage to the wonderful flavors we discovered at our favorite Persian restaurant. Although traditional Za'atar typically consists of sumac, thyme, and sesame seeds, our version is intended to be used on a wide range of food. Not only is it great on saffron rice and beef kabobs, but we also use it on seared Ahi tuna, scrambled eggs, steaks, and fresh-sliced tomatoes.
The flavor of this seasoning really comes out when you add it to food while its cooking. Something about the oils in the sesame seeds gives the chicken and rice a warm nutty flavor... Za'atar Saltburst contains Portuguese sea salt, dried Persian limes, marjoram, black sesame seeds, Syrian aleppo peppers, Jordanian sumac, cardamom, and chipotle powder.
Try it on rice with a little butter tossed in, but it also adds a lot of flavor to meatloaf and grilled chicken. If you're having a small party, sprinkle some Za'atar Saltburst in some olive oil and let your guests dip some fresh bread in it for appetizers. Its also fabulous when rubbed on tuna or salmon prior to baking or grilling. In the summer, we use it on fresh-sliced tomatoes and put it on salads. Buy now! - Savory Pomegranate Glaze
- We are big fans of the sweet, salty, tangy flavor combination, which is how our Savory Pomegranate Glaze came to be. Most of the glazes we bought didn't have the high note of tanginess we really wanted for our grilled pork ribs and baked chicken. We were finally able to find the right balance using Turbinado sugar, fresh-squeezed lemon, and pomegranate molasses. Now we use our Chile Lime Saltburst and the Savory Pomegranate Glaze together when we want the sweet and
spicy flavor combination on barbecued meats. Savory Pomegranate Glaze contains Turbinado sugar, Portuguese sea salt, pomegranate molasses, fresh-squeezed lemon, and lavender.
We typically use Savory Pomegranate Glaze at the last minute to melt over rice, sweet potatoes, and pork ribs. Scoop out a spoonful and put it on food that is already hot, like stir-fried veggies, chicken breasts, ham, and roasted carrots. We even put it on spinach and feta salad or over a block of smoky cheese when we're having a party. The Savory Pomegranate Glaze is great on grilled or baked chicken. You can rub it on before you cook the meat or you can melt the glaze over the meat after its done. Buy now! - Cowboy Saltburst
- Our Cowboy Saltburst is a tip of the hat to the cowboys of yesterday. Back then, they cooked with whatever they had on hand, which was usually salt, pepper, sugar, and coffee.
Cowboy Saltburst contains Portuguese sea salt, coffee, black pepper, Turbinado sugar, Arbol chiles, and fresh lime zest. Despite its simple ingredients, Cowboy Saltburst has a very complex flavor that starts with a nice peppery flavor and ends with a touch of sweet coffee. This makes it an excellent spice for your favorite cut of meat, particularly steaks. When you grill with the Cowboy Saltburst, the turbinado sugar will add a fine crusty glaze to the outside of the meat.
Try it on rice and sausage dishes, salads, steaks, green beans, asparagus, chicken, salmon or mahi-mahi. Buy now!
What the press is saying about us
- Recommendation from Dry Soda Co's Marna Wohlfeld, Senior Market Director, Dallas:
- Marna with Dry Soda Co. dropped by one of our demos at Central Market and recommends that you pair our Orange Saltburst with their Kumquat soda.
- Austin Tidbits (November 2007)
- A locally run blog picked up our spices and wrote a great review!
- Eating Well Magazine (August 2007)
- The Sunset Valley Farmer's Market is one of the best in the country and we got spotlighted, which was very cool...
- Boston Globe (January 2007)
- Our Savory Pomegranate Glaze hits the big time.
- Austin Chronicle (January 2007)
- New Years 2006: Top Ten Things to Top It Off
- Austin Chronicle (December 2006)
- Local Products with Global Flavors
- Hot Sauce Blog (December 2006)
- Review of Chipotle Saltburst and Orange Saltburst
- Texas Monthly (November 2006)
- The Best Mail-Order Food
- Austin Chronicle (September 2006)
- New and Noteworthy
- Austin Chronicle (January 2006)
- Pomegranates, et al.
- Austin Chronicle (August 2005)
- Pepper Peddlin'
- Austin Monthly Magazine (June 2006)
- Spiceburst Shakes Up Austin
- Austin Chronicle (January 2005)
- Dependables and Discoveries
- Austin Chronicle (December 2005)
- Giveable City
- Austin American-Statesman (December 2004)
- How to Fill a Stocking for Foodies
Spotlight on Mo's Bacon Bar
Sweet, salty, crunchy, with a touch of crisp bacon!
Spiceburst Gear
Help us get the word out!
Spiceburst White T-Shirt
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Price: 14.99
Spiceburst Organic Cotton Tee
Spiceburst merchandise
Price: 19.99
Spiceburst Ringer T
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Price: 14.99
Spiceburst Feedback
Let us know what you think of our lens!
Senora_M wrote...
Great lens with lots of good information!
FREE Samples and Freebies
Posted April 10, 2009
ElizabethJeanAllen wrote...
Great lens! Very informative. I thought seasalt was seasalt. Silly me!
5 stars and a lensroll to "Pass the Salt"
Liz
Posted May 06, 2008
KimGiancaterino wrote...
Wonderful lens. I've been using infused sea salts for many years. These look great!
Posted April 30, 2008
enslavedbyfaeries wrote...
Your lens is really beautiful, I love your pictures!
Posted April 22, 2008
Cool Cookbooks to Check Out
Here are just a few of the cookbooks we've read recently
Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky
Mark Kurlansky, the bestselling author of Cod and more...2 points
The Spice Bible: Essential Information and More Than 250 Recipes Using Spice, Spice Mixes, and Spice Pastes by Jane Lawson
The only book on spices that any chef or aspiring more...1 point
I LIKE FOOD, FOOD TASTES GOOD: IN THE KITCHEN WITH YOUR FAVORITE BANDS by Kara Zuaro
What happens when indie bands hit the road? They g more...1 point
Things Cooks Love: Implements, Ingredients, Recipes by Sur La Table, Marie Simmons
"The first time I stepped into a Sur La Table more...0 points
The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper: Recipes, Stories, and Opinions from Public Radio's Award-Winning Food Show by Lynne Rossetto Kasper, Sally Swift
Just when you thought the last thing the world nee more...0 points
ChefMD's Big Book of Culinary Medicine: A Food Lover's Road Map to Losing Weight, Preventing Disease, and Getting Really Healthy by John La Puma, Rebecca Powell Marx
What Dr. Andrew Weil is to herbal medicine and Dr. more...0 points
How to Read a French Fry by Russ Parsons
Why can you stick your hand into a 450-degree oven more...0 points
Get Cooking!
Try these delicious recipes with our products
- Chipotle Brussels Sprouts
- he poor brussels sprout... To be so ostracized from society and unloved. Perhaps its because our Moms used to boil it to death in the 1950s that gave it the low status it has today. Or maybe its because people just forgot about the wonder of butter! In this recipe, we're hoping to raise the status of this much-hated vegetable. Yes, there's butter here, but don't be afraid. All the bad things you're ingesting are more than made up for in the vitamins of the brussels sprout. And the lovely sweetness of these special onions make it even more delicious!
- Grilled Chile Lime Avocados
- A foodie at Central Market in Austin uses our Chile Lime salt at home and when I was in the store for a demo, he told me how he uses it to grill avocados. I had never heard of grilling them, so I tried it and WOW! They make great appetizers because your guests can eat them right out of the shell, saving you some dishes to wash...
- Spicy Orange Mahi-Mahi
- Some of the lighter fish are complimented by a little citrus. A squeeze of lemon or some orange zest. But to give it a little personality, we add in the smoky, slightly spicy flavor of our Chipotle salt. If you don't have Mahi-Mahi, other light fish like Halibut or Tilapia will also turn out delicious with this recipe.
- Pomegranate Chicken
- This chicken recipe was adapted from a Persian dish called Khoresht Anaar-Aveej. Serve it with some saffron rice on the side and your tummy will thank you.
- Crispy Clay Pot Rice
- If you like your rice crispy, try our Clay Pot Rice recipe. We butter the sides and bottom of our clay pot, which makes the rice crispy when you bake it. Our recipe is vegetarian, but you can always add some precooked chicken pieces to the rice before you put it in the clay pot.
- Sauted Asparagus and Portabella Mushrooms
- Steaming isn't the only way to cook asparagus... When you're in a time crunch for dinner, but you've got some asparagus in the fridge, try this recipe. It takes about ten minutes from prep to finish and even your picky eaters will love it!
- Chile Lime Michelada
- I just love zesty drinks like the Bloody Mary, but tomato juice (unless its fresh-squeezed) is LOADED with sodium. I know this might seem odd coming from someone who makes infused sea salt, but I really believe in the whole 'everything in moderation' philosophy... Our Michelada recipe is half tomato juice, half lime juice and there's enough here for a small party.
- Chile Lime Bloody Mary
- When our family gets together for the holidays, we are always in charge of the drinks, especially the Bloody Marys. Everyone seems to want one... After many years of testing, we now share it with all of you.
by Seasoned_Chef
Hi, my name is Trish. I am a writer during the day, but I also own a spice business, and live in a trailer in the backyard while my house is being rem... (more)
