Making your own sea salt is a great way to bring the flavors and smells of your favorite beach into your kitchen. Salt taken straight from the ocean takes on the characteristics of its environment, making it possible to incorporate the essence of the sea into your cooking. To make it, you need a clean source of seawater and plenty of time, as well as space in your kitchen. Check out step one to learn how to make your own sea salt from scratch and season sea salt to harvest for a variety of flavors.
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Method 1 of 2: Making Sea Salt from Scratch
Step 1. Understand the process
Commercial salt makers produce sea salt on a much larger scale than home salt makers, but knowing commercial techniques can increase your knowledge and how to make salt. Here's how they do it:
- The small pool is filled with seawater and the water is allowed to evaporate. The product that remains after all the water is gone is sea salt. This process will work better in areas where there is a lot of sun and little rain.
- The brine is channeled into a large steel pot. Any mud or dirt will settle to the bottom and the remaining water will either be sucked up and heated. When the water is heated, any foam that forms will be removed from the top of the water and the water will continue to evaporate until only the salt crystals remain.
- Usually, additives will be added. Commercial sea salt makers usually add calcium and magnesium to their salt to give it added nutrients and a distinct taste.
Step 2. Collect the brine
Salt-rich water is collected from salt-rich seas or salt ponds. Depending on where the water is collected, the resulting salt will take on a wide variety of colors based on the variation of the minerals present in each respective location. Collecting some water from the sea won't provide the quality of salt you'd expect, especially for cooking purposes, due to the low salinity of the water, but it's a good idea to experiment with water from different sources to find out which produces the best salt.
- It is very important to collect salt water from a clean source. If you know which areas are polluted, do not collect water from there. Air pollution, oil and chemical waste, as well as other types of pollution will affect the taste and quality of salt.
- If an area is safe for fishing, it is also likely to be safe to assume that the water there is clean enough to harvest salt.
- A gallon glass or plastic jug is a good size for collecting water. One gallon of water will yield about 3 ounces of salt.
Step 3. Strain the water
This process is necessary to remove sand, shellfish and other marine sediments from the water before you harvest the salt. Use cheesecloth to filter the salt out of the water. Can also use one or more layers. To be sure that the dirt has been removed, filter the water several times. This will not affect the salt content.
Step 4. Let the water evaporate
Sea salt is a product that will not be lost from the evaporation of brine. Plan for the steaming process to last at least a few days, and usually a few weeks. To make sea salt at home, you can use one of several techniques.
- Turn on your oven on the lowest setting. Pour water into a container with high sides and place in the oven. Let the water slowly evaporate for a few days.
- Put your filtered salt in a saucepan and boil until all the water is gone. Let the sun help the process. Take the wet salt out of the pan and place it on a plate or bowl. Leave it in the sun to evaporate any remaining water.
- Place your filtered water in a shallow bowl or dish and allow it to sit out in the open so the water can evaporate. What is left when all the water is gone is sea salt. This method can take several weeks.
Step 5. Harvest the remaining salt
You will see a crust that begins to form as the water evaporates. Use a spoon to scrape it out of the container. Salt crystals will change into a variety of shapes and sizes, and will have different colors depending on where you get the water from.
- You can choose to grind it to a finer texture. You can use a salt grinder to do this.
- Enjoy salt by tasting it without adding anything or using it in your daily cooking.
Method 2 of 2: Making Seasoned Sea Salt
Step 1. Make the lemon salt
Salt can be combined with a variety of flavors, and lemon is one of the best. Salt and citrus combine to make a spice that you can use in any dish. This refreshing salt is perfect when sprinkled on fresh vegetables, salads, and fish:
- Combine cup sea salt, cup lemon juice and grated from 1 lemon in a bowl.
- Spread the mixture on the pan.
- Bake in the oven on the lowest setting until the moisture has evaporated, a few hours or overnight.
- Scrape the lemon salt into a bowl.
Step 2. Make the bourbon salt
When the salty and sweet flavors are combined, the taste becomes very tempting. In this case sea salt is mixed with bourbon and sugar syrup for a rich and delicious salty taste that you can sprinkle on your baked goods.
- Bring 1 cup of bourbon to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat until reduced to about cup.
- Combine the reduced bourbon, cup sea salt and cup sugar in a food processor, continuing until it has a gritty texture.
- Spread the mixture into the pan.
- Bake in the oven on the lowest setting until the moisture has evaporated, a few hours or overnight.
Step 3. Make the smoked salt
Next time you want to set up a fire to smoke a piece of meat, place a tray of sea salt in there as well. Allow the sea salt to smoke on the burner for a few hours, then pour it into a container. Enjoy the rich, fragrant smoked salt on baked potatoes, pizza and other delicious dishes.
