IamMadMan
somebody shut me the fark up.
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2011
- Location
- Pemberto...
I work closely with the local culinary arts teachers throughout the year, and I am often asked to appear as a guest to teach the students specific topics that they would not normally be exposed to in the normal classroom criteria.
Today the Culinary Arts students learned about the differences in salts and the processes of brining.
They all knew that the most commonly salts used in the home are Table Salt, Kosher Salt, and Sea Salt. Most salts come in different grain sizes; Course, Extra Course, Fine, Extra Fine, and powdered, each for specific purposes.
But it is the salts that are not currently in our home that we all should be made aware of.
Natural salt is harvested (sea salt) or mined (mineral salt) and are not refined. These natural salts have a greater mineral complexity than common table salts. The crystal structure and crystal formation will vary widely, both lending different levels of taste and potency. The students got to experience a few specialty culinary salts coveted by quality chefs around the world. These would include;
Maldon Salt Flakes - from Maldon Lake in Essex, England, a hard salt that resembles snowflakes. According to legend, flake salt was first manufactured in Maldon by accident nearly 2,000 years ago, when the slaves of Casius Petrox overheated his bathwater. His slaves had inadvertently discovered a method of producing salt from sea water. Still produced and hand-harvested to ensure the old world traditional salt with the distinctive flaky texture and taste that lends a certain piquancy to virtually any dish. flake salts have dry, thin, parchment-fine brittle crystals that create bold, sparks of taste when eaten. Typically used as a finishing salt, it provides a snap of texture and a brief explosion of pungency to fresh vegetables, green salads, or wherever a more vibrant, salty presence is desired.
Sel Gris - French Grey Salt, a coarse moist granular sea salt popularized by the French. This salt is favored by the top chefs in France and all around the world. French Grey Salt is formed as the sea water flows into the Marshes in Guérande France during high tides. It was first harvested in 945 AD, and is still hand-harvested today by salt workers, to insure only the best possible quality of salt. 90 to 165 pounds of sel gris can be harvested in one day, whereas fleurs de sel, the daily yield is only 4.5 to 6.6 pounds a day.
Fleur de Sel - A salt that forms as a thin, delicate crust on the surface of seawater as it evaporates. Fleur de sel has been collected since ancient times (mentioned by Pliny the Elder in the year 77 AD). Historically, the workers who harvested fleur de sel were women, because it was believed that these salt crystals were so delicate, they needed to be collected by "the more delicate sex." Because it is collected from the top of the salt marsh (like cream from milk), fleur de sel has been called "the cream of the salt pans." The name comes from the flower-like formation of crystals in the floating salt crust. This salt is also highly favored by the top chefs all around the world. Fleur de Sel is very high in minerals and contains varying quantities of iron, zinc, manganese, and literally dozens of other trace minerals. These combine with the sodium chloride that makes up the majority of the salt to achieve an extremely well-rounded, mellow finishing salt.
Himalayan Sheppa Pink Salt - From the Punjab region of Pakistan, about 180 mi from the Himalayas. (It is falsely marketed as being from the Himalayas) Pink Salt was discovered around 326 BC when Alexander the Great stopped to rest there and noticed their horses licking the salty rocks, but the first written records of mining, are from the Janjua people in the 1200s. Granulated Himalayan Pink Salt is commonly used to replace common table salt in cooking, seasoning, and in brines.
Krautersaltz - A custom herbed salt. The salt is mined by hand in the 600 year old Königsee Salt Mine in Bavaria, Germany. Hand picked herbs are dried in the salt and then finely ground to produce this unique flavorful herbed finishing salt.
Cherry Wood Smoked Sea Salt - An aromatic salt smoked with cherry wood for up to 14 days. Smoked salt is used to enhance the inherent flavors of a dish while also imparting a smoky taste. It is suitable for vegetarians, often acting as a replacement for bacon crumble. Smoked salt differs from smoke-flavored salt as the latter contains a smoke flavored additive and is not classified as a natural salt product. The smoke from the cherry wood imparts a deep mahogany color, and it will leave a delicate smokey flavor when used.
Smoked salt is available in other varieties; The kind of wood used for smoking impacts the flavor, which can range from subtle, to bold, or even sweet. The most common choices are alder wood, apple wood, hickory, mesquite, cherry, and oak. Infused smoked salts like smoked bacon chipotle sea salt are very popular because of the dynamic flavor profiles.
We also got to experience some gourmet salts and finishing salts.
These would include;
Oakridge Santa Maria Grill seasoning - Although very popular for grilling, it is equally great for conventional cooking. Works well with poultry, roasts, vegetables, and stews.
Oakridge Smoky Chile Lime Finishing Salt - A new prototype which has not been offered for sale yet. A mild smoky chile salt with light citrus undertones.
Roasted Garlic Sea Salt - Roasted Garlic dried in an an equal part of sea salt. Very flavorful mild floral garlic flavor.
Naturiffic Peppery Lime Gourmet Salt - A nice peppery finish with mild citrus undertones.
Naturiffic Garlicky Lemon Gourmet Salt - A pleasant floral hint of garlic, citrus, and herbs.
Naturiffic Q-Salt - Didn't use in this class, to be used later when we grill or broil.
We then discussed wet brines and dry brines.
Although we prepped the meat on Thursday and cooked the Pork Loins on Friday. Each of the six classrooms prepared 1/2 of a pork loin with Oakridge Game Changer Brine (Wet Brine) and Prepared the other 1/2 with Naturiffic Gourmet Salts Harvest Brine (Dry Brine). They also did some chicken leg quarters at random.
Oakridge Game Changer Brine - An all purpose wet brine for poultry and pork. This brine was made mixed with apple juice in the brine, and was left to sit overnight in the refrigerator.
Naturiffic Gourmet Salts Harvest Brine - A dry brine containing salt, sage, maple sugar, and apples. This dry brine was also left to sit overnight in the refrigerator.
Top - Naturiffic Gourmet Salts Harvest Brine with Naturiffic Peppery Lime Gourmet Salt
Bottom - Oakridge Game Changer Brine with Oakridge Secret Weapon Competition Seasoning
the finished products, the same top and bottom as indicated above.
Top - Naturiffic Gourmet Salts Harvest Brine with Naturiffic Peppery Lime Gourmet Salt
Bottom - Oakridge Game Changer Brine with Oakridge Secret Weapon Competition Seasoning, added some Oakridge Smoky Chili Lime Finishing Salt
And lastly,
In closing thank the following two vendors who contributed to the six classes;
Thank You Mike from Oakridge for his donation of Oakride Game Changer Brine, Smoky Chile Lime Finishing Salt, and Santa Maria, Seasoning.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3907914#post3907914
Thank You John from Naturiffic Gourmet Salts for his donation of Naturiffic Gourmet Salts Harvest Brine and Naturiffic Gourmet Salts Q-Salt.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3901712#post3901712
I am fully aware that two different vendors donated / offered similar products here, so I want to clarify this was not a comparison or competition of one product against the other. It was simply a great opportunity afforded to all of the students to learn two completely different methods of brining. I am thankful to both vendors that allowed the students the ability to gain experiences with their great commercial products.
.
Today the Culinary Arts students learned about the differences in salts and the processes of brining.
They all knew that the most commonly salts used in the home are Table Salt, Kosher Salt, and Sea Salt. Most salts come in different grain sizes; Course, Extra Course, Fine, Extra Fine, and powdered, each for specific purposes.
But it is the salts that are not currently in our home that we all should be made aware of.
Natural salt is harvested (sea salt) or mined (mineral salt) and are not refined. These natural salts have a greater mineral complexity than common table salts. The crystal structure and crystal formation will vary widely, both lending different levels of taste and potency. The students got to experience a few specialty culinary salts coveted by quality chefs around the world. These would include;
Maldon Salt Flakes - from Maldon Lake in Essex, England, a hard salt that resembles snowflakes. According to legend, flake salt was first manufactured in Maldon by accident nearly 2,000 years ago, when the slaves of Casius Petrox overheated his bathwater. His slaves had inadvertently discovered a method of producing salt from sea water. Still produced and hand-harvested to ensure the old world traditional salt with the distinctive flaky texture and taste that lends a certain piquancy to virtually any dish. flake salts have dry, thin, parchment-fine brittle crystals that create bold, sparks of taste when eaten. Typically used as a finishing salt, it provides a snap of texture and a brief explosion of pungency to fresh vegetables, green salads, or wherever a more vibrant, salty presence is desired.
Sel Gris - French Grey Salt, a coarse moist granular sea salt popularized by the French. This salt is favored by the top chefs in France and all around the world. French Grey Salt is formed as the sea water flows into the Marshes in Guérande France during high tides. It was first harvested in 945 AD, and is still hand-harvested today by salt workers, to insure only the best possible quality of salt. 90 to 165 pounds of sel gris can be harvested in one day, whereas fleurs de sel, the daily yield is only 4.5 to 6.6 pounds a day.
Fleur de Sel - A salt that forms as a thin, delicate crust on the surface of seawater as it evaporates. Fleur de sel has been collected since ancient times (mentioned by Pliny the Elder in the year 77 AD). Historically, the workers who harvested fleur de sel were women, because it was believed that these salt crystals were so delicate, they needed to be collected by "the more delicate sex." Because it is collected from the top of the salt marsh (like cream from milk), fleur de sel has been called "the cream of the salt pans." The name comes from the flower-like formation of crystals in the floating salt crust. This salt is also highly favored by the top chefs all around the world. Fleur de Sel is very high in minerals and contains varying quantities of iron, zinc, manganese, and literally dozens of other trace minerals. These combine with the sodium chloride that makes up the majority of the salt to achieve an extremely well-rounded, mellow finishing salt.
Himalayan Sheppa Pink Salt - From the Punjab region of Pakistan, about 180 mi from the Himalayas. (It is falsely marketed as being from the Himalayas) Pink Salt was discovered around 326 BC when Alexander the Great stopped to rest there and noticed their horses licking the salty rocks, but the first written records of mining, are from the Janjua people in the 1200s. Granulated Himalayan Pink Salt is commonly used to replace common table salt in cooking, seasoning, and in brines.
Krautersaltz - A custom herbed salt. The salt is mined by hand in the 600 year old Königsee Salt Mine in Bavaria, Germany. Hand picked herbs are dried in the salt and then finely ground to produce this unique flavorful herbed finishing salt.
Cherry Wood Smoked Sea Salt - An aromatic salt smoked with cherry wood for up to 14 days. Smoked salt is used to enhance the inherent flavors of a dish while also imparting a smoky taste. It is suitable for vegetarians, often acting as a replacement for bacon crumble. Smoked salt differs from smoke-flavored salt as the latter contains a smoke flavored additive and is not classified as a natural salt product. The smoke from the cherry wood imparts a deep mahogany color, and it will leave a delicate smokey flavor when used.
Smoked salt is available in other varieties; The kind of wood used for smoking impacts the flavor, which can range from subtle, to bold, or even sweet. The most common choices are alder wood, apple wood, hickory, mesquite, cherry, and oak. Infused smoked salts like smoked bacon chipotle sea salt are very popular because of the dynamic flavor profiles.
We also got to experience some gourmet salts and finishing salts.
These would include;
Oakridge Santa Maria Grill seasoning - Although very popular for grilling, it is equally great for conventional cooking. Works well with poultry, roasts, vegetables, and stews.
Oakridge Smoky Chile Lime Finishing Salt - A new prototype which has not been offered for sale yet. A mild smoky chile salt with light citrus undertones.
Roasted Garlic Sea Salt - Roasted Garlic dried in an an equal part of sea salt. Very flavorful mild floral garlic flavor.
Naturiffic Peppery Lime Gourmet Salt - A nice peppery finish with mild citrus undertones.
Naturiffic Garlicky Lemon Gourmet Salt - A pleasant floral hint of garlic, citrus, and herbs.
Naturiffic Q-Salt - Didn't use in this class, to be used later when we grill or broil.
We then discussed wet brines and dry brines.
Although we prepped the meat on Thursday and cooked the Pork Loins on Friday. Each of the six classrooms prepared 1/2 of a pork loin with Oakridge Game Changer Brine (Wet Brine) and Prepared the other 1/2 with Naturiffic Gourmet Salts Harvest Brine (Dry Brine). They also did some chicken leg quarters at random.
Oakridge Game Changer Brine - An all purpose wet brine for poultry and pork. This brine was made mixed with apple juice in the brine, and was left to sit overnight in the refrigerator.
Naturiffic Gourmet Salts Harvest Brine - A dry brine containing salt, sage, maple sugar, and apples. This dry brine was also left to sit overnight in the refrigerator.
Top - Naturiffic Gourmet Salts Harvest Brine with Naturiffic Peppery Lime Gourmet Salt
Bottom - Oakridge Game Changer Brine with Oakridge Secret Weapon Competition Seasoning
the finished products, the same top and bottom as indicated above.
Top - Naturiffic Gourmet Salts Harvest Brine with Naturiffic Peppery Lime Gourmet Salt
Bottom - Oakridge Game Changer Brine with Oakridge Secret Weapon Competition Seasoning, added some Oakridge Smoky Chili Lime Finishing Salt
And lastly,
In closing thank the following two vendors who contributed to the six classes;
Thank You Mike from Oakridge for his donation of Oakride Game Changer Brine, Smoky Chile Lime Finishing Salt, and Santa Maria, Seasoning.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3907914#post3907914
Thank You John from Naturiffic Gourmet Salts for his donation of Naturiffic Gourmet Salts Harvest Brine and Naturiffic Gourmet Salts Q-Salt.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3901712#post3901712
I am fully aware that two different vendors donated / offered similar products here, so I want to clarify this was not a comparison or competition of one product against the other. It was simply a great opportunity afforded to all of the students to learn two completely different methods of brining. I am thankful to both vendors that allowed the students the ability to gain experiences with their great commercial products.
.
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