Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Souvenirs: Trápani sea salt



This lovely little canister, purchased in Trápani but actually from Caltagirone, is filled with coarse sea salt from Trápani. The salt was sold in little plastic bags at the salt museum, tied up with a green ribbon. At first I thought I might give the bags of salt away as gifts, but after thinking about it a bit I rationalized that neither the packages nor the salt were all that attractive and I would enjoy them so much more...

I can't say as I can tell the difference (yet) between this salt, fleur de sel, kosher, or plain old iodized salt, but I do love reaching into the canister with my fingers and grabbing some to throw into a pot of boiling water for pasta or sprinkling over a salad. I love the memories it rekindles as well.

4 comments:

Niki said...

Yum! Salt! I do love crunching on salt flakes. I don't know how I survived before discovering alternative to plain table salt!

tanvi said...

that canister is so pretty! im a bit of a ceramic ware fanatic so i understand the joy it brings you :-)

Reid said...

Hi Cathy,

I've heard there are subtle differences in the flavors of various types of salts. I can't tell you that I can honestly taste the difference, but I buy them anyway! =)

Cathy said...

Hi Niki - I have to agree, hitting a bit of salt and getting that burst of saltiness (not to mention the crunch) is really great! You just don't get that with a fine salt, let alone table salt.

Hi Tanvi - thanks! There are so many beautiful ceramics in Sicily! It's hard to pick just a few to bring home, but I think I'm going to be very happy with my selections, including my little salt canister.

Hi Reid - I'm in the same boat! I haven't yet done a side by side comparison and I want to do that soon. This is the first coarse salt I've bought, though, and I can tell a difference there. It doesn't completely dissolve on your food when used in a salad or something, so you get a little crunch and salty burst when you hit a piece. Pretty great!