Salts for All Seasons

Seasoned salts are just that -- salts blended with herbs and spices that punch up a dish's flavor. They're perfect to sprinkle on meats or fish before roasting or grilling, to mix into salad dressings, soups, and sauces, or to add as a finishing touch to vegetables. Making them takes 10 minutes or less -- blends are limitless -- so start experimenting!

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Citrus-Herb Salt
4 teaspoons dried rosemary
4 teaspoons dried thyme
1 tablespoon pink peppercorns
1 cup coarse sea salt
2 teaspoons lemon zest

Pulse together herbs, peppercorns, and salt. Remove from grinder and stir in zest.

Spiced Salt
1 1/2 tablespoons cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 cup flaked sea salt

Toast cumin and coriander seeds; cool. Pulse seeds to grind; remove from grinder and mix with red pepper and salt.

Asian-Inspired Salt

2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 teaspoons dried tarragon
1 cup flaked sea salt
3/4 teaspoon sweet paprika

Toast seeds; cool. Pulse together tarragon and salt. Remove from grinder; stir in seeds and paprika.

Easy to Make
- Use a clean coffee grinder or small food processor.
- Toast seeds and spices in a dry skillet until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Grind salt mixtures to medium or medium-fine.
- Store in an airtight glass jar.

Seasoned Salt Tips
It's best to use coarse crystal or flaked sea salt. Salt obtained from the ocean is full of trace elements and minerals and adds a dimension of flavor that you don't get from table salt, which is mined from rock. Table salt is also treated with iodine and additives to make it pour more easily, and this affects flavor.

Originally published in Ladies' Home Journal, January 2009.

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