Most of us grew up with only white table salt on our kitchen counter, but there are several wonderful salts that will enhance the flavour of your dishes. Salt has become the “it” ingredient and, like fine wines, is often known by its geographic origin. Salt has become the darling of upscale restaurants worldwide.

• Black Salt – Black salt is actually a pinkish-grey and has a strong sulphuric flavour. You can find it in Indian markets, and it is believed to aid in digestion.
• Coarse Salt – The perfect “pinchable” salt. Chefs prefer to cook with coarse salt as it can be measured with their fingers. It’s a larger-grained sea salt crystal and resists caking. Use for crusts and flavouring.
• Flaky Salt – Also known as Maldon, it is a light, flaky sea salt that is reminiscent of snowflakes. It is made by allowing the seawater to evaporate naturally. The brine is heated to create the salt crystals. Its light flavour doesn’t overwhelm food.
• Fleur de Sel – From France. This perhaps is the most favoured of the gourmet salts and is actually the “young” crystals that form on evaporation ponds. Use for fresh veggies, salads and grilled meat.
• Sel Gris – From France. This is the “moist”, unrefined sea salt and is hand gathered. This salt is considered by the culinary world to be one of the highest quality salts. Its fresh taste is wonderful on salads.
• Smoked Sea Salt – Something new in salts is smoking them over wood fires. They absorb the smoke flavour and taste wonderful on everything, especially grilled fish.
• Truffle Salt – From Italy. This salt is a blend of dried black truffles and Italian sea salt. This salt is great on eggs or pasta.

You might have seen the egg-sized fruit of the Nopal cactus (often called Prickly Pear) in your produce section and wondered what to do with them. The fruit is also called a “tuna” and has a light, melon-fig flavour and garnet-coloured flesh. Juices, jellies, sherbets and candies are often made from prickly pears, but once you start using them you might find many favourite recipes to which you can add them.