Homemade Finishing Salts
Sea salt combines with dried citrus peels, herbs, and spices in these easy to prepare Homemade Finishing Salts. They will elevate your dish!
Today, I’m making some interesting hostess gifts. When I was growing up, we used to host parties. TONS of parties. You see, my mother, being a real estate agent on the side, could write part of the expenses off on taxes due to her inviting clients and work peeps. So, yeah. We hosted Derby parties, Christmas parties, New Years parties. You name it. I learned how to be a gracious hostess, which is ironic due to me being a hermit now. *snort*
People felt compelled to bring a hostess gift. Usually, it was wine or alcohol of some description. Rarely was it anything else. If it wasn’t used up that night, it was put into a cabinet where it was stored until the next party. Well, I’m trying to start a new tradition! Try bringing a simple, yet tasty and unique flavored sea salt blend!! They really are simple to make. It’s just math ratios measurements that you need to understand then you’re on your way to flavored sea salt gifts!
I like mine extry tasty, so I’m using 2 tablespoons herbs/flavors to one cup of sea salt. I have both the extra flaky kind and the regular coarse kind. I like the coarse kind better, I think. At least it works better in the grinders I purchased. I wanted something more than just a quaint jar or something cute with a wooden spoon. I wanted to put my salt in something practical; a grinder. That way, they can make some more when they’ve used all of mine up, OR they can make something else to put in there. OR they can simply fill it with some peppercorns or other salt. Useful.
Another thing that’s useful is having dried citrus peel hanging around. You see, we go through a lot of oranges. A LOT! Missy gets oranges for her dessert in the evening and I get oranges every other day for lunch at work. So that’s 8 oranges a week, at least. That’s not counting weekends. I’ve started peeling them with a peeler to remove the rind before peeling them to eat. Air dry or oven dry and voila! Dried citrus peel. It’s uber flavorful and easy to sprinkle on chicken or pork. Add it to salt like I’ve done here, or include it in a traditional spice mix to make something non-traditional. *hinthint*
Not only are these salts a unique hostess gift, they’re also great for the person who pretty much has everything and needs nothing. Like Dad. They never want anything for Christmas and, well, it’s not easy coming up with things to give them for the Holidays. Since they’re doing the low-carb thing again, I decided to put my talents to good use and make them some flavored salts. They will appreciate that. Dad is a foodie. I mean, where did you think I got that from?? Dad’s the cook and Mom’s both, so…yeah. I gots skillz. So, I KNOW Dad will appreciate something like this to up his cooking a bit with a punch of flavor like these easy salts.
I made three for Dad and R and I thought, since they were OH SO tasty, I’d share them with you. I even bet, you have all the ingredients in the pantry RIGHT NOW! So, what are you waiting for! Make some of your own flavored salts! Don’t just bring a bottle of wine to that New Year’s Eve party. Take them a batch of flavored salt and I’m sure you’ll get invited back. 😉
Homemade Finishing Salts
Ingredients
For the Lemon Thyme Sea Salt
- 1 cup coarse sea salt
- 2 teaspoons dried lemon peel, coarse ground
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme, coarse ground
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
For the Orange Rosemary Sea Salt
- 1 cup coarse sea salt
- 2 tablespoons dried orange peel, coarse ground
- 2 tablespoons dried rosemary, cracked
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
For the Mushroom Sea Salt
- 1 cup coarse sea salt
- 1 ounce dried mushroom blend, coarsely ground
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.
- Fill a salt grinder with the mixture and store the remainder in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
