In the winter, rock salt is often used to de-ice roads and driveways, but it may also be used in the kitchen. Using water, rock salt is extracted from the ground or washed away from salt formations. When an enormous amount of water dries up, it leaves behind minerals suitable for mining. Rock salt is no exception to this rule. However, this type of salt contains more natural minerals, which might result in a little grayish hue to it. Because of the higher mineral content, some consider this salt to have more nutritional benefits than the regular variety. Here are some facts about rock salt and how to integrate it into your cuisine.

Food-grade rock salt

When you go out to buy this king of seasoning, you have to make sure it’s made for being used in the kitchen. Since rock salt is often used for de-icing roads and the ice cream-making process, the industrial variety is much easier to come by. What’s interesting is that it’s not used as an ingredient for ice cream, but rather as much-needed help in the cooling process for lowering the melting point of water. Moreover, industrial salt isn’t purified from some minerals which may cause issues in your digestive tract. Therefore, check for the insignia on the package to ensure it’s food-grade and safe for ingestion. On the other hand, food-grade rock salt can be used for the same purposes as the industrial, but it can also be added to your meals just as table salt. 

Encrust your food with rock salt

Though you can use rock salt for seasoning, you can also use it to prepare food in a much more specific manner. If you want to cook anything using rock salt, you need to totally cover food with it before you put it in the oven. As the dish cooks, the salt develops a crust that helps to retain moisture while the salty flavor will be dispersed throughout the dish. This way of cooking is one of the more odd ones out there. You should first set your oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare the ingredients like you normally would. Next, sprinkle rock salt on the bottom of a roasting pan to keep the food from sticking. Mist the salt with just a few sprays of water to evenly wet it. You should then season the top of the food with rock too, making sure it’s fully coated. The top layer of the salt should also be spritzed with water. Cook the dish as usual in the oven. This manner of food preparation will result in some of the tastiest cuts of meat you’ve ever had. Don’t forget to rest the meat after you take it out of the oven! Salt will form a shell around the food which should then be smashed with a hammer. Remove this crust and serve your perfect dish!

Rock salt is perfect for seasoning

Sprinkling coarsely crushed rock salt on dishes rather than stirring it in can make some very attractive-looking meals. Pretzels, steaks, and baked potatoes are just some of the food you can essentially garnish with rock salt. Rock salt is much simpler to apply uniformly to these items than finer salts, which tend to clump together, making some areas saltier than others. It also won’t draw out moisture from baked vegetables and meat which is one of the downsides of table salt. 

There are so many types of salt, all of them having different benefits and uses in the kitchen. One of the most interesting ones indeed is rock salt with its high mineral content and coarse texture. You can use it just like any other salt variety, be it Himalayan or kosher, or you may choose to encrust your food with it. No matter what you ultimately opt for, make sure that the rock salt you get is food-grade and safe for human consumption.