Introducing Citrus Salt, Our Winter-Time Version of Pepper Salt

This week’s email is written by my son Joe, who created our new offering, Citrus Salt. Joe is a baker-chef extraordinaire — and, soon, a first-time father!

In health,

Tom Cowan, M.D.

In the deep winter months, it can be difficult to eat seasonally. That's exactly what I was thinking about in mid-February. It was then that my little Meyer lemon tree finally produced a few lemons ripe enough to eat. So, I decided to make a salt similar to our Pepper Salt, but made in the opposite season. 

I took different types of citrus (bergamot, Buddha’s hand, kumquat, Meyer lemon) —ones that I could find grown organically and with sufficiently intense flavors — thinly sliced them and dried them at a low temperature. That way, the whole fruit — nutritious seeds and flavorful rinds — could be included in the salt. After grinding the dried slices into a powder, I added them to some fine Celtic Sea Salt.

During the next month or so, I used what I had first made in many dishes. I used the Citrus Salt in place of salt in many baked recipes, added it to marinades for steak and pork, and used it as a rub on chicken just before grilling. It was also great added to homemade salad dressings and in cream-based soups. 

A blend of sweet, mild, and very sour citrus creates a balance of flavors that has a number of culinary applications. It is my hope that this seasoning (part of our Appalachian Farmer’s Market line) will signal the end of a long winter and brighten your meals in anticipation of the coming warmth. 

-Joe Cowan