Ahhhh, I love salt. I salt everything that I can’t put hot sauce on (which isn’t much) - When I was younger I would eat salt straight from the shaker. Still do on occasion. So imagine my glee when I found I had recieved a sample shaker of Dave’s Gourmet Salts.

Now, Dave’s Gourmet is known for his line of Insane hot sauces (Dave’s Original Insanity among others), but a little less know are their line of organic pasta sauces , which are delicious by the way. The wife is a pasta freak and she loves the freshness behind these pasta sauces.

Anyways, now on to the salt. The gourmet salts are packaged in the same shaker as the Dave’s Gourmet 6 Chile Pepper Shaker, providing the consumer with 6 options to raise their sodium levels. Within the shaker there is the standard Italian Sea Salt, Hawaiian Red Salt, Fleur de Sel, Smoked Salt, Sel Gris and Eurasian Black Salt.

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Now, I had no clue what Fluer de Sel meant, so I went searching on the net. Here’s what I found:

Fleur de Sel is harvested by hand off the village of Guerande in Brittany in July and August, when the sea is calm and the weather conditions are just right. It is a lovely salt, but only the extravagant use it for cooking. Most people use it as a condiment and sprinkle a pinch here and there in places where the salt will shine and its distinctive flavor and texture will be appreciated.. Fresh bread with unsalted butter and a sprinkle of Fleur de Sel is a favorite use. It’s per-pound price is a little over $20, but it is sold in small quantities that won’t require a second mortgage. Source

Taste wise, it’s tastes just like any kosher salt to me, but what do I know, my taste buds are long gone.

The Hawaiian Red Salt (which is misspelled on the shaker) is delicious. It reminded me of Ron’s Hawaiian Cafe in Eugene, Oregon. That must have been the salt they used in the cooking.

The smoked salt rocked! Of all the 6 in the shaker, this one is by far my favorite. It’s exactly what you would expect, salt & smoke. But it’s a good even balance of flavor between the two, one doesn’t win over the other.

Sel Gris - Yet another item I had to research, apparently Sel means Salt and you can gather that Gris means grey, so this salt is literally “Grey Salt” - and it is.

Grey Sea Salt, Sel Gris is an all natural sea salt from Guerande in Brittany France. Unprocessed, unrefined, unadulterated. This salt is unlike any you’ve ever tasted, it highlights food flavors. That is the simple and delicious truth. Source

Tasted just like the Fleur de Sel, but I could see where it could really jazz up the same ole’ recipe.

The Italian Sea Salt is in nice sized chunks, but it’s not so hard that biting into a piece will break a tooth. I’m going to using it on some steaks sometime soon.

Last but not least, the Eurasian Black Salt. Now, once again I did not know what the story behind this breed of salt was, so I went searching on the net. Sadly this time, nothing came up but other gourmet sites selling the Dave’s Gourmet Salt Shaker. Honestly, at first taste I didn’t like this salt. It tasted how the sulfur springs in California smelled. But after the initial yuck, I tasted it again - and again. There’s something about this salt that I can’t quiet put my finger on. As for uses, I think it would be a good in an alfredo sauce or mixed in with a ceasar salad.

This is an old article from 2000 that I happened upon while searching the term “Sultan of Sauce”

Tim Seaver, the owner of Tios Mexican Cafe, calls him the “Iron-Throat Guy,” and speaks of him with authoritative awe. But Tom Starks doesn’t seem impressed with his feat. Tasting 1,000 different hot sauces over four years represents a natural progression for someone who began enjoying spicy food as a child. Read More…

Wonder how many he has tasted by now? After 15 years of hot sauce loving, I’m sure I’ve tasted over 1,000 hot sauces, wish I’d kept track.

How many have you tasted?

For all the hot sauce fans out there that loved Inner Beauty Hot Sauce (Sadly no longer in production) - Here’s a recipe that renders a sauce that’s pretty close to Inner Beauty, at least in consitency and overall flavor.

1/2 medium-sized banana, sliced
1 1/2 large carrots, diced small
1 medium onion, diced small
5 fresh picked orange habaneros, diced
10 fresh picked piquins, diced
5 fresh picked (smallish) cayennes, diced
1/2 fresh picked small green bell pepper, diced small
1 fresh picked hot banana pepper, diced
2 scallions (greens & all), sliced
5 small cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. (approx.) Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper (he used Tellicherry) to taste
1 Tbsp. Coleman’s dry mustard
Water for blending only (not too much, approx. 1/2 cup)
1 Tbsp. (or less) Peanut oil

Saute onions and habs in small amount of peanut oil in non-stick pan till softened and dark brown in spots (try not to cough) and set aside. Put all other ingredients (except salt, pepper and mustard) in a blender and blend
until it forms a slightly chunky puree (you want to have small bits of identifiable color left and some texture). Remove all except approx. 1/2 cup of this chunky puree to a separate bowl and set aside. Pour the sauteed onions and habs in the blender with the 1/2 cup puree and blend until smooth. Pour the reserved chunky puree into the same skillet used to saute the onions and habs (the clean up crew will appreciate this), add the smooth puree along with the salt, pepper, and mustard and reduce over
low heat, simmering for approx. 10 minutes until desired thickness (10 minutes approx. thickness of Inner Beauty Sauce).

Taste and re-season with salt and pepper as needed.

Get a big spoon and eat it straight from the skillet . Also very good with pork, turkey and on toasted bagels with cream cheese.