Ginger salt?

Has anyone ever made a ginger salt? I was thinking of making a few flavored salts as a gift. I am doing one with rosemary and thyme and one with citrus. The recipient loves ginger...do you think this would work with fresh ginger? Or would it need to be dried? Any other interesting combinations I could try?

lloreen
  • Posted by: lloreen
  • July 11, 2012
  • 8451 views
  • 4 Comments

4 Comments

SeaJambon July 12, 2012
I frequently candy ginger, and coat the hot, sticky, candied ginger in sugar (stay with me -- promise this is relevant). Once it all cools and I've pulled out all the pieces of ginger, there are still tiny pieces of ginger in the left-over sugar. I use this as a "ginger rimming sugar" for various cocktails, and it is also wonderful sprinkled over fresh fruit or ice cream. What I'm wondering, is if you could take that same product, replace some of the sugar with salt, and then have a sugar/salt ginger? (i.e., sweet and savory). Alternately, the same process results in lots of ginger syrup (which I use to sweeten ice tea, over ice cream -- seeing a theme? -- or in cocktails). You could take the ginger syrup and pour it over salt and bake (basically same process that Sam suggests for the siracha salt) with a different sweet/savory salt result. You know, I'm totally inspired! I have ginger syrup standing by, and will report back (but probably not until tomorrow).
 
Maedl July 12, 2012
Penzey's makes a lemon-ginger salt, which I use often on vegetables or meats. I suspect that they use dried ginger--wouldn't fresh ginger add too much moisture?
 
BoulderGalinTokyo July 12, 2012
Last night at the onsen (hot springs) they served matcha salt. This is about the third time I've had it lately. Seems to be served with tempura-- in place of the traditional dashi/ grated daikon oroshi. Extremely simple-- equal parts of matcha tea and sea salt.

I also like the idea of ginger salt, but don't know what would work best. Let us know....
 
Sam1148 July 11, 2012
I don't know about the Ginger salt. But I like the idea.
I make a Sriracha salt: 5t of Sriracha to 1/2 cup of kosher salt. Mix well..and spread on foil or parchment.
Into a 300 degree oven; then turn off the oven and let it dry a few hours or overnight.
It'll clump up so you have bag and smash it back to salt texture. Good for salting the rim of a bloody merry. Or on fish as a finishing salt.


Another one I love on popcorn or chips requires a special product "True Lime" http://www.truelemon.com/store-locator.html
It's a crystallized lime powder (they also sell citrus and lemon).
A couple of table spoons of Kosher salt---grind to dust in a coffee grinder and mix with:
4 packets of True Lime
1 tsp of paprika, and ginger powder (more ginger if you like it!)
1/2 tsp of garlic powder
a touch of cumin, and white pepper. (adjust for heat to taste).

The salt rinses out of the coffee grinder well...you put in the spices after the salt is ground to dust.
This is great on popcorn.
It may need a stabilizer for long term storage; maybe a 1/2 tsp of cornstarch.
 
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