I was walking down the street in our neighbourhood when a friend frantically motioned for me to enter her store (I’m protecting her name and secret identity). Even though the store was closed, she pulled me in.
“You need to make this!”
She then showed me a small jar of purple salt. I knew instantly that she was right. The idea wouldn’t leave my head for a week until I finally made it.
Wine salt takes less than an hour and requires about 2 minutes of active work. And it looks awesome:
Wine salt is exactly as it sounds – salt that’s infused with concentrated wine. It is used as a seasoning and can be used anytime you’d use salt. I’m especially excited about using it for salad dressings, rubs and delicate dishes. It will add a touch of acidity, a tonne of flavor and all of the flavor benefits of salt.
While you can use any wine for this, I highly recommend using a decent one (this doesn’t have to be expensive). The wine is reduced by 4,500%. The reduction only eliminates water so the remainder will be an extreme syrup that will magnify all that is good – and everything that isn’t – about the wine. A little of this salt will go a long way; I expect we’ll be using this salt for more than a year so the cost is easy to rationalize.
WINE SALT – INGREDIENTS
- 750 ml (1 bottle) red wine. I used Malivoire’s Gamay (around $17)
- 1-1.5 cups of coarse sea salt (I like grey salt but that’s up to you)
WINE SALT – INSTRUCTIONS
- Simmer wine to reduce. Watch carefully as it nears the end. I reduced this to around 1 tablespoon. It was a neat process the liquid looked like wine until it neared the end when it suddenly changed into a very thick syrup.
- Pour 1 cup of salt into the pot. Stir to absorb the wine. It won’t absorb all of it but if there’s excess wine at the bottom of the pot, stir another half cup in.
- Spread on a plate (this allows air to circulate) and allow the air to complete the drying process (I cheated and put the plate in the dehydrator overnight to speed up the process). Toss the salt with a spoon every once in a while to prevent clumping/ sticking (it can be broken apart if it does stick).
- Store in a covered jar.
That’s all there is to it! If the salt doesn’t get completely dry you can continue to use it; if that bothers you, add more salt and it will eventually absorb all of your liquid.