Hangry in Maine

If oils and vinegars are the show stopping stilettos of the kitchen, then flavored salts & sugars are the bold accessories that take your dish from “meh” to “main character energy”. They may look small and unassuming, but they’re packing a serious punch. Don’t believe me? Have you ever made bread and forgot the salt? The squirrels won’t even eat that crap.

So, let’s talk about the tiny sprinkles that pack a ridiculous amount of punch!

The Many Faces of Salt

Not all salt is created equal…and no, that iodized stuff in the blue canister doesn’t always cut it.

• Flakey Sea Salt: The Patrice Bergeron of finishing salts. Consistent, versatile, dependable, and absolutely elite in every single situation. Perfect for sprinkling on cookies, brownies, or even roasted veggies. Adds a little crunch and drama. Elevates every dish and gives off an “I know what I’m doing” (I really don’t) vibe.
• Kosher Salt: The workhorse and everyday MVP of salt. Big crystals, easy to pinch, and perfect for everyday cooking & baking.
• Pickling Salt: Fine grain salt with no additives, so it dissolves easily. It’s great for brines, preserving, and of course, pickling.
• Smoked Salt: Instantly makes you feel like you grilled something when you very much did not. It’s great on meats and veggies, even popcorn & chocolate. I use this a lot in the winter time when my grill or smoker are buried under 4 feet of snow and my body is craving a taste of sunshine and bbq.
• Savory Salts: Sprinkle on fries, popcorn, grilled veggies, or use in any place you would use salt for maximum impact with minimum effort, like to rim a cock/mocktail. Some popular ones are garlic salt, chili salt, truffle salt, rosemary salt.
• Sweet Salts: Yes, these are a thing! Try vanilla salt on cookies or brownies or maple salt sprinkled over roasted nuts or squash. I love these, because they’re subtle, but make just enough of an impact to confuse your tongue and make you go back for another bite and try to figure out what’s going on in your mouth.

Sugars That Aren’t Just Sweet

White and brown sugars have a place, but in my kitchen, much like my life, there’s alway a place to level up the flavor and the fun.

• Vanilla Sugar: Stir into coffee, sprinkle on fruit, or dust over cookies for a cozy surprise!
• Cinnamon Sugar: This pantry staple isn’t just for toast, it’s also amazing on roasted squash or sweet potatoes, popcorn, or used to rim a fall cock/mocktail!
• Lavender Sugar: Fancy, floral, and slightly boujee. This is a perfect addition to shortbread cookies, whipped cream, or to sweeten up a tea/chai/coffee.
• Espresso Sugar: This is perfect for whipped cream, think tiramisu filling. It would also make a great rim on any sort of coffee or chocolate flavored drinks.
• Savory Sugars: The rebels of the sugar world..perfect for those of us that love sweet & savory at the same time! Think chipotle sugar sprinkled on grilled pineapple, herb sugars in spice rubs, or a ginger sugar to rim a holiday drink. Sweet with a kick…and dangerously addictive in the best way.

How to Use Them Like a Pro (even though we’re just pretending)

• Finishing Touch: Add flakey salt or flavored sugar right before serving for a pop of texture and flavor!
• Cock/mocktail Magic: Rim glasses with with citrus sugar, smoked salt, chili salt or make a fun combination for instant bartender vibes.
• Dessert Glow Up: A sprinkle of sea salt on a chocolate chip cookie or a light dusting of espresso sugar on whipped cream, or even habanero sugar mixed in with some dark chocolate will level up even the most boring & basic desserts!
• Unexpected Wins: Lavender sugar in lemonade, smoked salt on juicy watermelon, maple sugar on roasted carrots…don’t limit yourself.

My Favorites, Where I Buy Them, & How You Can Make Your Own

You didn’t think I’d hype up flavored salts and sugars without giving you my go-tos, right? Now, not all salts and sugars are created equally, and I definitely play favorites. These are the ones I keep stocked at all times, because they make even the simplest & laziest meals feels fancy.

• Vanilla Salt – I always have this stuff on hand. It is perfect to add to cookies, brownies, or even a caramel sauce.
• Posy Sugar – This is a special sugar blend from one of my favorite shops. It’s a combination of hibiscus, rose, and lavender petals with vanilla bean infused sugar. It’s such a beautiful blend, and gives an amazing touch to shortbread cookies, French toast, lemonade, and whipped cream.
• Lemon Rosemary Salt – One of my go-tos, it’s a blend of salt, lemon peel, rosemary and garlic. It is perfect on chicken seafood, pasta and roasted vegetables. It’s also really great mixed with olive oil and brushed over a fresh loaf of focaccia.
• Espresso Sugar – Perfect for rimming drinks and sprinkling on desserts, I love mixing it with salt and using it as a rub on steaks for a really bold flavor.
• Maple Sugar – Probably one of my most used panty items, as a Maine girl, I love maple flavored anything. I like to use this in place of brown sugar sometimes, just to give things that extra flavor boost. I also love to add it to roasted carrots and squash in the fall, just a sprinkle with some salt and pepper really brings out the sweetness and nuttyness of squash.

Where I Buy Mine:

My absolute favorite places to buy from are local small-batch shops & farmers markets. I love SKORDO, a Maine based company that makes everything by hand in small batches. I also really enjoy Gneiss Spice, another Maine based company; they have a pumpkin spice sugar and a vinegar salt that are out of this world! McCormick spices have also jumped on this trend, and have been dropping seasonal/holiday finishing salts & sugars, that are available at chain grocery stores. This past summer they had a watermelon lime salt, which was the perfect rim for a summer drink. And this winter they are set to release a spiced orange sugar, which will probably be great sprinkled on a scone or used in place of regular sugar while making a batch of homemade cranberry sauce for the holidays.

Make Your Own:

You can also make your own; it’s stupidly easy and a fun way to get creative!

• For salts: Mix your choice of salt (I like a flaky sea salt if I’m using it for a finishing salt), with your choice of zested citrus, fresh or dried herbs, dried mushrooms, espresso powder, or chiles. If you’re using fresh zest/herbs, etc, just let them dry completely before storing your salt blend.
• For sugars: Combine granulated sugar with whatever you can imagine; vanilla beans, citrus zest, cinnamon, dried florals, and even hot peppers!

Homemade jars of your own blends make awesome gifts too! Imagine a cranberry, rosemary, orange sea salt blend or an apple, maple, cinnamon sugar blend as gifts in a holiday basket, with a few recipe cards!

The Point?

Don’t underestimate the little things. These tiny jars of salts and sugars might not look like much, but they’ll transform your cooking and baking from “nice” to “holy crap, what’s in this?” Buy them, make them, collect them all like Pokemon cards….just don’t underestimate them! So go ahead, sprinkle something weird, you might just discover your new signature move (move over, salt bae) or special ingredient. And the next time someone asks how you got your brownies to taste like a Michelin-star chef made them, you can just smirk and say “It’s the salt.“

And honestly? It kind of is.