PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT: RAMP SALT

Salt is essential. It’s ancient. It’s an edible rock, and quite literally, we can’t live without. It is magic in the kitchen. It has a flavor all its own, and at the same time, it can alter, enhance and disguise other flavors. Salt tamps bitterness, heightens sweetness (salted caramel, anyone?) and it makes meat juicier. It’s no wonder we go on and on about salt. When we find a new flavor combination, we are all in! Our latest crush? Ramp Salt.

What’s a ramp? On our Podcast Smidgen, store owner Anne asked just that. Anne interviewed JQ Dickenson Salt Artisan Nancy Bruns to talk all things salt – including Ramp Salt. Nancy explained that a ramp is a wild onion found in the eastern United States. Much like Louisiana’s short, sweet strawberry and blueberry seasons, ramp season is brief, and folks can be found in the woods foraging for the coveted alliums. Ramps seem to fall somewhere between leeks and garlic. They grow only in the wild, and locals know: when you see them, grab them!

JQ Dickenson is a 7^th generation salt-making family, harvesting all-natural salt by hand, from an ancient ocean trapped below the Appalachian Mountains of the Kanawha Valley in West Virginia. In addition to their signature ingredients salts, they dry the elusive ramps and use them to infuse small batches of their salt. Nancy suggests using Ramp Salt on eggs, in burgers and just about anywhere you want onion-rich flavor. Check out our recipe: Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Ramp Salt.