I saw a recipe a while back on a Dutch blog on how to make Balsamic salt, and this really intrigued me. The possible use of this salt is boundless, and untested, I mused. A quick Google search didn’t turn up much, so I knew I was on to something here. Fast forward, and now I had the need to actually make this for myself and play around with it. If a few of you are lucky, you might even get a small jar to use yourself. Might.

Here is the original post, translated into English. I used this to see how the method would work, and how much flavour the salt would have in the end. Then, I had to make it my own so it is truly a Community Foodist creation.

I tried both a very coarse salt, and regular Kosher Salt, to be able to measure results and see which worked better with my final method. I prefer the ease of the coarse salt, and it can always be ground to any coarseness for use in the kitchen. The original recipe calls for a syrup, but I found this impractical mostly. If you over reduce your syrup it will not mix with the volume of salt you are trying to cure. It will merely clump, and be pretty useless. Yes, I know this from experience. So, I decided that partially reducing the balsamic, and then adding the salt would likely be the best bet. Then, finish reducing so you can see when it is time to remove from the stove.

Here are the actual steps and measurements I used when using the coarse salt:

• For every 1 TBS of salt I used 20ML of balsamic vinegar (One box of salt at 35 oz or 1 kg would require about 3 500 ml bottles of balsamic)
• As a warning: when you are reducing the balsamic make sure your work area is well ventilated, and DO NOT stick your head over the pot, the fumes are really nasty
• Reduce the balsamic to about half, it might take 20-30 minutes depending on how much liquid you are working with. Use a medium heat
• Add your salt, stir, reduce the heat to low-medium, and continue to reduce until you see the salt crystals and very little  (if any) liquid is remaining. You don’t want to scorch it, so better to remove early than late. Watch it VERY carefully
• Spread out the balsamic salt on parchment paper on a baking tray and set to partially cool before placing in a 250 oven
• Leave the door ajar to let the moisture escape. If your oven wont stay open easily, use the end of a ladle to keep it open. Stir every 10 minutes
• Keep a good eye on the oven, as the time of the final step will vary with the accuracy of your oven and the moisture level in your salt mixture
• Remove from the oven and let it fully cool before breaking it up and loosening any pieces that have stuck together
• If you have any clumps, you can separate the final product with a slotted spoon, I found this the best way to get the fine pieces out
• I placed the bigger pieces in a grinder, and stored the finer pieces in a jar
• If you are using fine salt I would reduce the balsamic to about 1/3, then add it to the salt, mix, and add back to the heat. Then follow the final steps to dry it

I will be passing the final products out to some chefs and bloggers I know to refine the flavour profile of this salt, and also, to find some cool applications. I will amend this post accordingly.