HIMALAYAN SALT – SERVING BLOCK – 20 CM X 20 CM X 2.5 CM

Description

Himalayan Salt Serving Block – 20 cm x 20 cm x 2.5 cm

QUICK START GUIDE TO COOKING ON SALT BLOCKS

Himalayan Pink Salt Blocks can be heated, cooled, or left at room temperature. Cold room and temperature uses require no special instruction;simply place food on the salt block and serve.

Himalayan salt blocks take on a life of their own once you start using them (and sometimes even before then). While it might be nice for salt to offer all the stability of stainless steel, this is simply not the case. When heated, it will change colour dramatically, and may develop fissures or even large cracks. It may also patina with use, taking on color from the proteins cooked on it. Don’t get upset by the behavior of your salt block. Salt is a complicated, unpredictable substance. That is what gives it much of its charm.

Heating Himalayan Salt Blocks requires following some basic steps. Allow between 30 to 45 minutes to achieve the desired cooking temperature. Also, note that heating will change the appearance of your Himalayan Salt Block. Your salt plate will crackle slightly on heating as micro-fissures appear, clouding the clear finish of the salt block. This is normal, but you may wish to keep one piece for heating and reserve another for room temperature uses.

• Be sure the salt block is completely dry. If wet, allow to dry at least 24 hours in a warm, dry place before heating.
• For gas ranges, place your Himalayan Salt Block on the burner over low flame. After 15 minutes (allow more time for plates larger than 8″ x 8″ x 2″), increase heat to low-medium. After another 15 minutes, your salt plate will be hot enough to cook on. If extremely hot temperatures are desired, as for searing duck foie gras, or scallops increase flame to medium for another 15 minutes.
• For electric ranges, place a metal spacer — such as wok ring or pas- try tin with a removable bottom — on the stove so that the Himalayan Salt Block is at least 1/2 inch above the heating element. It is important that the salt not touch the heating element, as direct contact could damage your range or your salt, or both. With the salt block in place, follow instructions 3a above, allowing as much a 5 minutes more for each step.
• Do not heat your saltb lock in the oven. This can damage your salt block and/or your oven.

CARING FOR YOUR HIMALAYAN SALT PLATE

After each use, rinse your salt plate with warm water, scrub with a soft brush or green scouring pad to remove any stuck matter, and rinse again. Tap dry with a paper towel or clean cloth. Set on a drying rack. This process removes a very thin layer of the salt. Treated with care, a large salt block can provide dozens of uses. The potent antimicrobial proper- ties of the salt insure that it is always proper and ready for future use, with no need for detergents.

The crystal lattice of Himalayan pink salt blocks hold any temperature you bring it to for a good while. This also makes for excellent heat distribution, making grandma’s heavy old cast iron skillet seem like tinfoil by comparison.

Himalayan Salt Blocks have very little porosity, and virtually no residual moisture (.026%), the salt plates can be safely heated or chilled to great extremes. We have tested them from 0°F up to 700°F (-18°C to 370°C). Salt melts at 1473.4°F (800.8°C). (If you want to boil yourself some salt, you will need to bring it to 2669°F (1465°C)).

Two other considerations come into play when working with our Himalayan salt plates. Their lack of porosity means that the surface area touching your food is minimal, so these large blocks of salt will impart only a very moderate saltiness. Second, the high quantity of trace miner- als (1.2% sulfur, .4%calcium, .35% potassium, .16% magnesium, and 80 other trace minerals) impart a more mild and full taste to the salt, and by extension, more flavor complexity to your food.