Salt is so important and has been to the livelihood of man since the beginning of time. It is the only rock that we eat and you can't live without it.
-Lauren Mendoza
Wars have been fought over it. Trade routes established. Fries are better because of it.
We all eat salt, but few of us know how it is harvested and dried before it ends up in the kitchen. In this episode, we visit Slacktide Sea Salt in York. Rather than using modern technology to pump sea water and boil the brine, Lauren pumps water by hand and uses solar-powered greenhouses to create beautifully pure salt. Since eating salt is basically eating the sea, water health is of utmost importance not only to the salt quality but to Maine's coastline; it hurts her to see people dumping pollutants and lawn care runoff into the ocean.
In the kitchen, Chef Josh teaches how to make a crowd-pleasing Whole Salt Baked Fish and Maggie shows how to preserve lemons in four different styles. The Leftover Idea is Fish Cakes with a butter-tomato sauce and the Chef Tip teaches how to use several different style of salt, including alternatives like seaweed flakes.
