Citrus, Shiitake, and Parsley, Lemon and Garlic Salt #fij challenge

Shiitake, Citrus and Parsley Lemon Garlic Salt
It’s month two of our year-long food preservation Mastery Challenge. Our mission for February is salt preserving. The purposes of this challenge is to focus on dry brining or curing. When I first glanced through the calendar of preserving skills I thought this process would be fairly detailed, something similar to canning. Once again I was pleasantly surprised. The process is incredibly easy and the variations are endless. What I found was that salt is like a blank canvas, you can add any flavor you chose and it will make foods incredibly delicious. I made three different salts; a citrus, a shiitake, and a parsley lemon garlic.

Citrus Salt
The first salt I made was one with a mixture of orange, grapefruit and lemon zest. After zesting the citrus; I added equal amounts of salt, rubbed it all together with my fingertips and then let everything air-dry overnight on a parchment covered sheet pan for two days.

Shiitake Salt
The next was a shiitake salt; which was earthy and savory and boosted the umami flavor of meat and eggs. Here I ground up dried shiitakes using a coffee grinder and added equal amounts of salt.

Parsley, Lemon and Garlic Salt
My third and last was a combination of parsley, lemon, garlic and salt. I chopped up one medium bunch of parsley, two cloves of garlic, zest from five lemons and three tablespoons of salt. Then I let everything air-dry on a piece of parchment paper for two days.

Verdict, all three were fantastic and easy to make. I can see myself going hog wild making one salt after another. The citrus salt I used on veggies and popcorn. The shiitake on eggs, meat and popcorn and the parsley salt I used on a tuna pasta salad and eggs. Loved them all, they will add a burst of flavor to any dish. Also these little salts make wonderful hostess gifts.

Many thanks to our host Marisa of Food In Jars for her wonderful leadership.

Comments

  1. This is so interesting, Cheri. Thanks for sharing. I'd love to use these homemade salts on roasted veggies and meat!

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    1. Thanks Monica, I have tried on both and was very happy with the results. In fact I keep thinking of different variations that I want to make, it's addicting.

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  2. I am definitely going to make these salts. Thanks for the recipes.

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    1. Thanks Gerlinde, I have had so much fun making these. Still working on new variations;)

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  3. Fantastic idea! Brilliant way to give popcorn and eggs a little extra oomph =)

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    1. lol, love the word oomph, will have to start using it. Yes, this morning I used the parsley salt on a omelet and it was wonderful.

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  4. What a great result for this month's challenge. My experiment didn't work sadly.

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  5. This is really cool! I love esp. the shiitake salt. A great challenge.

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  6. Wow those all sound so good. The Shiitake salt sounds incredible. What a terrific project! Have a great weekend Cheri.

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    1. Thanks Tricia, this was a great project, something that is fairly new to me.

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  7. I'm loving your preservation mastery challenge Cheri! Your choices each seem to lend a lovely flavor profile. Have a fantastic weekend!

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    1. Thanks Peggy, enjoying cooking and experimenting on-line with others, so far it has been a great experience.

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  8. Oooo, you went all out! I have organic limes and oranges plus dried mushrooms, so two of these may get a try before the end of the month (especially since they don't sound too hard!) I just started salted egg yolks yesterday and it's killing me to not check on them for four days!

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    1. Hi Inger, salted eggs, good for you, your very adventurous!!!

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  9. They all sound great. I'm curious, about how much dried parley, lemon and garlic salt did it make.

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  10. I tried making garlic chive salt last summer and it didn't do much. I think I'm going to try grinding it now and letting it air dry. Yours sound great!

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    1. Garlic chive salt sounds wonderful Abbe, sorry it didn't work out.

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  11. What a fantastic idea, Cheri. You have such great ways of preserving foods. I should really try that parsley, lemon and garlic salt. Have a lovely weekend. :)

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  12. I have always wanted to make my own salts! These look amazing! <3 - http://www.domesticgeekgirl.com

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  13. These look wonderful Cheri. I so admire your energy to try new things. S

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  14. How fun! I think I will be making some cocoa salt and some lavender salt soon!

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    1. Hi David, oh that would be perfect, especially the chocolate one.......

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  15. absolutely love these Cheri!! Sounds amazing!!

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  16. I absolutely love this idea and I love the preservation mastery challenge. I wish I'd known about it earlier!

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    1. Thanks Amy, it is a great challenge, learning so many new things.

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  17. These salts looks amazing and will come in handy all year long.
    Amalia
    xo

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  18. What a great idea! Flavored salts are so ridiculously expensive and I love your unique creations! They'd make great gifts too!

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    1. Thanks Chris, I am enjoying this whole process more than I ever thought I would.

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  19. What a wonderful idea! I've never tried making my own flavored salts before. Do they need to be refrigerated, Cheri, or will they keep fresh in the pantry?

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    1. Hi Susan, the ones that I made don't, everything is dried completely and then jarred.

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  20. Wow! I never thought of making my own seasoning salts. I can see using all 3 of yours---you did well!

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    1. Thanks Liz it really is a fun process. Have a great week!

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  21. The shiitake salt is so intriguing! I must try it! I couldn't agree more, this months challenge was easy and rewarding.

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    1. I enjoyed this months challenge very much, can't wait for next month.

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  22. Hi Cheri! I love your salt flavors. I played around with salts too, and I keep dreaming up new combinations. I can't wait until summer when I have garden-fresh herbs. Having recently purchased an (expensive) jar of porcini salt, I'm intrigued by the DIY shiitake salt. Nice to be cooking with you again!

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    1. Thanks Betsy, yes it is nice cooking together again. I grow most of my herbs durinbg the summer as well, will have my mad scientist hat on for sure.

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  23. Now how did we miss this post? These all look fabulous and especially your Shiitake salt sounds amazing. What a wonderful project. Have a great weekend Cheri!

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    1. Thanks Anna and Liz, this was a wonderful challenge.

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  24. This sounds really interesting. I love the idea of some yummy salts for popcorn!

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  25. Hi Cheri - I'm enjoying the FIJ Challenges. I'm intrigued by the shiitake salt you made. I can't wait to try it!

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    1. Hi Julie, I am too, learning many great new techniques.

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