Milk Street Digital Class: The Miracle of Salt with Naomi Duguid

About this Pre-Recorded Class:

What’s the one ingredient you’re sure to find in almost every kitchen? It has to be salt. But how much do you know about the science, production, varieties, and applications of this everyday ingredient? Lucky for you, guest chef Naomi Duguid literally wrote the book on the subject. We start this pre-recorded Zoom livestream class with an overview of what salt is and why it has such a transformative effect on our taste buds and food. Then we dive into three mini-recipes that demonstrate both salt’s versatility and its power to preserve other ingredients. The first is three-pepper salt, a combination of dried red cayenne chiles, Sichuan pepper, and black pepper that you’ll want to use on everything from roast chicken to a bowl of popcorn. The second is salted scallions, a classic of the Acadian culinary tradition of Nova Scotia. Thanks to the salt, the chopped scallions keep for months in a jar, becoming a taste of summer in winter and a bold aromatic seasoning all year round. Then you’ll whip up a batch of salted chiles from China’s Hunan province. Once fermented for two weeks, these mildly hot, slightly sweet peppers become a joy to see in your pantry and a treat to eat. Finally, you’ll see how a small amount of salt pork or pancetta gives a succulent lift of flavor to vegetable dishes, as you make an ultra-quick dish of sautéed Brussels sprouts. While we cook, Naomi answers every question you have could ever have about salt, from crystal size and shape to regional varieties and colors.

What's On The Menu:

-Three-Pepper Salt
-Acadian Salted Scallions (oignons salées)Hunan-Style Salted Red Chilies
-Brussels Sprouts and Potatoes with Salt Pork
...plus, everything you ever wanted to know about salt