How to make flavored salts to shake up your cooking

In 1938, a restaurant opened on a busy street in Beverly Hills. Over the years, it grew into an international chain, with locations across the United States and Asia. Today, though, Lawry’s The Prime Rib is best known for a product it no longer even owns the rights to: its flavored salt.

Such salts, seasoned with a blend of herbs and spices, certainly existed before Lawry’s introduced its blend to supermarkets across America. But that particular flavor profile — paprika, celery, turmeric and garlic — spawned an aisle’s worth of imitators.

Despite that proliferation, there’s one major downside to Lawry’s and many other mass-produced flavored salts: They include a generous amount of sugar (plus cornstarch and other additives) and are thus not quite as health-neutral as they might seem. And that specific issue gets at a bigger one: A store-bought seasoning blend allows for almost no customization when cooking.

Why commit to a single flavor profile when it’s simple to make flavored salts yourself? There’s no need for specialty ingredients — your spice drawer might even do the trick — and it only takes a few minutes to create a seasoning that appeals to your tastes and whatever you’re planning to cook. Plus, you’re in full control of how much to make, whether it’s enough for one dish or to last a few months in your pantry.

Salt contains multitudes. There’s table salt, iodized table salt, kosher salt, fine sea salt, flaky sea salt — the list goes on, and each variety can taste different. Even within the subgroups, there’s variation. Morton’s kosher salt is significantly finer than Diamond Crystal — which means a little goes a longer way. That’s all to say: Pay attention, and opt for a coarser, flakier salt if you’re infusing.

With a flavored salt, you want the increased texture that a larger salt crystal will provide. The mixing process can also break down crystals, so if you’re starting with something fine, your salt could end up resembling a powder.

Try to work with coarse salt, such as kosher, Maldon (a sea salt with a relatively large, pyramid-shaped crystal) or fleur de sel (which is flaky with high minerality). Other artisan salts are readily available, too, and if they’re a coarse grind, they’ll work. Just make sure to taste them first to test their flavor profile before adding to it.

It’s crucial that your flavoring be fully dried out. If you’re only using dried spices — for instance, chili powder for a spicy salt — you can skip this first step. For anything fresh, such as herbs or citrus zest, place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet in the oven at 200 degrees for about 2 hours, until it’s dry and crumbles when touched. (You can also use a dehydrator or place the ingredients on a paper-towel lined plate in the microwave, heating them in 30-second increments until the moisture is gone.)

When it comes to the mixing process, you have options. If you want to ensure that your salt retains the coarsest possible grind, mix it by hand, in a bowl with a spoon or offset spatula. A mortar and pestle also works well. If you’d like your blend to be more uniformly incorporated, pulse the salt and flavoring in a food processor or coffee grinder.

Start with 1 teaspoon of flavoring for every ¼ cup of salt. Depending on the potency of your preferred spice or herb, you may want to increase the proportion of flavoring, but to play it safe, start small and increase by ¼ teaspoon at a time to suit your taste.

Store the salt in an airtight glass container, and let it sit for at least a day before using it. Flavored salt will last up to a year if properly stored, but the seasoning will subside a bit over time.

Lime: Lime zest makes for a citrusy kick in a flavored salt. Lemon and orange salt are also great choices for summer dishes — or to use on the rim of a margarita.

Lime and chile: Pair lime with something spicier to use on meat before it hits the grill, on cocktail rims, even on fruit for an unexpected kick. Use a red hatch chile for a fruity, medium spice or ancho for something milder. Feeling brave? Salt flavored with habanero will pack a ton of heat.

Sage and rosemary: Go herb-heavy for steak and chicken dishes.

Blueberry: Freeze-dried fruits work well in flavored salts, adding a dose of sweetness. Blueberry pairs especially well with steak and pork.

Fennel: Crushed fennel seeds bring a licorice taste, and fennel salt is a great complement to seafood and pork.

Porcini and garlic: Mushroom and garlic is a tried-and-true flavor combination, and it works in salt, too. Use store-bought dried porcini mushrooms and garlic powder in equal proportion.

Green tea: All you need are your favorite loose tea leaves, which are already dried and ready for mixing. Tea-infused salt is best used to season seafood, fruit and poultry.

Flavored salts make a great addition to traditional sides and snacks, such as french fries and popcorn, or other foods you’d salt without thinking. Use it at breakfast on scrambled eggs or avocado toast, or to give dishes you make routinely a fresh twist — a kick of spice or the added note of herbs, for instance.

Flavored salts can add a punch to sweet bites, too. Sprinkle some on a wedge of watermelon or any kind of fruit salad. Salted caramels are a candy mainstay, and a savory flavored salt on top can add a layer of complexity. Try it on top of cookies, brownies and even ice cream.

And don’t forget cocktails, either. A salt rim on a margarita or Bloody Mary — or any number of other cocktails — can level up when you infuse that salt with chili powder or lime (or both).