First things first:  you can find sel gris on-line and at a number of gourmet markets.  I purchased this at the Summit Cheese Shop.  They actually have a good number of great products beyond cheese including pate, salts, mustards, and all sorts of goodies from Europe (mainly France and Italy from what I could tell).  I didn’t buy any cheese there.  I was sort of disappointed that they don’t make their own cheese.  I figured they’d make at least a few and actually went in there to find out where they were sourcing their milk for cheese making as I am dabbling in cheese making myself.  At any rate, I bought this salt at the Summit Cheese Shop.

Sel gris, or gray salt, is very similar to fleur de sel but typically comes from a specific region in France and it is allowed to come into contact with the drying pans, which causes the grayish color.  The salt is course and flaky but it has a higher water content that almost any other salt I’ve tried.  The moisture gives it a different texture and taste.  It’s a bit more mineral-y and I think it has a strong taste.  Unlike Maldon or fleur de sel, sel gris can be used to both cook and finish dishes.  The other two salts really are more of finishing salts both because of taste and price. 

I definitely have been enjoying cooking with the sel gris and if you happen upon it during your own trip to a specialty food store, I certainly recommend investing in a jar or bag and giving it a whirl!

As an aside, this will be the last post for the next couple of days…unless I find some time to post a fresh ham recipe.  However, likely it will be a few days.  So, I’ll look forward to checking back in then.