What gift do you give a food lover?

 A person that is passionate about food could be an easy gift giving experience. On the other hand, if they have collected one too many gadgets (is that possible) and all the kitchen cabinets are full, and you have a shelf in the garage for extra stuff, it may be a little more difficult.  

 Buying cookbooks are always a safe bet, but how many of us go online to look at many versions of the same recipes and to see the preparation videos that go along with the food.  I would like to say that I am much simpler than that to buy for, but I am always looking at a new way of doing things.

 All of this is leading up to my birthday last week and Sharon (who thinks I have too many cooking gadgets) found some really good gifts for me.  

 I was able to get the “Bakewise” book by Shirley O. Corriher, which I sent to my granddaughter last year for Christmas and she found me a Himalayan salt block at Home Depot.  

 I broke it out on Sunday afternoon to give it a test run.  I have written about salt block cooking, prior to this, but I feel like we need to dig a little deeper into the first use of this technique. 

 Himalayan salt blocks come from the Khewra Salt Mine of Pakistan, the second largest mine of its kind in the world. Thought to have first formed more than 600 million years ago when the sun dried up a prehistoric ocean. The mines were discovered during the fourth century when Alexander the Great’s army horses strangely gathered in certain areas and would lick the ground.  

 This did not go unnoticed, which resulted in salt trade.  

 What is important that the structure of the block is composed in such a way that it holds heat for a long period of time once it is heated. The science behind the improvement of food with salt block cooking is a lot like dousing your meat in brine. 

 When sodium and chloride ions get into the meat tissue, their electrical charges mess with the proteins and alter them in such a way that they can hold moisture more effectively and lose less of it during the cooking process.

 Cooking other things besides meat on the block brings it to a next level of delicious. Smaller pieces of food are better for salt block use. You can take sweet foods, such as fruit, and put your block in the freezer for a couple of hours and serve the fruit on top.  

 The little bit of salt will make the fruit taste much sweeter. A beautiful shrimp cocktail on a block for festive occasions would be a new twist to an old classic. No recipes this week, although the steaks in the picture were great.

 I want to hear from you and your salt block cooking.  

 Contact me at boatchef@aol.com. Thanks for stopping by this week.