Rhonda Schuldt falls in love with sea salt from Alaska!
First comes love, then comes marriage … and then in one singular evening, the unexpected happens that, eventually, changes everything.
This is the love story (of sorts) of Jim and Darcy Michener of Sitka, Alaska.
Falling for Alaskan Sea Salt
The unexpected happened in 1999 while honeymooning in a cabin on a remote Alaskan island. After unintentionally leaving a pot of seawater on the wood stove overnight, Jim made an unexpected discovery: salt crystals forming on the water’s surface . Intrigued, he and Darcy evaporated the remaining water and took their “handcrafted” sea salt home as a honeymoon memento. Returning to that remote cabin became a yearly tradition, where they made a new batch of “anniversary” salt to use in their kitchen.
The accidental discovery of salt making led them to a new life of culinary discovery, and a passion for natural foods that only strengthened their relationship. The two continued to tweak the process of salt making – for years – discovering along the way it is both a science and an art. Then, in 2005, everything changed when they got serious and took steps to pursue their dream of producing North America’s first flake-style sea salt.
Jim (at the time a fishing guide in summer and a cold weather survival instructor for the US Coast Guard in winter) hauled gallons and gallons of seawater to their kitchen, where he tenaciously fine-tuned the evaporation process to get the perfect flake. Darcy (then an office administrator) let her inner chef come out to play, experimenting with local, seasonal flavors and infusions. The result? Perfect pyramid-shaped flake salt that looks like freshly fallen snow. Its crisp texture, pure clean taste, and variety of flavors celebrate the natural beauty and bounty of the Alaskan wilderness.
Bringing Salt to the World
In 2007, the couple realized their dream when they officially launched, Alaska Pure Sea Salt Co. Eight years later, they are 100 percent immersed in their growing business, supplying salts to some of the country’s best chefs who know, like Jim and Darcy discovered, good salt does matter.
Like any great food, it’s the quality of the ingredients that make the difference, and often that means seasonal and local. The same goes for salt. With Alaska Pure, you know the exactingredients – pure Alaskan seawater. There is also seasonality to the water they harvest – rich and full of life in the summer and crystal clear in the winter. While Jim has toyed with creating distinct salts from seasonal water, he has found it takes an incredibly sensitive palate to discern any difference. Instead, Alaska Pure celebrates the seasons with flavored salts.
In spring, Jim and Darcy hustle during a brief two-week period to gather the emerging tender young tips of Sitka spruce (Alaska’s state tree) to create lovely piquant salt that is the perfect complement to seafood, such as Alaskan salmon. In summer, they harvest wild blueberries, climbing up to 2000 feet into the mountains (carefully avoiding bears), to create deliciously fruity, deep red salt that is unbelievable on anything chocolate. Throughout the year, they make an exquisitely smoked salt in a custom-built smoke house using alder wood, a hardwood abundant in Sitka.
How to Use Finishing Salt
How best to use this finishing salt? Jim states it perfectly: “Simple and seasonal is best…a slice of watermelon is absolutely amazing sprinkled with our sea salt!”
My Simply Seasonal favorite is a slimmed down veggie “BLT” using their Alder Smoked salt. Skip the bacon and sprinkle a thick slice of juicy ripe tomato with the salt, cracked black pepper, and other sandwich fixings on toasted grainy bread. Sublimely addictive!
However you decide to enjoy Alaska Pure Sea Salt, whether simply or sublimely, like with our Molten Lava Cake, you will experience a labor of love — love of place, of season, of nature, of good food, and the love that is Jim and Darcy’s relationship, where it all began.
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Molten Lava Cake
Description
Finished with a sprinkle of Alaska Pure Wild Blueberry Sea Salt, it balances deep sweetness with a fruity, savory edge.
Ingredients
- Softened butter for coating custard cups
- Unsweetened baking cocoa
- 4 oz semisweet, plus 2 oz bittersweet baking chocolate, chopped
- ½ cup, plus 2 tbsp salted butter
- 3 whole eggs
- 3 egg yolks
- 1½ cups powdered sugar, plus extra for dusting
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- Alaska Pure Wild Blueberry Sea Salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degress. Butter bottoms and sides of six (6-ouce) custard cups; dust with cocoa. Place butter and chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1minute or until the butter has melted. Whisk until the chocolate has melted into the butter.
- In a separate large bowl, beat whole eggs and egg yolks with wire whisk until well blended. Beat in the powdered sugar until blended, then beat in the melted chocolate mixture and flour. Divide batter evenly among custard cups. Place cups on rimmed baking dish, such as a sheet pan.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until sides are set and centers are still soft – the tops will be puffed and slightly cracked. Let stand for a couple of minutes. To serve, run small knife between the cake and the cup to loosen the cake. Immediately place a heatproof serving plate upside down over each cup; carefully turn the plate and cup over. Lift off the cup. Dust lightly with powdered sugar and finish with Alaska Pure Wild Blueberry Sea Salt. Serve warm.
Recipe and Story by Rhonda Schuldt
Photos by Adam Milliron
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