Welcome to Plus One, a column by Meals Editor Emily Ziemski the place small-but-mighty additions—substances, sauces, toppings—that immediately improve no matter’s on the desk are the star of the present. Right this moment, a option to fight Late Summer season Erasure™.

Summer season—and out of doors grilling—season might technically nonetheless be in full swing, however it’s onerous to disclaim the whispers of fall decorations and the much less… whispery declarations that pumpkin-spiced every thing IS. BACK. (I get it! Please cease yelling at me, Dunkin’ commercials.)

For me, that onerous minimize off of swapping sunscreen for sweaters yearly has at all times felt somewhat too abrupt. Although I have been quoted as saying foolish issues reminiscent of “I am uninterested in my summer season wardrobe” and “It is principally virtually Halloween,” do not be fooled—I am not fairly able to let go of summer season flavors.

Enter my new favourite trick: vanilla salt. I’ve taken a cue from the likes of different versatile spices (assume: ginger, cardamom, and nutmeg) that seamlessly make the transition from candy to savory, and utilized it to a spice that will get a really sweet-heavy therapy in our kitchens. (That being mentioned, I not often belief a cookie recipe that does not have at the very least a contact of vanilla extract, paste, or a dutifully-scraped bean.) The dulcet aroma of vanilla because it cooks—amplified by the hygroscopic nature of salt (extra on this under)—is the right accompaniment to hearty grilled meats, a ending sprinkle on baked items and sweets, or perhaps a garnishing rim of a cocktail.

Elements

2	vanilla beans, scraped
1/4	cup kosher salt

I am normally a giant proponent of a flavored salt, and salt normally. (Besides garlic salt, however that is largely as a result of I might want to eat an entirely unrecommended quantity of garlic.)

With salt, the applying of it does a number of issues in cooking. It attracts out extra moisture, which is why it was used to remedy meats earlier than refrigeration was a factor; why you may salt your tomatoes then pat them dry earlier than including to a sandwich to alleviate soggy bread; why we season our meals earlier than, throughout, and after cooking. That final one feels apparent, however typically, after we’re taught to cook dinner, we study we should add salt, with out ever actually realizing why. Principally, when a meals merchandise loses moisture, the flavour of it will get concentrated or amplified. That is primarily what salt is doing each time you season one thing. So, the extra salt, the better nuance of taste that is allowed to be expressed in a dish. And to not fear, it takes a good quantity of salt earlier than issues flip “salty.”

One other factor salt does is promote Maillard response, or the browning of protein. It is the golden brown kiss on the highest of a chocolate chip cookie, the pronounced char on a grilled steak, and even the crispy edges of a wonderfully fried egg. That is partially because of the shortage of moisture as said above, as when proteins lack moisture, they’ll coagulate extra simply as a result of discount of sugar and the denaturing of protein when it hits warmth. (I like meals science!!)

That is all to say: Salt = extra taste, higher coloration, and higher texture of your meals.

So how does vanilla play into this all? Vanilla is deeply fragrant, and when it is heated up, it imbues the air round it with the perfect scent. You realize it. It is that previous actual property trick of baking cookies to lure in consumers for a home. By combining the flavour enhancing energy of salt with the sweet-without-being-sugary points of vanilla, and you’ve got a multi-purpose seasoning mix that’ll have folks saying “WHAT salt?”

Although I’ve supplied a free recipe for the creation and storage of this salt, what you do with it’s actually as much as you. Beneath, I’ve compiled a sort-of complete, sort-of aspirational checklist of every thing I’ve tried vanilla salt on, or issues I’ve dreamed of making an attempt sooner or later.

Protein:

• Get this on the grill, ASAP. My first-ever check with this salt was on some juicy sea scallops, and the light sweetness of the flesh, partnered with the fruity fragrant nature of the vanilla, was principally designed for the grill. Any white fish (cod, halibut, and so on) that you just’d think about tossing on the grill most likely has the right gentle profile for somewhat vanilla salt.

• For steaks—particularly ones served with a brown butter sauce—vanilla is a candy beacon in a closely savory sea. A part of the sear on a steak is principally caramelization—there’s that Maillard response once more—and vanilla is a well known pair for something caramel.

• If you happen to’re making your individual gravlax as a weekend mission, strive swapping out half of the salt rub for vanilla salt. This, on a bagel with cream cheese, can be heaven.

Veggies:

• My grilled cabbage recipe from earlier this 12 months known as for a tangy and vivid preserved lemon dressing. The proper fodder to sunny acidity is grounding sweetness. Sprinkled over the cabbage earlier than grilling permits the salt to attract out a few of the extra moisture of the cabbage, permitting the tender leaves to shine with the trace of vanilla.

• Final days of summer season, meet squash salad. When you’re already melding the perfect of each seasons (fall-favorite: squash, and summer season sensation: salad), why not add this salt to morph your dinner desk choices into a real end-of-summer celebration?

Fruits + Sweets:

• Watermelon & Salt… hello! A wonderful option to elevate the sweetness with out including extra sweetness to this principally good summer season fruit. For extra tart-leaning fruits, like a bitter melon, and even grapefruit, vanilla lends that baking-spice notice that mellows acidity and tempers bolder flavors.

• Lots of espresso beans have notes of vanilla already, so a baked deal with like these fan-favorite espresso & toffee blondies can be effectively served swapping the 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt for vanilla salt.

Cocktails:

• I loudly exclaimed to our Check Kitchen one afternoon {that a} vanilla salt rim on a mango margarita can be so good, and somebody slacked me from throughout the workplace asking if I used to be making them, and if in order that they needed one as a result of, “sizzling rattling.” (Their phrases.)

• Harper Fendler requires saline answer in his espresso martini, however a swap of vanilla salt (only a pinch, added within the dry shake) would additionally do the trick fairly properly—amplifying the sweeter notes of the chilly brew and cinnamon whip.

From Our Store

Extra from Meals Editor Emily Ziemski