Specializing In Spices
Writer / Cheryl – New Kitchen Store
How many kinds of cinnamon are there? When would you use whole spice versus ground spice? Do spices have an expiration date? What is the best way to store spices? Why would you want to cook with spice blends? What is mace? Why should I use spices in my cooking?
If you have ever wondered about these things or asked yourself any of these questions then you need to come to New Kitchen Store. Every Tuesday from 11:00 to 6:00 we have a Spice Specialist in the store to answer all of your spice questions.
From the exotic to the ordinary, New Kitchen Store carries more than 300 different spices and spice blends, and our Spice Specialist is knowledgeable about all of them.
We also carry a wide variety of salts. A couple of the most exquisite salts that we carry are Fleur de Sel and French Grey Sea Salt, also known as Sel Gris. Fleur de Sel salt, French for flower of salt, named because of the flower-like pattern in the salt crystals, is the most expensive salt that we carry. Fleur de Sel forms as a thin crust on the surface of the salt pans as it evaporates and is carefully skimmed off of the top. Fleur de Sel has been collected and used medicinally and as a salve since ancient times. In modern days it is used as a finishing salt to flavor and garnish foods.
Sel Gris or French Gray salt comes from the same salt pans as fleur de sel but it is harvested differently. Whereas Fleur de sel is skimmed off the top of the salt pan, grey salt is allowed to settle to the bottom of the salt pan. The grey color comes from the minerals found in the clay lining of the bottom of the salt pans. Some of these minerals are magnesium, iron, calcium, potassium, manganese, zinc, and iodine, all of which our bodies need. Because grey salt has a very complex mineral composition and coarse grain size, it can be used both as a cooking salt and a finishing salt. It is much denser than table salt making a lot more salt for its volume. It is also a moist salt and does not suck all the moisture out of food when used as a finishing salt.
Come in on Tuesdays from 11:00 to 6:00 and ask to speak with the Spice Specialist! Have your questions answered and get more interesting information like the above, about any spice or seasoning that you can imagine.
New Kitchen Store is the largest gourmet kitchen supplies store in Michiana! Come visit us at 330 Liberty St. Walkerton. For more information, call 574-586-2745 or check out our website at NewKitchenStore.com.
