I'm not much of a chef, but I really enjoy my newest culinary purchase. It's the Bitterman Himalayan Salt Block, and it sure is pretty.
Supposedly, it doesn't matter if it's beef, chicken or fish…everything is just gonna taste a little better when you cook on this thing. I'm very excited about becoming a salty, searing machine!
You can pick one up at surlatable.com.
PROS
1) Salt makes everything taste great!
2) The look of the new salt slab is amazing!
3) You can use the block as a serving platter! (see #2)
4) Light magically passes through it making it look…well…magical!
5) You can tell people that you exclusively cook on Himalayan Salt Blocks!
CONS
1) You have to preheat the block for a half hour before cooking on it.
2) When you do, you have to raise the temperature slowly or the salt will crack and break apart.
3) Apparently, you won't want to cook on anything else if you do it right.
I'm going to cook on this salt block for about 2 weeks and get back to you.
Time passes.
Salmon, Chicken, Steak and burgers are being seared as I type.
As you can see from the illustration below, I'm all business.
I'm back!
Well, after some time with the Himalayan Salt block, I have formed my opinion.
I hate it!
It is more trouble than I can tell you and I've changed my Pros and Cons list as follows:
CONS
1) Salt makes everything taste great but I can just salt things the old fashioned way!
2) The look of the current slab is disgusting!
3) I can no longer use the block as a serving platter! (see #2)
4) Light no longer magically passes through it.
5) I don't want to tell people I exclusively cook Himalayan Salt Blocks!
6) I have to preheat the block for a half hour before cooking on it.
7) I am now out of propane (see #6)
8) You have to raise the temperature slowly or the salt will crack and break apart.
PROS
1) I now have 2 salt blocks!
2) When it split in 2, it sounded like firecrackers going off so the timing was just right for Independence day!
While I won't purchase the Bitterman Himalayan Salt Block again, I do like the gimmick. I can also see the value of never cooking on it and just using it to serve fancy shmancy food on.
Just so you know, I realize that it was my fault it cracked. I guess I just don't have the patience for such things. For now, I'll just try and remember the first day I spent with my zesty little salt block while moving onto the next gimmick in my life.
• See Michael at Boing Boing's Weekend of Wonder, running Sept. 18-20!
