Once you’ve used one salt, you have not used them all.

A simple formula: NaCl. Together, the elements sodium and chlorine form molecules of salt. This happens all over the world, in the seas, on land and in caves. Salt is a magical mineral that has such a deep role in our lives, far beyond the pleasure it produces on the palate. The very cells of our bodies swim in a saline solution, tying us to the vast oceans from where we are believed to have evolved.

Much like grapes, various salts have terrior picking up the aromas and flavors of the land and surroundings where it is formed. After salt is gathered in its natural form, the mineral can be smoked and finessed to create additional flavor profiles.

I have always used salt to counteract the sweetness in chocolate. But, a handful of years ago, my exploration of salt became more specific. Just as I match the proper chocolate with each recipe, a salt is also specified for each creation and carefully chosen for its flavor characteristics. Delicate Pink Himalayan salt balances the crunchy, buttery Bapchi’s Caramel Toffee. Large Fleur de Sel crystals crown the Organic Peanut Butter Bonbons offering texture, a welcome crunch and a strong salty balance to the rich peanut chocolate ganache. Alder wood smoked salt brings out the smoky bacon flavor in all my bacon + chocolate creations.

For all who cook, I encourage you to expand your salt repertoire. Once you begin experimenting, you will never go back to a solitary white table salt in your pantry. Start your collection by finding a local spice or specialty food store. You can also order a variety of salts online here or here.

Up the Ante on your Game Day Popcorn

Many of the best recipes and inventions are those that creep up on you and nearly invent themselves. A few days ago, a fantastic, red headed, spicy mama-to-be friend of mine was over and as we popped Red Fire Toffee morsels, conversation somehow led us to the upcoming Superbowl. (hearts are broken around here as our Bears head to their cave for hibernation…

I’ll admit, I am a bit of a closet football fan. And, like most gatherings, it is a great reason to socialize with friends and eat really delectable and sometimes junky things. It must have been the conversation of football merging with the sensations in my mouth and my love of bringing up the high on the low food… all of a sudden I felt that the Red Fire Toffee had to be tossed together with hot buttery, salted popcorn.  I jumped up, grabbed my Indiana forged, Whirley Pop popper and set those kernels a-bursting! It must have been the spicy red head influence.

The key to this recipe is to toss the fresh and hot popcorn with melted salted butter and then immediately follow with roughly chopped toffee while it is still steaming so it begins to melt into the corn dispersing it’s chili-spiked, cinnamon toast notes all around. The slightly melted chocolate and toffee will marry with the popcorn forming a heavenly salty, sweet, crunchy snack that is SO good, it just might steal the attention from the game.

Red Fire Toffee Popcorn
Makes 12-15 cups

2/3 cup corn kernels
2 Tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup salted butter (or add 3/4 tsp Maldon salt to unsalted butter)
1/2 pound Red Fire Toffee, roughly chopped (traditional Caramel Toffee or Bacon Toffee would be good too!)
Salt to taste if needed

Heat the oil in a stove top popcorn popper or pan. Add the kernels and cover. Keep the popcorn moving to avoid burning. Melt the butter. Pour the butter over the hot popcorn. Immediately add the Red Fire Toffee and toss to combine. Add additional salt to taste if needed.

A Sprinkle, dash and flash into the oven, check your temperatures, calibrate your range and load up on chocolate chunks, but be sure to spread the batter evenly, choose the right amount of gluten and prick the top to know when to start the cooling.  These are the things that accumulate my hours of late as I develop this new line of baking mixes set to hit this fall.

Last year, I developed Mo’s Bacon Chocolate Pancake Mix to bring my original bacon + chocolate concept back to its roots in Ft Wayne Indiana on the side of the highway.  It all began with chocolate chip pancakes lingering with drizzles of maple syrup and strips of sizzling hot bacon on my childhood breakfast plate.  The response to the pancake mix has been uplifting and inspiring.  I have always enjoyed customer feedback but the comments, questions and suggestions from people who have been mixing, flipping and serving these pancakes has added a new level of engagement with customers.  It is a more of a two-way street as we must both put in effort, working together, before the final product is ready for tasting.

The development of mixes is very different than the development of a new truffle or candy bar.  Knowing that someone will take these ingredients into their kitchens and produce the final product him or herself means a new type of information must be provided… instructions!  In developing the pancake mix I found that separating the yolks and whites of the eggs made a big difference and that mixing the batter too much released the precious air bubbles caused by the baking soda resulting in flat flapjacks.  Added hints and tips along the way made the directions a bit longer but also revealed some great tricks of the trade. My hope is that there is no guessing involved in how things should look.

Though not quite like cooking together, this new relationship with home cooks has been inspiring and fun.  I start the process and send it out in the world for others to help finish and also add their personal touch.  Baking mixes open up room for more creativity from people like you.
Always motivated by a challenge, I found the chemist in me stimulated as I work towards the perfect baking mixes. In the past months, I have likely made over one hundred batches of cookies.  The scientific aspect of baking, the portions, ingredients, processes, temperatures and even the perfect size cookie scoop can make all the difference.

I look forward to working together with you in just a few months. Until then, I will continue to make dozens more batches of brownies, cookies and cakes, honing the ingredients and noting the tips and tidbits that will help make them divinely delicious.