9X Korean Purple Bamboo Salt, 240g

Product detailed description

Korean sea salt that has been fired nine times over inside bamboo tubes above a pine wood flame. On the final firing it melts at 1600 to 2500 °C and sets into purple crystals as it cools. You can take it as whole crystals or as a fine powder, 240g either way.

The method was devised by the Korean herbalist Kim Il-hoon, known as Dr Insan, in 1917, and it is still done by hand with no mass-production step anywhere in the process. Sun-dried fleur de sel from Korea's west coast is packed into bamboo tubes at least three years old, the tubes are sealed with clay and go into a pine wood kiln. The whole cycle repeats nine times, and more than three years pass between the salt harvest and the finished product. The purple colour comes from carbon and sulphur that pass into the salt from the bamboo during roasting.

On the tongue this is a different league from table salt. A pronounced sulphurous aroma and a dense mineral flavour that takes a moment to get used to and is then hard to do without. It works best on hard-boiled eggs, in marinades and anywhere the salt should register as an ingredient rather than a background. The maker states that minerals other than sodium chloride make up around 10% of the weight, where ordinary sea salt usually sits under one per cent.

Key benefits

• Nine roasting cycles – the salt goes through bamboo and pine fire nine times over
• Made by hand – over three years pass from sun-dried salt to finished crystals
• Purple colour – formed by carbon and sulphur carried into the salt from the bamboo
• pH 11 and above – a measured value of the salt itself, unusual for a salt
• Two forms – whole crystals or fine powder, 240g in both cases
• Bold flavour – sulphurous aroma and mineral depth, salt as an ingredient in its own right

How to use it

Use it like any other salt, just expect it to be louder. In cooking, for finishing a plate, in marinades and in baking. Crush the crystals in a mortar or a grinder, or measure the powder straight out. The quickest way to get to know it is on a hard-boiled egg.

Ingredients

Korean sea salt, roasted nine times in bamboo, 100%. No other ingredients. Weight 240g, available as fine powder or as whole crystals. Country of origin Korea. Measured pH 11 and above.

Warnings

This is salt, so count it towards your total daily salt intake. If your doctor has limited your salt intake, talk to them first. The salt carries a strong sulphurous aroma that is unusual for a salt. Store dry in a well-sealed container, out of reach of children. Best before date is printed on the pack.

Distributor

Distributor: Adam Raw, Metylovice 552, 739 49 Metylovice, Czech Republic, Reg. No. 03452824.