Salty and Sweet

I've made a lot of things in my life, more meals than I can count, a beautiful daughter, more than a few mistakes but on Sunday I added another skill to my already immense list of accomplishments. I made salt. Yes salt. On Sunday we headed to the Gala salt factory for an outing and they offer a program where for 1500 yen you can make your own salt. It's a fairly simple process, you take concentrated sea water and heat it while continuously stirring slowly with a wooden stick until the water evaporates which then leaves pure Okinawan sea salt. Then you move onto a table where you grind the salt to your liking with a metal spoon, finally you spoon the salt into a small handmade pot. The whole process took about 3o minutes and everyone got a chance to help. It was a really great experience, one that made me really happy. As I walked back to the car holding my tiny earthen pot in my hand I was so proud of what I'd done. I think it's because I use salt every single day in every single thing I cook. It is a necessity in cooking and represents a core ingredient which every chef or cook relies upon. To have made it with my own hands was exhilarating. Before I became a serious student of the culinary arts I just thought salt was salt, nothing special. But as I read more and more cookbooks the fundamental teachings all discuss the importance of seasoning. Every chef has their favorite type of salt many love kosher salt, which is what I use, others like more refined specialty salts like grey salt of pink salt. Okinawan sea salt has been featured in Gourmet magazine as an example of a simple process making an exemplary product. The quote in the magazine was something like, their simple process and pristine waters make a salt that truly tastes of the saltiness of the sea and elevates any food it graces. I will use my special salt sparingly but I will use it and go back to make more when ever I run out.

After the salt factory we visited Zampa beach for a little relaxation in the sun. The beach isn't open for swimming until April 1st but we were still able to set up our beach chairs and soak up some Vitamin D. Gabriella and Greg braved the chilly waters to get their toes wet and look for fish. We forgot some of the key ingredients for making Gabriella happy at the beach, mainly a swimsuit and her sand toys, but she persevered with what she had. When we headed back to the car we were ready for a sweet snack so we stopped at the purple sweet potato confectionary factory and had some yummy ice cream. The factory is basically a huge souvenir shop where travelers can pick up special snacks and cakes to take home to family. We sampled a few treats but were really more interested in the cool, refreshing ice cream. With our sweet tooth satisfied we headed back home.