Vanilla salt can add that mysterious sweet note that gives depth to many dishes without any actual sweetness. Its floral, fragrant aroma teases you into expecting sweetness and its deep flavor adds nuance to the background notes of a dish. We enjoy pairing it with fish, root vegetables, and other inherently sweet ingredients because this aromatic salt helps enhance their natural sweetness. Sometimes the flavor of vanilla can be overpowering and adding it this way can be just the right touch. We also use it for sweet preparations—for example, as a finishing salt for caramels, or lightly sprinkled on a chocolate tart.

Ingredients

　　1 Tahitian vanilla bean

　　2 cups/280 grams fleur de sel

　　Cut the vanilla bean in half and scrape out the seeds. Combine the vanilla seeds, the salt, and the scraped-out pod in a bowl and mix to disperse the seeds. Put the vanilla salt in a zip-top bag or lidded container for several days to let the flavors infuse before using. The vanilla bean itself will continue to perfume the remaining salt for as long as you have any left.

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