Home > Work > The Sweetness of Salt
1 " Sophie's ability to create things in the kitchen was unlike anything I had ever seen. It was a skill that came naturally, an innate knowledge that only she possessed, with an end result that was nothing short of magnificent. In the span of half a day, the blue kitchen counter would be covered with whole vanilla cakes, the edges moist and slightly crumbling, bowls of fudge frosting accented with a splash of espresso, zucchini bread studded with pineapple and carrots and walnuts, even peanut brittle made with a combination of brown sugar and toffee. She created everything from scratch; each recipe an original, tried again and again until the proportions were perfect. "
― Cecilia Galante , The Sweetness of Salt
2 " I want to have a case of breads over there- whole wheat, rye- and English muffins, and cranberry-nut, blueberry-lemon, and white chocolate raspberry muffins over there. I want a table in the middle filled with nothing but cookies- the dark-chocolate-walnut-toffee ones, coconut macaroons, peanut butter drops with the little Hershey's Kisses in the middle, and sugar cookies. And then on the left, I'm thinking pies: apple, peach, and cherry daily, and maybe chocolate cream espresso for special occasions. Plus, I want to have a wall for all different kinds of specials. Maybe a certain bread- like Irish soda bread for St. Patrick's Day, fruitcake for Christmas, or challah bread for Passover- whatever. "
3 " She reached for a tiny white dish on top of the stove. "Oops, and salt. I almost forgot salt.""Salt?" I wrinkled my nose, and then widened my eyes. "Is that your secret ingredient?"Sophie laughed. "Salt isn't a secret ingredient, doofus. Besides, you just add a pinch. Salt brings out all the flavors." She paused. "It's weird, isn't it? How something so opposite of sweet can make things taste even better?""How does it do that?" I asked."I don't know," Sophie answered. "It just kind of brings everything together in its own strange little way. "
4 " And now that it's reached 1660 degrees, I can salt glaze it.""What's that?"Aiden held up the bowl. "Watch." He pinched a small amount of salt between his fingers and deposited it through a hole at the top of the kiln. There were actually many holes along the rim, tiny rectangular openings, and Aiden moved from one to the next, sprinkling fingerfuls of salt through them. "Salt does amazing things to clay," he said. "The crystals actually explode when they hit the heat, and then turn into a vapor. It's the vapor that transforms the look of the clay.""How?" I asked. "What's it do?""It makes the clay glossy, and the surface gets this sort of orange-peel texture. But the really cool thing about salt glazing is that no two pieces ever look the same. Each one is completely unique, depending on how much or how little salt you use. "
5 " And the light," Aiden said, stretching out his hand. "Look. It's perfect. Right now, especially, when the sun's low like this."I'd never really looked at light before. But now, as I watched a few insects swoop lazily through the air, I realized that Aiden was exactly right. There was a clear, amber sort of hue to it, like looking at honey through the bottom of a glass. "I can tell you're an artist," I said.Aiden looked at me. "How so?""The light and everything. You noticing it like that. Regular people don't notice the way light looks."Aiden stared back out at the field. "You gotta pay attention," he said softly. "To all of it. Otherwise, you might miss something. Anything can change your life. You never know. You just have to be patient. And watch. "
