Company: SaltWorks

Website: seasalt.com

Ingredient Snapshot: Following a more than $2 million investment and years of research and development, SaltWorks announced that it is launching a singular and innovative process for creating the highest quality and most flavorful all-natural smoked sea salts on the market.

SaltWorks’ Perfect Smoke Technology uses real wood hand-selected for superior flavor and aroma profiles, premium salts harvested from the world’s cleanest oceans, and proprietary ultra-clean cold smoking techniques to produce exceptional smoked salts.

“Our state-of-the-art smoking process is a game-changer,” said SaltWorks founder & CEO Mark Zoske. “Most consumers have never tasted real wood smoke. Our technology allows anyone to bring authentic smoke to food.”

SaltWorks’ commitment to creating higher quality smoked salts began 15 years ago, when the company started to smoke its own salts using only bark-free wood. Quickly, SaltWorks became the food industry’s most trusted source for all-natural smoked salts. 

Never quite content with the process, SaltWorks formed a dedicated research and development team in 2017 to reinvent smoking technology. One breakthrough after another led to an entirely unique and inventive way to produce one of the safest, cleanest, and most environmentally friendly all-natural smoked salts available. The result of this tireless dedication is SaltWorks’ revolutionary Perfect Smoke Technology.

This groundbreaking smoking process leverages precision manufacturing techniques that allow for unprecedented consistency, even caramelization of complex sugars, and only premium thin blue smoke—essential for crafting the best smoked salts possible.

SaltWorks’ dedication to perfection is evident down to the fundamentals of the wood sources, using only all-natural wood that is lot-coded, food-grade, and free of pesticides. The wood is debarked and custom-cut at a dedicated sawmill before it arrives at SaltWorks’ in-house smoking facility in Woodinville, Wash., where it is kiln-dried and stored in a humidor set to the perfect humidity level.

Finally, there is nothing artificial about SaltWorks smoked salts. To create a quality smoke flavor, the company doesn’t use liquid smoke or other chemicals. Inexpensive and inferior materials such as bark, chips, pellets, or sawdust are never used in its smoking process.

Using its Perfect Smoke Technology, SaltWorks has re-launched its entire line of all-natural smoked salts, including the company’s most popular varieties:

• Salish Alderwood Smoked Sea Salt — Centuries of Pacific Northwest tradition inspire this top-selling smoked salt, ideal for grilled salmon, steak, and vegetables.
• Yakima Applewood Smoked Sea Salt — Applewood produces a mild, slightly sweet, and fragrant smoked salt that pairs well with grilled vegetables, or as a finishing salt on salads.
• Durango Hickory Smoked Sea Salt — Real hickory smoke delivers a Southern and aromatic twist to this flake sea salt suitable for BBQ, glazes, and sauces.
• El Dorado Mesquite Smoked Sea Salt — Authentic mesquite smoke creates the bold taste of Southwest Tex-Mex cuisine, perfect for brisket, ribs, and jerky seasoning.
• Fumée de Sel Chardonnay Oak Smoked Sea Salt — Crunchy crystals absorb the essence of Chardonnay oak for a smoked flavor ideal for French cuisine, whitefish, crab, and lobster.

“We’re so excited to bring our new process and authentic smoked wood flavors to the forefront of the industry,” Zoske said. “Our goal was to reinvent smoked salt. Inadvertently, we developed a whole new way to bring clean label smoke to food.”