Salt is one of humans’ most precious commodities. Our bodies need it. And let’s face it, a little salt makes just about everything taste better.
I first discovered the importance of salt when I was young and my father was diagnosed with high blood pressure. His doctor sternly cautioned him to cut salt out (or nearly out) of his diet. My mother and I, the main cooks in the house, did our best to create a salt-free kitchen.
We used a lot of herbs and spices. We doubled down on onions and garlic. We finished a lot of dishes with a spritz of lemon.
Alas, there were some foods that just never tasted the same. However many vegetables and herbs we put in our chicken stock, for example, it just didn’t have much zing. The experience was humbling.
Around that time, I discovered that Shakespeare’s “King Lear” was related to folk tales of fathers and daughters that involved salt.
In “Lear,” the youngest and only honest daughter refuses to flatter her father. When asked by her father how much she loves him, Cordelia says she does so according to her bond, that is as her father. In contrast, her sisters Goneril and Regan make exaggerated (and false) claims about their love for him.
Lear, who loves the flattery and doesn’t realize that it is empty, banishes Cordelia and sets the stage for his own ruin by her greedy sisters and their allies.
In the earlier tales, the Cordelia figure says that she loves her father as she loves salt in her food. He flies into a rage at what seems to him a paltry statement… until the end of the story, when he is served a salt-free meal and realizes that her expression of love was heartfelt.
Salt has long been a major factor in food production and consumption. In the days before refrigeration, it was one of humans’ only ways to preserve food. Today, it can be mined and transported around the world. For centuries, however, it was precious and expensive.
Salt is important to American history. Food writer Anne Ewbanks penned a 2018 “Gastro Obscura” essay titled “How Salt Helped Win the Civil War.”
Ewbanks explains that Northern strategists realized the importance of salt to feeding both soldiers and civilians in the South. Without salt, it became difficult to preserve the quantities of meats and other foods needed to provision an army.
The Union forces therefore tried to stop salt imports with a blockade. (Most American salt was produced in the North; more on that later.) It also systematically destroyed Southern salt works, which processed salt deposits from land and sea.
“At the beginning of the war, a 200-pound sack of salt in New Orleans cost 50 cents,” writes Ewbanks. “By 1862, the price was $25.”
I obsess about salt this week because I was recently introduced to Salt Potatoes by the interim minister at my church, Janet Adair Hansen. When she is not shepherding our flock, Janet lives in Cortland, a town in central New York.
Salt Potatoes are one of those regional dishes that disprove the common conception that Americans are becoming more homogenized. I love the variety of food that can still be found throughout our nation. And I now love Salt Potatoes.
They are just what they sound like, a combination of potatoes and salt. (Butter is a wonderful addition.) Lots and lots of salt. They are a fixture at picnics, celebrations, and fairs where Janet lives.
Syracuse, about half an hour away from Cortland, is called the “Salt City.” Although it is far from the ocean now, millions of years ago the Syracuse area was undersea. In the late 18th century, Indigenous people and Europeans began producing salt there on a small scale.
By the 19th century, salt production became a booming industry in the Syracuse area, so much so that at one time New York State was the nation’s major salt producer.
Salt was produced in two ways: by boiling salty lake water until it evaporated and by evaporating vats of the water in the warm sun.
Salt Potatoes, according to Robert Searing of the Onondaga Historical Association, were invented by Irish employees at the salt works.
“As the story goes, the salt-boilers brought potatoes, a staple of their diets, into work,” Searing wrote for the website “Syracuse.com.”
“At some point, a flash of divine inspiration came over them and they threw the spuds into the big bubbling kettles of brine. Little did they know that this delightful dish, born of necessity and convenience, would become the region’s culinary calling card.
“Beyond that, the humble dish stands as a tangible connection to the Irish workers who toiled alongside other immigrants to build this country and this city.”
Here’s what happens when you boil tiny potatoes in extremely salty water: The salt raises the temperature of the water. The potatoes don’t cook faster than they would in less salty water, but the salty water tenderizes them on the inside.
When they drain, the potatoes’ skins end up with a salty crust. They are extra crunchy on the outside and extra soft on the inside.
I have looked at a number of different recipes for Salt Potatoes.
When Janet makes them back home, she purchases a bag of potatoes that includes a packet of salt that is just the right size for the bag. I couldn’t find any such bags in my local store, however, so I took the advice of “The New York Times” and use a ratio of 1/2 cup of salt to 1 pound of potatoes.
They were tasty enough to make me want to contact a medium to tell my late father that I loved him as I loved the salt in my food… A LOT.
Syracuse Salt Potatoes
I’m sure one could add all sorts of things to this recipe… some garlic or paprika or maybe even a little sour cream. I didn’t bother, however. Sometimes the simplest dishes are the best.
Ingredients:
1 pound tiny potatoes
about 3 cups water
1/2 cup kosher salt
3 tablespoons butter, melted (Irish butter is a nice touch.)
fresh parsley for garnish (optional)
Instructions:
Wash but do not peel the potatoes. Place them in a high-sided pot; the salt tends to rise up as it cooks. Cover the potatoes with water to see how much you will need. Remove the potatoes. Add the salt to the water, and heat the combination. Once the salt dissolves, add the potatoes.
Bring the pot to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the potatoes are nice and tender, around 30 minutes. (It seems like a long time, but you want the potatoes really soft on the inside.)
Drain the potatoes, shaking them gently in the colander to dry them. Give them a minute or two to form a salt crust; then top with melted butter and parsley.
Serves 2 to 4, depending on appetite and what else is being served.
You may expand or reduce this recipe as needed, keeping the same ratio of potatoes to water and salt. I made a half recipe because I was eating alone that day.
Tinky Weisblat is an award-winning cookbook author and singer known as the Diva of Deliciousness. Visit her website, TinkyCooks.com.
