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Best of 2010: Crack open the cookbook cream of the crop"Salted"By Mark Bitterman Ten Speed Press, $35, 312 pages The subtitle of "Salted" says it all -- "A Manifesto on the World's Most Essential Mineral" -- because this book isn't really a cookbook, not in the recipe-driven sense of the word. It's more of a user guide, and an inspiring one at that from author Mark Bitterman, who owns the North Portland salt boutique The Meadow. From the lively introduction, in which Bitterman recounts his first experience with sea salt, to the geeky chapters on the history and science of the stuff, to the slim selection of recipes broken into categories like "brining," "curing," "salt crust" and "cooking on salt blocks," this book is aimed at inspiring and educating people on the virtues of natural salt. Bitterman's passion is infectious -- especially after reading his Salt Reference Guide, which takes up the bulk of the book and provides poetic mini-essays on dozens of salts. The Salish Alder Smoked, for example, "sizzles with intense smoke flavor. ... grinding a few crystals over hearty dishes effortlessly evokes the traditional flavors of the Pacific Northwest." How can you not want to cook with that salt? Short bulleted lists describe the salts' characteristics at an oft-hilarious glance -- one salt's crystal structure is described as "heavy-bottomed shot glasses for mice"; another has the flavor of "electrified frost." Though borderline silly, the playful guide does give readers a sense of what to expect from each salt and how best to use it. Recipe we liked: Flambéed Bananas With Cyprus Hardwood Smoked Salt -- Danielle Centoni View Here>>

The Meadow specializes in flowers, gourmet finishing salts, artisan made chocolates and a great selection of unusual fine wines which pretty much covers the very best things in life. Thanks to Jennifer's well trained eye, (her credentials include working at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Getty, the Frick Collection and director of a major Art Gallery in Portland) the shop has a great look with loads of character. The interior fittings have been made from thick slabs of hemlock and yellow pine reclaimed from old barn timbers milled in the late 1800's The weathered looking exposed bricks were apparently covered by several layers of plaster so had not seen the light of day for many decades. Beautiful blooms including peonys (my favourite) are displayed on a long table in the centre of the store.View Article>

The Meadow in the West Village sells over 100 varieties of salt from all over the worldIf your idea of salt is limited to what comes in a shaker, a trip to the West Village will rock your world. The Meadow, which just opened Wednesday on 523 Hudson Street, sells over 100 kinds of salt, from coarse to flaky, volcanic to rose-colored, Mesquite smoked to salt mixed with truffles. Some taste strongly of mineral, others taste fresh from the sea. Shop owner and cookbook author Mark Bitterman and his wife Jennifer want you to toss your box of iodized salt. "Our focus is on finishing salts," Bitterman told the News. "We suggest using more complex salts at the end of the cooking process rather than adding in the middle." Each salt can be paired with a certain foods. He recommends a flake salt for salad dressings. The silvery-gray sel gris is ideal for finishing meats. A Fleur du Sel makes butter pop. Taster size salt bottles (1.2 oz) start at around $4 and go up from there. Two and half pounds of their multipurpose sel gris will run you about $14.   View Here>>

His obsession first led to The Meadow, a Portland, Oregon, boutique that specializes in rare salts as well as specialty chocolates, small-batch cocktail bitters and fresh flower arrangements. Now He's brought His wares to the West Village in a shop that just opened on Hudson Street. Hand-labeled apothecary jars, each filled with salt, line the shelves of the long space. And each tells a story: There are gumball-shaped boules from Djibuti, stark-white nuggets harvested from Icelandic hot springs, bright pink Maboroshi Plum salt from Japan and Burgundy rock salt infused with Oregon Pinot Noir. Himalayan salt blocks and bowls--which you can heat and cook directly on--are stacked vertically alongside handmade silver salt cellars and copies of Mark Bitterman's excellent new book, Salted, which chronicles the history and science of the mineral and includes recipes. Other shelves showcase a chocolate collection highlighted by cult makers like Claudio Corallo, a curated selection of bitters and displays of seasonal flowers. The Meadow will also host salt and chocolate tastings, plus cocktail and cooking classes; click here for a sampling of offerings.  View Here>> Salt Sellar: Mark Bitterman has scoured the globe for infinite renditions of his favorite ionic compound: salt.

If your idea of salt is limited to what comes in a shaker, a trip to the West Village will rock your world. The Meadow, which just opened Wednesday on 523 Hudson Street, sells over 100 kinds of salt, from coarse to flaky, volcanic to rose-colored, Mesquite smoked to salt mixed with truffles. Some taste strongly of mineral, others taste fresh from the sea. Shop owner and cookbook author Mark Bitterman wants you to toss your box of iodized salt. "Our focus is on finishing salts," Bitterman told the News. "We suggest using more complex salts at the end of the cooking process rather than adding in the middle." Each salt can be paired with a certain foods. He recommends a flake salt for salad dressings. The silvery-gray sel gris is ideal for finishing meats. A Fleur du Sel makes butter pop. Taster size salt bottles (1.2 oz) start at around $4 and go up from there. Two and half pounds of their multipurpose sel gris will run you about $14. View Here>>

Welcome to The Meadow, a scrumptious West Village newcomer stocking the world's finest chocolates, salts, syrups and bitters in a wee space on Hudson. Over 500 types of artisanal chocolate bars are beautifully wrapped and perfectly lined along the left wall -- like the sweets shops of yesteryear.View Here>>

After opening the first location in Portland, Mark and opened up the West Village location last week. One friend tells us he has over 130 varieties of salt, most of which you can see on the website. There's everything from Icelandic hot springs salt to sel gris, smoked salt to "Vanilla Finishing Salt" from Wales. Selmelier (yup, that's a word) Mark Bitterman has also published what he calls the first salt classification book ever: Salted.View Here>>

West Villagers will no longer need to worry about getting enough salt in their diet. The Meadow, a gourmet salt, flower, and chocolate shop, is now opened on Hudson Street.View Here>>

Salting as a deliberate act.Sounds a bit intense. And for Mark Bitterman, it is. It's a call to action, a plan to banish bland food. "Think about salting as a deliberate act," says Bitterman, author of "Salted" (Ten Speed Press, 2010), a 312-page devotional to salt. "This isn't about being a fancy chef. It's about how to make every single food you eat in your daily life come alive.View Here>> Also Published in the Winnipeg Free Press