As featured in...

 Cooking with Salt Blocks are Hot - or ColdAS I PULL the Himalayan pink salt bowl from its wrappings, I'm struck by the sheer weight of the thing. Cool to the touch like marble, it reminds me of a rose-quartz mortar. Just to be sure, I lick my finger, swipe and taste. Definitely salt. Still, I'm undecided about whether to cook in this beauteous bowl or put it on a pedestal and admire it.View Here>

A couple weeks ago, I was delighted to be invited to a Himalayan Salt Block Cooking Class at The Meadow, an artisan salt shop on Mississippi Avenue. I’ve been wanting to check out The Meadow for quite some time as my husband and I fancy ourselves foodies and I was glad to finally have the opportunity to do so.The Meadow is five years old and was started as a flower and salt shop by Mark Bitterman. Shortly after opening, he added wine and chocolate to their offerings. It’s hard not to be charmed by the shop (or by the entire wall of fancy chocolate bars)View Here>

It's the most universal of ingredients and the one most easily overlooked. From Sel Gris to flake salt, Mark Bitterman argues that the better you know your salt, the better every meal will turn out.View Here>

Salty, Bitter, Flowery, and SweetWhile walking down the West Village’s Hudson Street one day last fall, a new shop caught our eye. A formerly vacant space was once again full of life—bursting forth with brightly-colored flowers and tall shelves filled with, of all things, chocolate and salt. Once we actually entered The Meadow, we discovered that it was even better than we had initially thought! The Meadow sells more than 100 (yes, a hundred!) varieties of salt, some of the most beautiful and unique flowers I’ve ever seen, an amazing variety of chocolates, and, in the back, an extensive collection of cocktail bitters.View Here>

Author Spotlights: Salted by Mark Bitterman I wrote Salted because I was frustrated—or maybe appalled is the better word. There was not a single book out there that seriously examined the different salts produced by different people around the world. Salt is the first ingredient, the most universal ingredient, the most powerful ingredient. For ten millennia salt has been made by virtually every society in every corner of the globe, where it reigned supreme over entire cultures. Every salt was a unique reflection of the world’s diverse peoples.View Here>

Portland chefs win major national honorsHosted by award-winning Lynne Rossetto Kasper, The Splendid Table is a culinary, culture and lifestyle program that celebrates food and its ability to touch the lives and feed the souls of everyone. This week we talk with Mark Bitterman author of Salted, A Manifesto on the World's Most Essential Mineral, with Recipes. We get a look at the world of a wine importer—with boutique importer Terry Theise—author ofView Here>

  Portland chefs win major national honors A Portland food writer has won a James Beard award for his book, and several local chefs have been nominated for awards at Monday's ceremony. Mark Bitterman, owner of The Meadow food store, on N Mississippi Avenue, won the award in the Reference and Scholarship category for his book, "Salted: A Manifesto on the World’s Most Essential Mineral." Portland stands to win even more Monday night with three local chefs up for Best Local 7 Chef in the Northwest, and Gabriel Rucker, of Le Pigeon, nominated for Rising Star Chef of the Year. View Here>>

Store Profile: The MeadowMark Bitterman, owner of the Meadow and author of Salt, considers salt, wine, chocolate and flowers the essentials in life, that's why he sells these items at his store. Walking into this gem of a shop, on Mississippi Ave in NE Portland, is like being transported into a sensoral vortex. Once you're in there, it's hard to leave. The salts are unexpected and very pungent, flavored with things like cacao, lemon and Japanese plums. Then there's the bright bunches of flowers giving off a heady perfume. Finally, it's the chocolate bars and wine bottles, their packaging and promise of what's inside, that dazzle me into a headspin. This shop is fantastic for gifts, and you may end up with a few purchases for yourself. Oh hello lavender bitters, I must have you!View Here>

- Food Immersion - Portland: From Hyper-Local to MainstreamFor a clear example of America’s evolving food culture, look no further than The Meadow. You’ll find a wide selection within its four narrow categories: salt, chocolate, specialty liquor and flowers. The Meadow stocks over 100 varieties of salt, 400 types of chocolate and a staggering array of bitters, an herbal essence that provides balance in great cocktails, originating in oldie times and thankfully experiencing a renaissance in forward-leaning cocktail bars today. The Meadow is owned by salt aficionado Mark Bitterman, author of Salted: a Manifesto on the World’s Most Essential Mineral, assuring us that we were on the right track for delving into the World of Salt. The Meadow and their selmeliers (salt sommeliers), aptly guide salt-curious consumers through a maze of well-curated salts for their nuanced flavors and varied applications. The Meadow encourages consumers interested in savoring experiences beyond iodized table salt, to sample unusual and unexpected flavors when it comes to the most basic and foundational flavoring agent. Think ethereal Shinkai Deep Sea for elevating seared scallops on a Wednesday evening or woodsy-scented Red Alder Smoked salt for enhancing buttery roasted almonds. Beyond The Meadow, salt is currently experiencing a renaissance in the US. Yet, American food tradition dictates that salt is part of industrial processed food, whereas modern cuisine celebrates less processed salts for their ability to execute culinary alchemy, in turn cuing consumers that the product is less processed and of higher quality. As in other food cultures where distinctive salts are deeply rooted in culinary tradition, salt and its transformative powers are progressing into a mature food category here in American food culture..   View Here>>