Dario's Tuscan Sea Salt

"This salt moves from stove-side to the dinner table in my home. 'Pass the nostalgia salt' can be heard each night. It makes everything better: sauces, salads, roasted/grilled meats, popcorn, steamed or roasted veggies, and even watermelon. We refer to it as 'nostalgia salt' because of the charming text on the jar: “open lid and breathe in deeply for sudden attacks of nostalgia.” I’m not raising my kids among the lavender, juniper, or rosemary fields of Tuscany, but I have a feeling this salt will someday trigger nostalgic fondness for our (perfectly seasoned) family dinners."
- Kendra, Brooklyn, New York

Somehow the 21st Century has found fit to make celebrities out of a raft of food makers, including butchers. And there’s probably no more famous butcher in the world than Dario Cecchini, the opera-belting macellaria of Panzano, the Tuscan village an hour south of Florence. Dario’s approach to butchering focuses on the local, honest, and traditional. He's been on TV, in books, and you can book lunch or dinner if you happen to find yourself in Tuscany.

He’s also created a blended sea salt that hews closely to his bold-and-honest food philosophy. It’s a powder-fine blend with herbs you’d find around Panzano: sage, lavender, thyme, rosemary, bay, fennel pollen, juniper. Twenty five percent of the weight is herbs—he is not messing around.

This is seriously aromatic. Transporting. Straight to a hot afternoon in the middle of Italy. I don't usually keep flavored salts around but this is a staple. I drift handfuls of it onto pork chops, chicken thighs, and thick steaks. It is also 100% amazing on popcorn.