{"id":47411,"date":"2024-04-15T17:00:44","date_gmt":"2024-04-15T21:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?p=47411"},"modified":"2024-04-16T16:57:55","modified_gmt":"2024-04-16T20:57:55","slug":"salt-of-the-earth-all-about-cheeses-most-elemental-ingredient","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/salt-of-the-earth-all-about-cheeses-most-elemental-ingredient\/","title":{"rendered":"Salt of the Earth: All about cheese&#8217;s most elemental ingredient"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Why cheese\u2019s most elemental ingredient flies under the radar (and why it deserves our attention)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Spring2024_SaltFeature_Opener_PC-Nina-Gallant.png\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Spring2024_SaltFeature_Opener_PC-Nina-Gallant-1024x683.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-47421\" srcset=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Spring2024_SaltFeature_Opener_PC-Nina-Gallant-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Spring2024_SaltFeature_Opener_PC-Nina-Gallant-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Spring2024_SaltFeature_Opener_PC-Nina-Gallant-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Spring2024_SaltFeature_Opener_PC-Nina-Gallant-1536x1024.png 1536w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Spring2024_SaltFeature_Opener_PC-Nina-Gallant.png 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Photo by Nina Gallant, Styled by Madison Trapkin<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-worth-your-salt\">Worth Your Salt<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Last fall, I found myself touring some of the most prestigious cheesemaking facilities in Europe (and, arguably, the world). In a jaunt I dubbed my \u201cFritzaly\u201d trip, I zipped in a tiny Fiat from France to Switzerland to Italy, stopping to visit makers along the way, and at each of these facilities I encountered some version of the same thing: giant plastic sacks of industrial salt. I pressed my tour guides about these bags\u2014their provenance, their grain, the process behind their selection\u2014but was met with blank stares every time. These were not mass producers, mind you, but the cream of the artisan crop. World famous, award- winning makers for whom milk is of salient importance, to the point that they have actual laws governing what their cows eat. And yet this humble white grain, poured into vats in enormous quantities, was largely an afterthought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI can honestly say that salt is about the least interesting aspect of our work,\u201d says Zoe Brickley of Jasper Hill Farm. Though she did mention a few experiments\u2014one involving an iron- rich red salt to encourage flora growth; another an accident that occurred when a supplier changed their grain size, resulting in faster uptake and massively oversalted batches\u2014she had little to say on the subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For an industry obsessed with traceability, we spend woefully little time on one of cheese\u2019s primary ingredients. \u201cSalt isn\u2019t something that folks talk that much about,\u201d says Rachel Fritz Schaal, who, with husband Peter Dixon, runs Parish Hill Creamery and gives joint talks about salt for the American Cheese Society. While most makers use refined salts, Parish Hill employs unrefined solar evaporated sea salt from Maine Sea Salt Company in their makes\u2014a salt that\u2019s eight to 12 times more expensive than industrial offerings. \u201cWe decided it was worth it,\u201d Fritz Schaal says, \u201c[because] we wanted to use salt that would be akin to what would have been used before.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This if-it-ain\u2019t-broke ancestral trust pervades our industry, but sticking with the old doesn\u2019t always mean using fancy salt. A recent study comparing Camembert PDOs made with refined, baked, sun-dried, and Himalayan rock salts found that the standard refined variety resulted in the best-tasting wheels. And experimenters must be careful\u2014Rispens Gouda ran into trouble using mountain rock salt that turned out to contain radioactive materials as a result of pollution and leaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite proximity to the Great Salt Lake, Britton Welsh of Beehive Cheese uses a mix of industrial and local salts in her makes. \u201cAt the end of the day,\u201d she says, \u201cour decisions are made based on quality.\u201d To learn more about how cheesemakers choose (and use) salt across the globe, read on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/worlds-biggest-salt-plain-Salar-de-Uyuni_Bolivia_PC-Matyas-Rehak_Adobe-Stock.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/worlds-biggest-salt-plain-Salar-de-Uyuni_Bolivia_PC-Matyas-Rehak_Adobe-Stock-1024x683.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-47418\" srcset=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/worlds-biggest-salt-plain-Salar-de-Uyuni_Bolivia_PC-Matyas-Rehak_Adobe-Stock-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/worlds-biggest-salt-plain-Salar-de-Uyuni_Bolivia_PC-Matyas-Rehak_Adobe-Stock-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/worlds-biggest-salt-plain-Salar-de-Uyuni_Bolivia_PC-Matyas-Rehak_Adobe-Stock-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/worlds-biggest-salt-plain-Salar-de-Uyuni_Bolivia_PC-Matyas-Rehak_Adobe-Stock-1536x1024.png 1536w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/worlds-biggest-salt-plain-Salar-de-Uyuni_Bolivia_PC-Matyas-Rehak_Adobe-Stock.png 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Over many generations, indigenous salt gatherers, known as \u201csaleros,\u201d have harvested salt from the expansive Bolivian salt flats of Bolivia\u2019s Salar de Uyuni. They gather the raw mineral and shape it into mounds, allowing it to dry naturally before it undergoes transportation to processing facilities, where it is refined into table salt. <em>Photo Credit: Matyas Rehak\/Adobe Stock<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-barks-brines-and-washed-rinds\">Barks, Brines, and Washed Rinds<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Not that I\u2019m complaining, but have you ever wondered why cheese is dunked in, massaged with, or raggedly smeared by salt at every turn? It\u2019s all about microbial growth. Cheese wouldn\u2019t exist without microbes, but it takes a deft hand to allow only the good ones in. For keeping the bad ones at bay, salt is just about the best cop we could ask for\u2014and it takes the form of a lot of rind manipulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/ParmRegSoakinginBrineBath_PC-barmalini_Adobe-Stock.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" src=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/ParmRegSoakinginBrineBath_PC-barmalini_Adobe-Stock-1024x681.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-47417\" srcset=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/ParmRegSoakinginBrineBath_PC-barmalini_Adobe-Stock-1024x681.png 1024w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/ParmRegSoakinginBrineBath_PC-barmalini_Adobe-Stock-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/ParmRegSoakinginBrineBath_PC-barmalini_Adobe-Stock-768x511.png 768w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/ParmRegSoakinginBrineBath_PC-barmalini_Adobe-Stock-1536x1022.png 1536w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/ParmRegSoakinginBrineBath_PC-barmalini_Adobe-Stock.png 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Parmigiano Reggiano. <em>Photo Credit: barmalini\/Adobe Stock<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Brines <\/em><\/strong><em>stabilize young wheels. <\/em>High-sodium atmospheres reduce moisture and control unwanted bacteria and mold growth. Like a sourdough starter, these brines select \u201cgood\u201d bacterial cultures that contribute to a cheese\u2019s flavor, making them a bit more like bouncers than cops. In many facilities, these rich, storied brine baths are reused for, get this, <em>decades <\/em>(with salt regularly added to maintain 18 to 24 percent salinity).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Harbison_07-e1713213825578.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"939\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Harbison_07-e1713213825578-939x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-47420\" style=\"width:542px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Harbison_07-e1713213825578-939x1024.png 939w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Harbison_07-e1713213825578-275x300.png 275w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Harbison_07-e1713213825578-768x838.png 768w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Harbison_07-e1713213825578-1408x1536.png 1408w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Harbison_07-e1713213825578-1877x2048.png 1877w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 939px) 100vw, 939px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Harbison. <em>Photo Credit: Mark Ferri<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Barks <\/em><\/strong><em>introduce extra risk<\/em>, as their wood can carry untold amounts of foreign bacteria. They are, however, necessary to hold soft, young wheels together, so cheesemakers soak these strips of wood in a salt brine first to not only soften but also sterilize them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/stinky_murrays_cave_aged_epoisse-1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"774\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/stinky_murrays_cave_aged_epoisse-1-774x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-47424\" style=\"width:421px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/stinky_murrays_cave_aged_epoisse-1-774x1024.png 774w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/stinky_murrays_cave_aged_epoisse-1-227x300.png 227w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/stinky_murrays_cave_aged_epoisse-1-768x1016.png 768w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/stinky_murrays_cave_aged_epoisse-1-1161x1536.png 1161w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/stinky_murrays_cave_aged_epoisse-1.png 1209w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 774px) 100vw, 774px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Washed <\/em><\/strong><em>rinds are a response to bad bacteria<\/em>, and one that introduces the sticky, stinky <em>brevibacterium linens <\/em>instead. Legend has it that Benedictine monks invented this style by \u201ccleaning\u201d their moldy wheels with rags dipped in sanitizing salt water or alcohol. (Imagine using your nearest dish towel to wipe a fuzzy blue bloom off a dinner roll and you\u2019ve pretty much got the picture.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Otxokain_434_PC-AlexanderPomper-e1713214170892.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"898\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Otxokain_434_PC-AlexanderPomper-e1713214170892-898x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-47413\" style=\"width:610px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Otxokain_434_PC-AlexanderPomper-e1713214170892-898x1024.png 898w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Otxokain_434_PC-AlexanderPomper-e1713214170892-263x300.png 263w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Otxokain_434_PC-AlexanderPomper-e1713214170892-768x876.png 768w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Otxokain_434_PC-AlexanderPomper-e1713214170892.png 1066w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 898px) 100vw, 898px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rennet. <em>Photo Credit: Alexander Pomper<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-salt-in-rennet-making-true-beginnings\"><strong>Salt in Rennet Making: <\/strong><strong><em>True Beginnings<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Traditionally, milk is separated into curds and whey using animal rennet. To make this essential ingredient, the dried and cleaned fourth stomach (abomasum) of a young calf is sliced into pieces and submerged in salt water, then left to rest for several days. \u201cSalt is added solely to preserve the coagulating power of rennet long term,\u201d says Trevor Warmedahl, a researcher who studied rennet on a Daphne Zepos Teaching Endowment in 2022. This isn\u2019t necessary if you\u2019re making rennet every day, though\u2014most artisanal rennet production Warmedahl witnessed forewent the salt bath in favor of more frequent production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/BexSaltMine_Switzerland_PC-Cherry_Adobe-Stock.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" src=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/BexSaltMine_Switzerland_PC-Cherry_Adobe-Stock-1024x681.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-47416\" srcset=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/BexSaltMine_Switzerland_PC-Cherry_Adobe-Stock-1024x681.png 1024w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/BexSaltMine_Switzerland_PC-Cherry_Adobe-Stock-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/BexSaltMine_Switzerland_PC-Cherry_Adobe-Stock-768x511.png 768w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/BexSaltMine_Switzerland_PC-Cherry_Adobe-Stock-1536x1022.png 1536w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/BexSaltMine_Switzerland_PC-Cherry_Adobe-Stock.png 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Inside Switzerland\u2019s Bex Salt Mines. Photo Credit: Cherry\/Adobe Stock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-salt-rules\">Salt Rules<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While American frontiersmen are free to use anything from Maldon to Morton in their makes, European makers are often governed by strict consortium rules dictating salt type, origin, and size. <strong>Le Gruy\u00e8re AOP<\/strong>, for instance, must be made with salt under .25mm grain size hailing from the Bex Salt Mines in the Vaud Alps. \u201cSwitzerland\u2019s salt was gifted to us by the primordial ocean that evaporated 200 million years ago,\u201d says Denis Kaser, Head of International Marketing for Le Gruy\u00e8re AOP, \u201c[leaving] behind layers of salt up to 164 feet thick in the Swiss Plateau.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Le Gruy\u00e8re AOP also requires that brine baths remain at a consistent 22 percent salinity level. Wheels must be salted daily in their first eight to 12 days, then rubbed with salted water \u201cto induce the forming of a crust-like rind,\u201d according to AOP regulations. Makers rarely stray from this, nor would they want to. According to Kaser, these rules \u201clet the milk do the talking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-salt-local\"><strong>Salt Local<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>On our tabletops, we\u2019re living in a local salt renaissance\u2013but we aren\u2019t seeing Amagansett Sea Salt Co. rinds and Jacobsen Sea Salt Co.-infused brine baths in our cheeses just yet. So, who <em>is <\/em>using their local salts?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Salina-di-Cervia-SaltMine_PC-PaoloMonti_WikimediaCommons.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"653\" src=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Salina-di-Cervia-SaltMine_PC-PaoloMonti_WikimediaCommons-1024x653.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-47414\" srcset=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Salina-di-Cervia-SaltMine_PC-PaoloMonti_WikimediaCommons-1024x653.png 1024w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Salina-di-Cervia-SaltMine_PC-PaoloMonti_WikimediaCommons-300x191.png 300w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Salina-di-Cervia-SaltMine_PC-PaoloMonti_WikimediaCommons-768x490.png 768w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Salina-di-Cervia-SaltMine_PC-PaoloMonti_WikimediaCommons.png 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Salina di Cervia Saltmines. <em>Photo Credit: PaoloMonti\/WikimediaCommons<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Northeastern Italy\u2019s <strong>Caseificio Mambelli <\/strong>produces several cheeses with <strong>Salina di Cervia <\/strong>harvested from the Adriatic Sea (and even includes \u201cAl Sale Doce al Cervia\u201d on their labels).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/KalloniSaltPans_PC_-Antonis-Deligiannis_Adobe-Stock.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/KalloniSaltPans_PC_-Antonis-Deligiannis_Adobe-Stock-1024x768.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-47422\" srcset=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/KalloniSaltPans_PC_-Antonis-Deligiannis_Adobe-Stock-1024x768.png 1024w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/KalloniSaltPans_PC_-Antonis-Deligiannis_Adobe-Stock-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/KalloniSaltPans_PC_-Antonis-Deligiannis_Adobe-Stock-768x576.png 768w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/KalloniSaltPans_PC_-Antonis-Deligiannis_Adobe-Stock-1536x1152.png 1536w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/KalloniSaltPans_PC_-Antonis-Deligiannis_Adobe-Stock.png 1600w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/KalloniSaltPans_PC_-Antonis-Deligiannis_Adobe-Stock-500x375.png 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kalloni Salt Pans. <em>Photo Credit: Antonis Deligiannis\/Adobe Stock<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>On the island of Lesbos, <strong>Tastanis Feta <\/strong>uses salt from the <strong>Kalloni Salt Pans<\/strong>. This salt also occurs naturally in the island\u2019s soil, meaning the grazing sheep eat it, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Beehive-Cheese-LOW-RES-172-e1713214274560.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"443\" height=\"419\" src=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Beehive-Cheese-LOW-RES-172-e1713214274560.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-47415\" style=\"width:458px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Beehive-Cheese-LOW-RES-172-e1713214274560.png 443w, https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Beehive-Cheese-LOW-RES-172-e1713214274560-300x284.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 443px) 100vw, 443px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Utah\u2019s Beehive Cheese uses local <strong>Redmond Sea Salt<\/strong>, extracted from the dry seabed of an ancient inland lake. Though it produced a grainy paste when they tried it in the curd, they\u2019ve found it\u2019s perfect for rinds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why cheese\u2019s most elemental ingredient flies under the radar (and why it deserves our attention)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":47423,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"coauthors":[21812],"class_list":["post-47411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.4 (Yoast SEO v24.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Salt of the Earth: All about cheese&#039;s most elemental ingredient - 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