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Salt, Spiced
Mix thoroughly half an ounce of grated nutmeg, half an ounce of powdered cloves, a quarter of an ounce of white pepper, and an eighth of an ounce of cayenne. Pound the ingredients, and pass them through a fine sieve. Mix with them a quarter of an ounce of powdered thyme, a quarter of an ounce of powdered bay-leaf, a quarter of an ounce of mixed marjoram and rosemary, and lastly half a pound of dried and powdered salt. Put the preparation in a bottle, stopper it closely, and store in a dry place till wanted.
A dry seasoning mix rather than a dish: the British version of French sel épicé, kept bottled for forcemeats, pâtés and potted meats. Everything hinges on the spices being bone dry before they meet the salt.
- The weights in gramsHalf an ounce is about 14 g, a quarter ounce about 7 g, an eighth about 3.5 g, and half a pound of salt about 227 g. The finished mixture comes to roughly 285 g, or about a cup — enough to season a great many terrines, so consider quartering the quantities.
- Dry the salt, and mean it"Dried and powdered salt" matters for keeping quality. The recipe gives no method; spreading fine salt on a tray in a low oven for a quarter of an hour and cooling it completely before mixing will do it. Residual moisture tends to cake the mix and dull the spices.
- Grind whole where you canGrating a whole nutmeg and grinding cloves and peppercorns yourself gives a noticeably more aromatic mixture than pre-ground jars, which is much of the point of keeping a house blend. Sieving after pounding, as directed, removes the woody fragments that would otherwise grit the finished forcemeat.
- Powdered bay leafNot a supermarket item in most places. Dry bay leaves until they snap, then grind in a spice mill and sieve; the veins and stems will not break down and should be discarded.
- The heat levelAn eighth of an ounce of cayenne against half a pound of salt is a background warmth, not a chilli seasoning. Nineteenth-century cayenne varied a good deal in strength compared with modern standardised powder, so taste before adding more.
- How much to useAs a rough working figure for charcuterie, 15-18 g of a salt-based spiced salt per kilo of meat gives a seasoning level close to modern practice. Because this mix is about four parts salt to one part spice and herbs by weight, it replaces the salt in a recipe rather than sitting alongside it.
- StorageA tightly stoppered glass jar in a dark cupboard, not above the stove. The salt keeps indefinitely but the volatile oils in nutmeg, clove and rosemary fade; blend a quantity you will use within about six months.
Spiced salt belongs to the professional kitchen's habit of keeping standing mixtures ready to hand — the French sel épicé or épices composées, a bottled blend of salt with nutmeg, clove, pepper, bay and dried herbs used to season the forcemeats, galantines, pâtés and potted meats that a large Victorian household produced in quantity. Proportions varied from kitchen to kitchen, and period cookbooks print several competing versions. The blend also reflects the reach of the imperial spice trade into ordinary British cooking — nutmeg, cloves, white pepper and cayenne all arriving by ship, while the thyme, bay, marjoram and rosemary could be grown in the kitchen garden and dried at home.