Poorly used smoked salt is sort of like pornography. You’ll know it when you taste it.

Used properly, it adds a subtle, elegant, nearly undetectable note to roasted meats, sliced tomatoes, bean dishes, and more.

But sooner or later, you’re going to order a salad, soup, pasta, or dessert at a restaurant, take a bite, and be assaulted by the overwhelming taste of wet, burnt wood. How do I know this? Easy. A large restaurant consultancy named smoked salt as a top trend for 2011, as part of a story on the wide use of sea salt in fast food restaurants. You know that once Applebee’s, TGI Fridays, and the Olive Garden get hold of smoked salt, they are either going to use it badly, or use cheap smoke “flavored” salt that will taste awful no matter what they do.

Before that happens, let’s have a little fun with it. But first, buy good quality salt, and taste it before you use it to make sure it’s not too overwhelming for the preparation you’ve chosen.

Smoked salt is a great way to make fake barbecue when you can’t cook outside. This recipe in the New York Times is a good example.

And it’s sometimes used successfully in sweet preparations, particularly those that involve caramel. Try your own Honey Ice Cream with Smoked Salt.

I can almost taste how well smoked salt will work with pungent radishes, nori, and goat cheese in this recipe.

Here’s a meatless Hoppin’ John that includes smoked salt.

You can even DIY and save yourself a lot of money.

Editor’s note: This is a new column by Vanessa Barrington. For the lighter side of all things foodie, read Overcooked weekly. Overcooked: helping you make the most of today’s trendiest ingredient…before it’s overdone. Be sure to catch Vanessa’s original EcoSalon column, The Green Plate, on the environmental, social, and political issues related to what and how we eat.

Image: Mr. Thomas via Flickr

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