I always believed that salt is the supreme flavoring agent that brings out the flavor in every food. Now you can not only cook with it but cook on slabs of it directly over your stove!  These new slabs of pink salt that are mined in Pakistan have taken the culinary world by storm.

Every body is talking about these beautiful pink grains of salt that are mined from the grand Himalayas themselves. They are used as seasoning by chefs at fancy restaurants and now, you can cook food directly on these slabs of salt!

The thick 8-by-11-inch piece of solid salt slabs are now being sold for home use and can be placed directly on a stove burner and heated gradually.  It doesn't melt. Amazing, right? Just lightly brush it with butter or oil, and it will fry eggs, seafood, beef, mushroom caps, anything you can think of!

The slabs can even go in the oven or on a grill and can also be chilled or frozen to use for serving sushi or other seafood. It will retain the cold for more than an hour.

However, this precious gourmet ingredient/cookware has to be cleaned thoroughly. After use, it must be scrubbed with a stiff brush or plastic scouring pad and rinsed immediately. They must be thoroughly dried overnight before heating again as water will degrade the surface otherwise.

You can get these beauties for $40 at Sur La Table stores and surlatable.com. Slabs in a variety of sizes are also sold at saltworks.us.

Would you try this?

Image credit:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/dining/29salt.html?_r=1