I love to have a selection of infused salts in the kitchen to quickly add depths of flavour to my dishes; just a pinch or two can transform a meal. They are best made using dry, dehydrated ingredients and a good quality salt.

Create your own combinations using herbs, vegetables, fruit, edible flowers and spices. You can even make flavoured salts from wine and other drinks.

The flavoured salts make great gifts and last for at least a year.

Picking wild garlic leaves. © Elva Etienne/Getty

Take care

The leaves of wild garlic look very similar to lords and ladies (Arum maculatum) and lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis, pictured),both of which are very poisonous. However neither species smells like garlic. 
Lily of the valley is a sweetly scented, highly poisonous woodland flowering plant. © Jacky Parker Photography/Getty

Ingredients

  • 150g Salt, choose a natural, good quality flaked, fine or coarse grain: sea salt, kosher salt, Himalayan, etc.
  • Wild garlic leaves

Method

  • STEP 1

    Gather as many wild garlic leaves as you wish. Check the wild garlic for any stray weeds and insects.

  • STEP 2

    Dehydrate the wild garlic (or use the lowest setting on your oven with the door slightly open). The length of time this will take depends on the ingredients you are using. Refer to your dehydrator’s manual for timings.

  • STEP 3

    When dry and crisp, blend into a powder in a food processor or grind using a pestle and mortar. For each cup of sea salt you will need 4 tsp of ground, dried flavouring.

  • STEP 4

    Pour into a labelled jar. Dried wild garlic powder will keep for a year and can be used to add flavour to soups, baking, etc. Measure 4 tsp of wild garlic powder and mix with the salt.

  • STEP 5

    Pour the salt and ground flavouring ingredients into a bowl and mix thoroughly. If you wish to have a finer ground salt, then grind in a pestle and mortar or food processor until the salt granules are your desired size. Store in a clean glass jar with a label.

Stephanie Hafferty is an award winning ­author, organic no dig kitchen gar­dener, writer, blogger and chef, specialising in seasonal plant based food. She is passion­ate about sharing her knowledge of growing and cooking to feed families and communities. Stephanie regularly writes for Perma­culture Magazine and other publications, gives talks, workshops and courses on food growing, seasonal cooking and making potions for the home and garden. Find out more on her website.

StephanieHafferty. © CharlesDowding

This is a recipe from The Creative Kitchen, published by Permaculture, £19.95.

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Authors

Stephanie Hafferty